Exam 4: Fundamental Research Issues

What is the difference between a dependent and an independent variable?

A researcher interested in establishing that there is a causal relationship between variables is most interested in _____ validity.

When a nonexperimental method is used for a study, there is a danger that no causal relationship exists between the two variables being studied. This phenomenon is known as a(n) _____ relationship.

In the context of study of relationships between variables, _____ method involves direct manipulation and control of variables.

A psychologist had one group of participants eat ice cream that was packaged in a red carton, whereas another group of participants ate the same flavored ice cream packaged in a green carton. Participants then indicated how much they liked the ice cream on a 1-5 rating scale. The independent variable in this experiment is the _____.

A psychologist develops a measure of self-esteem in order to study the variable of self-esteem. He then conducts a number of studies investigating the differences between candidates who score low and candidates who score high on self-esteem. He does so to devise an accurate method of studying self-esteem. In this case, the psychologist is trying to establish _____.

Dr. Sears, a psychologist, observes that the more time individuals spend in a department store, the more purchases they tend to make. The research method used in this study is the _____ method.

The management at Burgerjoy, a small restaurant, finds that the lower the price of hamburgers, the more hamburgers are sold. This is an example of _____ relationship between price and number of hamburgers sold.

Identify a limitation of laboratory experiments.

Roger, a researcher, conducted a study to analyze the impact of alcohol exposure during childhood. He found that the more a person was exposed to alcohol during childhood, the more likely he or she will experience alcoholism as an adult. In this case, there is _____ relationship between alcohol exposure during childhood and alcoholism.

Which of the following in experimental method ensures that an extraneous variable is just as likely to affect one experimental group as it is to affect the other group?

Using the nonexperimental method, a researcher collects data on exercise and anxiety from a number of people and finds that exercise is negatively related to anxiety-that is, the people who exercise more tend to have lower levels of anxiety. What does this scenario demonstrate?

In the context of relationship between variables, when the graph is simply a flat line, it shows that there is _____ between the two variables.

_____ validity is the extent to which results of a study can be generalized to other populations and settings.

In a curvilinear relationship, increases in the values of one variable are accompanied by systematic increases and decreases in the values of the other variable. Due of this type of correlation between variables, curvilinear relationship is also called a(n) _____ function.

_____ validity concerns whether the methods of studying variables are accurate.

A limitation of using laboratory experiments to study relationships among variables is that they have:

A numerical index of the strength of relationship between variables is called a _____ coefficient.

Jim, a psychiatrist, is developing a method to study mood swings in individuals. He asks individuals to describe the frequency and intensity of mood swings and rates them on a scale of 1 to 10. He desires to develop treatment plan according to average outcomes of frequency and intensity of mood swings. In this context, Jim is trying to _____ the variable "mood swing."

In the context of relationship between variables, what type of relationship is present between the variables when increases in the values of one variable are associated with decreases in the values of a second variable?