Exam 2: The Scientifi C Method

An operational definition of a construct is

Researchers have shown that teacher evaluations based on brief viewings of videotapes made by students who were not enrolled in a course correlate well with end-of-the-semester teacher evaluations made by students enrolled in the class.The researchers suggest that the relationship occurs because people are attuned to pick up information about a person's affect quickly because this information is adaptive.Based on the correlational evidence alone,the researchers' explanation for their findings can best be considered a

The main difference between physical measurement and psychological measurement is that physical measurement

Which of the following is not one of the conditions for making a causal inference?

Research has indicated that amount of undergraduate research activity is a predictor of later success in the profession of psychology.For this prediction to be possible,undergraduate research activity and later success must be

Which of the following is a characteristic of the scientific method?

The nomothetic approach in psychology (or in any science)is intended to establish broad generalizations and universal "laws." When using the nomothetic approach researchers are likely to make

The primary means that scientists use to establish control in their observations is to

If you describe that a small rodent "chewed" an index card and "ate" a cookie when what you observed in these two situations was essentially the same,your report likely includes

One disadvantage that results from the use of operational definitions is that

Explain how an experiment is used to understand the cause of a phenomenon by describing the three conditions for causal inference an experiment meets.

A student has carefully selected the clock she will use to time the presentation of materials in her experiment.She wants to be sure that she will be able to measure the times to within a hundredth of a second rather than a tenth of a second.Which characteristic of the instrument is the student trying to ensure?

What characteristic distinguishes scientific hypotheses from casual,everyday hypotheses?

Distinguish between the accuracy of a measuring instrument and the validity of the measurement resulting from the use of the instrument.

The testable,tentative explanations scientists use to explain events are called

A correlational study is uniquely useful for meeting which of the following goals of the scientific method?

The widespread application of psychological principles in our everyday life is possible because of _________ in the past.

Researchers are more likely to achieve reliable observations when

When constructing and evaluating a theory,scientists follow a guideline that places a premium on identifying the simplest of alternative explanations of a phenomenon.This guideline is called the

When research consists of verbal summaries of "naturally occurring,ordinary events in natural settings" the research is