Question 1

Sarah, a graduate student in psychology, just heard about a five-year-old child who has already learned calculus. She is thinking about doing an in-depth study of the child for her dissertation. Sarah is considering which research method?

Accepted Answer

A) Naturalistic observation 
B) Experiment 
C) Independent study 
D) Case study

Question 2

Professor Wagner is explaining to his subjects the purpose behind the experiment they just participated in, along with a general description of the results. He is engaging in what aspect of a research study?

Accepted Answer

A) Debriefing 
B) Informed consent 
C) Ethical considerations 
D) Experimenter bias

Question 3

Eila is participating in a psychological experiment for one of the graduate students at her university. She is pretty confident that she knows the true intent of the study and is trying to answer the questions accordingly. A common pitfall in experiments, Eila is falling prey to

Accepted Answer

A) intentionality. 
B) the Rosenthal effect. 
C) observer bias. 
D) demand characteristics.

Question 4

A mental shortcut that helps us to streamline our thinking and make sense of our world is called a

Accepted Answer

A) theory. 
B) heuristic. 
C) schema. 
D) mental reference.

Question 5

________ studies allow us to make predictions about one variable based on the knowledge of another.

Accepted Answer

A) Case 
B) Experimental 
C) Natural 
D) Correlational

Question 6

How does conducting a double-blind study attempt to remedy the experimenter expectancy effect?

Accepted Answer

A) The experimenter does not know but the participant does know what condition the participant is assigned to. 
B) The experimenter and the participant both know what condition the participant is assigned to. 
C) The experimenter knows but the participant does not know what condition the participant is assigned to. 
D) Neither the experimenter nor the participant knows what condition the participant is assigned to.

Question 7

The "file drawer problem" refers to when

Accepted Answer

A) researchers refuse to share their data with other researchers. 
B) too many studies on the same subject are published. 
C) an author writes too many articles on the same topic. 
D) studies with negative outcomes are not published.

Question 8

The application of mathematics to describe and analyse data is known as

Accepted Answer

A) dispersion. 
B) data reduction. 
C) statistics. 
D) psychometrics

Question 9

If a researcher investigated the topic of aggression by simply recording instances of aggression on a school playground, in a place of business, in a nightclub, and in many other everyday settings, he or she would be using the research design of ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If a researcher investigated the topic of...

Question 10

What is the authors' position on the use of animal research in psychology?

Accepted Answer

A) Animal research provides important insights but also comes with costs in terms of death and suffering of these subjects. 
B) All animal research must be ended as soon as is possible. 
C) It is more desirable to harm animals than to harm humans in the research process. 
D) Results from animal research cannot inform us of how the same phenomenon occurs with humans.

Question 11

Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest degree of relation between two variables?

Accepted Answer

A) +0.19 
B) −0.25 
C) +0.43 
D) −0.47

Question 12

Many advertising campaigns rely on statistics as a means to persuade people towards their point of view-be it to buy a new product, elect a given politician, or to increase market dominance. Why should consumers be wary of statistics used in advertising campaigns?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Many advertising campaigns rely on statistics as...

Question 13

A major limitation in reading about the results of psychological research in the newspaper is that

Accepted Answer

A) reporters provide too much detailed information about the research study that the general public cannot comprehend in their articles. 
B) reporters are so well trained to discuss research that they cannot easily communicate about it with the average lay person. 
C) reporters create controversy where none exists by treating scientific evidence and dissenter's biased opinions as equally compelling. 
D) reporters do not know how to identify experts to interview for many of their stories and end up unintentionally misleading the public.

Question 14

________ is a phenomenon in which researchers' hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study.

Accepted Answer

A) Durability bias 
B) Experimenter expectancy effect 
C) Availability heuristic 
D) Confounding variable

Question 15

A medical doctor believes that the presence of aromatherapy will reduce the anxiety of first-time mothers-to-be during labour and will increase their reported satisfaction with their care at his hospital. He randomly assigns mothers to give birth in a room either with or without aromatherapy. What is the independent variable in this example?

Accepted Answer

A) Anxiety level during labour 
B) Number of previous birthing experiences 
C) Room environment 
D) Satisfaction with hospital care

Question 16

According to your authors, laboratory research generalises

Accepted Answer

A) poorly from college undergraduates to other groups of people in other settings. 
B) poorly from experimental designs in the laboratory but well from correlational or naturalistic observation designs. 
C) well from laboratory settings to the real world, but only when undergraduates are not used as participants. 
D) well from laboratory settings to the real world and well from undergraduates to the general population.

Question 17

Dr Stanhope is trying to determine which type of correlation is represented on his scatterplot, in which nearly all of his data are clustered along a diagonal line running from higher numbers on the left down to lower numbers on the right. Which type of correlation is represented by this pattern?

Accepted Answer

A) Positive 
B) Zero 
C) Negative 
D) We need more information to draw a conclusion.

Question 18

Students of psychology are often frustrated because there are very few, if any, clear-cut answers to many of their questions. What is the primary limiting factor in obtaining first-hand knowledge of questions such as the long-term effects of child abuse or the effects of smoking marijuana on a pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

A) Most people in the general public are not concerned with these issues. 
B) It is difficult to find people who are victims of abuse or mothers who smoke marijuana during pregnancy. 
C) Ethical guidelines in research prevent psychologists from carrying out many of these studies. 
D) Institutional review boards encourage participation in studies that may be harmful to participants either mentally or physically.

Question 19

The most important factor to ensure that one's results apply to other people in other settings is to use

Accepted Answer

A) extremely large sample sizes. 
B) extremely small sample sizes. 
C) random assignment. 
D) random selection.

Question 20

The study of rare or unusual phenomena is most easily done through the use of the ________ design.

Accepted Answer

A) case study 
B) correlational 
C) experimental 
D) observational

Exam 2: Research Methods