Exam 2: Research Methods

Hopefully, the amount of time a student spends studying would show a(n)________ correlation with the student's grades.

Describe how the use of research protects us from incorrectly applying heuristics and cognitive biases.

The only research design that allows one to make cause-effect inferences is the ________ design.

A major determinant of statistical significance is the

The NHMRC has developed the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes. At the heart of the code are the three Rs of ethical animal experimentation:

Professor Todd decides to test her hypothesis that eating chocolate prior to exams increases students' test scores. She randomly assigns students to two groups at the beginning of the semester. One group receives a bar of chocolate before each test, while the other group receives another type of candy. She compares their scores at the end of the year, and finds that the students who ate the chocolate scored an average of ten points higher on their exams. What is a fair conclusion that can be drawn from this experiment?

Dr Fortner is discussing cognitive psychology with his introductory psychology class and says that we act as cognitive misers when making judgements about others or making decisions. What does Dr Fortner mean with this statement?

Jason was conducting an evaluation of a restaurant waitress. He sat at the table with a list of things to observe in front of him, and the waitress noticed that he was assessing her every move. He noticed that she began acting more professionally around him, was friendlier, and gave him extra attention. Why would Jason have been better off using naturalistic observation for this assessment?

The ability to state that differences in the conditions of the independent variable led to the observed differences in the dependent variable is lessened when a(n)________ variable is present in one's research design.

If there is no discernible relationship between scores on students' homework assignments and their exam scores in an introductory psychology class, we would say that a(n)________ correlation exists.

The major advantage of a correlational design over a naturalistic observation or a case study design is that a correlational design allows us to ________.

Alex, a first-year student at university, wants to know how many of her dorm mates have tried marijuana, so she decides to survey everyone on her floor. Despite rumours to the contrary, the results suggest that fewer than 10 per cent of her classmates have tried the drug. What is the most likely explanation for her findings?

According to the authors, many superstitious behaviours result from ________.

A key aspect of an experiment that is missing in other research designs is

A researcher wishes to generalise his findings beyond the people at the organisation he is studying in Queensland. He wants to attempt to show that the findings apply to all people who work in similar types of organisation throughout Australia. He should use ________ to analyse his data.

Amanda asks a group of research participants to estimate the number of deaths each year due to homicide and diabetes. She finds that higher numbers report homicide, because they are more vivid examples, though over twice as many die from complications related to diabetes. This is one example of the dangers of the ________ in our judgements and decision making.

When judging people, we often focus on how closely they fit with our stereotypes of particular groups. According to Kahneman, this is an example of ________ thinking.

Professor Todd decides to test her hypothesis that eating chocolate prior to exams increases students' test scores. She randomly assigns students to two groups at the beginning of the semester. One group receives a bar of chocolate before each test, while the other group receives another type of candy. She compares their scores at the end of the year, and finds that the students who ate the chocolate scored an average of ten points higher on their exams. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

A group of students watch a videotape of two managers interacting with their subordinates at a customer service desk in a department store. Students see one of the managers act in a friendly and respectful manner towards all the employees. The other manager is less friendly but still respectful towards the employees. What concept would explain the more positive ratings on other dimensions for the friendly manager compared with the less friendly manager?

The variable that an experimenter assesses or measures is called the