Question 1

The halo effect is the tendency to believe that physically attractive people have a host of other positive qualities,such as a high level of intelligence or a good personality.When asked to guess what the halo effect is before learning about it,many mistakenly assume that the reverse is true (that attractive people are seen as less smart or less kind).Once they learn about the effect,however,many say that it is no surprise and that they knew it all along.This reflects

Accepted Answer

A)   self-selection.
B)   convenience sampling.
C)   the hindsight bias.
D)   a false memory bias. C

Question 2

In an experiment,a statistically significant result depends the most on which two factors?

Accepted Answer

A)   the size of the difference between groups and the validity of the experiment
B)   the size of the difference between groups and the number of cases on which it is based
C)   the validity of the experiment and the number of cases on which it is based
D)   the validity of the experiment and the number of dependent variables the study used B

Question 3

Which of the following is the best example of a correlational research study?

Accepted Answer

A)   Researchers assigned participants to do either a stressful task or an easy task and then measured their blood pressure.
B)   Researchers compared the blood pressure of participants that were trained to reduce stress by meditating and participants that were trained to reduce stress by drawing.
C)   Researchers measured the stress levels in participants that were given a blood pressure drug and participants that were given a placebo drug.
D)   Researchers measured the association between participants' blood pressures and their degrees of chronic stress. D

Question 4

A social psychologist finds a relationship between socioeconomic status and relationship satisfaction in married couples.This study most likely describes which type of research method?

Accepted Answer

A)   observational
B)   archival
C)   experimental
D)   correlational

Question 5

Dr.Samanta is interested in how personality changes over adolescence.She enrolls a sample of 10-year-olds and follows them through age 17.This kind of study is known as a(n)________ study.

Accepted Answer

A)   observational
B)   longitudinal
C)   cross-sectional
D)   mixed design

Question 6

Which of the following indicates the strongest relationship between variables?

Accepted Answer

A)   -0.9
B)   +0.8
C)   -0.6
D)   -0.2

Question 7

If a social psychology experiment were conducted that had very little relation to real-life experiences or situations,this experiment would be low in

Accepted Answer

A)   external validity.
B)   internal validity.
C)   reliability.
D)   statistical significance.

Question 8

________ is the tendency to believe you could have predicted an outcome accurately,when in reality you probably could not have.

Accepted Answer

A)   The prediction bias
B)   The hindsight bias
C)   External validity
D)   Internal validity

Question 9

Which of the following correlations indicates the weakest relationship between two variables?

Accepted Answer

A)   -0.2
B)   0.8
C)   -0.6
D)   0.1

Question 10

Describe the necessary components of a true experiment.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the necessary components of a true...

Question 11

Why is random sampling so important to conducting research in social psychology? What are some of the potential pitfalls of not having a random sample?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is random sampling so important to...

Question 12

Which of the following scatterplot graphs displays the strongest relationship between two variables?

Accepted Answer

A)   
B)   
C)   
D)

Question 13

What are the benefits of conducting a debriefing after the conclusion of a study,for both the investigator and the participant?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the benefits of conducting a...

Question 14

Debriefing participants after an experiment is completed is always an important step in the experimental procedure.However,debriefing is particularly important when

Accepted Answer

A)   deception is used.
B)   an institutional review board has not reviewed the study.
C)   a monetary reward is given.
D)   informed consent has not been obtained.

Question 15

Which of the following is a limitation of correlational research?

Accepted Answer

A)   We can never be sure about causality.
B)   The strength of the relationship cannot be inferred.
C)   Independent variables can be manipulated.
D)   There may be a difference across conditions besides the independent variable.

Question 16

What is the goal of correlational research? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this type of research?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the goal of correlational research?...

Question 17

Which of the following reflects a theory rather than a hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A)   Homicides in response to insult are more common in the American South than in the North.
B)   Aggressive responses to threats to the home and family are endorsed at higher rates in the American South than in the North.
C)   Southern men show larger increases in testosterone after an insult than Northern men.
D)   The American South is more of a culture of honor than the North.

Question 18

Which of the following best describes a research study that randomly assigns people to different conditions and carefully controls all of the other circumstances so that they will be the same across the two conditions?

Accepted Answer

A)   experiment
B)   correlation
C)   survey
D)   observation

Question 19

What is one of the most important differences between correlational and experimental research designs?

Accepted Answer

A)   Experiments measure the degree of the relationship between two variables.
B)   Correlations only examine one variable.
C)   Experiments use random assignment.
D)   It is impossible to determine cause by doing an experiment.

Question 20

Imagine that a researcher finds a statistically significant positive correlation between how much time couples spend doing fun things together each week and their relationship satisfaction.Although the researcher concludes that spending more time doing fun things together boosts relationship satisfaction,there are many alternative explanations for these correlational results.Which of the following reflects the third-variable problem?

Accepted Answer

A)   Couples who are satisfied in their relationships are more eager to spend time doing fun things together.
B)   Having greater financial resources allows couples to do more fun things together and enhances relationship satisfaction (e.g., by removing financial stress or by supporting therapy) .
C)   The sample size in the study was too small, so the statistically significant correlation may have been a fluke.
D)   The researchers evaluated time doing fun things together with a self-report question and therefore do not know whether this measure accurately reflects how they spent their time.

Exam 2: The Methods of Social Psychology