Psyc 212 Review Questions

Front 1

What are the benefits of having knowledge of research methods?

Back 1

A complete understanding of a topic requiresusing multiple methods

Front 2

Why is scientific skepticism useful in furthering our knowledge ofbehaviour?

Back 2

To know about the world isthat it provides an objective set of rules for gathering, evaluating, andreporting information.

Front 3

How does the scientific approach differ from other ways of gainingknowledge about behaviour?

Back 3

It is anopen system for us to refute and support.

Front 4

What is prediction? Give an Example.

Back 4

sometimes made in the form ofhypotheses, which are tentative, testable predictions concerning therelationships between or among variables.

Ex. Does eating a low-calorie diet make you live longer?

Front 5

What is Description? Give an example.

Back 5

refersto the procedures used to define, classify and categorize subjects and theirrelationships. Descriptions allow us to establish generalizations anduniversals.

Ex. aresearcher can describe the average member or the average performance of amember of the specific group being studied.

Front 6

What is determination of cause? Give an Example.

Back 6

Threethings must occur

- Covariationof cause and effect: when the cause is present, the event occurs; when thecause is not present the event does not occur

- Temporalprecedence: the cause precedes the effect

- Elimination ofalternative explanations: nothing other than a causal variable could beresponsible for the observed effect

Front 7

What is explanation of behaviour? Give an example.

Back 7

cause or causes of a phenomenon are identified

Ex. Eating a low-calorie diet makes you livelonger.

Front 8

How does basic research differ from applied research?

Back 8

Basic is acquiring knowledgeApplied is solving problems

Front 9

Discuss the three major ethical principles inbehavioural research, and how they are related to risks, benefits, deception,debriefing, informed consent and participant recruitment.

Front 10

How can researchers weigh the need to conduct research against the needfor ethical procedures?

Back 10

educational benefits, gaining new skill, ortreatment for psychological or medication problems

Front 11

How does informed consent address respect for persons?

Back 11

Potential participants are supplied with allthe information that may influence their choice to participate and allinformation about the potential costs and benefits of research

Front 12

What are the potential challenges involved in obtaining fully informedconsent?

Back 12

Providing too much information about a studycan invalidate the results or bias the sample

Front 13

What are the purposes of debriefing participants after deception?

Back 13

To deal with issues of deception, information,purposes and possible harmful effects

Front 14

What are some alternatives to deception?

Back 14

1. RolePlaying: The experimenter describes a situation to participants and then asksthem how they would respond to it

2. SimulationStudies: Simulation of a real world situation

3. HonestExperiments: : Only research design that does not try to misinform or hideinformation from participants; studies naturally occurring events, recruitpeople looking for specific information

Front 15

What is a research ethics board, and what does it do?

Back 15

reviews studies to ensure that it adheres tothe TCPS ethical standards

Front 16

What are the differences among “no risk”, “minimal risk” and “greaterthan minimal risk” research?

Back 16

- Exempt Research: research wherethere is no risk so no REB review is necessary. Only uses legally accessiblepublic information, involves public observation without interaction orintervention with anonymity or uses already collected anonymous data

- Minimal Risk Research: the risks ofharm to participants are no greater than risks encountered in daily life or inroutine physical or psychological tests

- Greater than minimal risk researchrequires review by the REB

Front 17

Summarize the ethical principles and procedures for research withanimals.

Back 17

· Replacement: replacing or avoidinguse of animals

· Reduction: minimizing the number ofanimals being used

· Refinement: modifying procedures tominimize pain and distress

Front 18

What constitutes fraud, what are some reasons for its occurrence, andwhy doesn’t it occur more frequently?

Back 18

fraud is the fabrication of data

fraud occurs when scientists find themselves injobs with extreme pressure to produce impressive results; they may have anexaggerated fear of failure & great need for success and admiration

Front 19

What activities do psychologists do that require upholding professionalethical standards?

Back 19

Using knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organizations and society. Respect and protect human and civil rights and the central importance of freedom of inquiry and expression

Front 20

What is a variable? List at least 5 examples of different variables.Specify at least two levels of each variable.

Back 20

any event,situation, behaviour or individual characteristic that can take more than onevalue (IV):Watching the cartoon alone vs. watching it with others

(DV):rating of how funny the cartoon was 


IV: studying in silence or withthe television on 


DV: marks on acomprehension test


IV: Teacher is told thatthe child’s parent is a university graduate, a high school graduate or had not finished highschool

DV: teacher’s rating ofthe child’s academic potential

IV: Receivingstress-management training or not

DV: Number of sick daystaken by workers

Front 21

What is an “operational definition” of a variable? Give at least twooperational definitions.

Back 21

definitionof the variable in terms of the operations or technique the researcher uses tomeasure or manipulate the variable

Front 22

What are the differences between the experimental method andnon-experimental method?

Back 22

Experimental Method: Involves direct manipulation and control ofvariables

Non-Experimental Methods: relationships are studied by observing orotherwise measuring the variable of interest

Front 23

Distinguish among positive linear, negative linear and curvilinearrelationships.

Back 23

Positive LinearRelationship: increases in the values of variable one are accompanied byincreases in the second variable

Negative LinearRelationship: increases in the value of one variable are accompanied bydecreases in the second variable

Curvilinear relationship: increasesin the values of one variable are also accompanied by both increases and decreasesin the second variable; the direction changes at least once

Norelationship: when there is no relationship the graph is just a flat line

Front 24

What is meant by the problem of the direction of cause and effect andthe third-variable problem?

Back 24

» It can be difficult to determine the direction ofcause and effect (for some it is bidirectional)

» Third Variable Problem: extraneous variables may becausing an observed relationship

» Third variable: any variable that is extraneous to thevariables being studied

Front 25

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

Back 25

IndependentVariable: the “cause”, manipulated, x-axis

DependentVariable: “effect”, measured, y-axis

Front 26

How do experimental control and random assignment influence theinterpretation of causation?

Back 26

ExperimentalControl: accomplished by treating participants in all groups in the experimentidentical except for the independent variable

Randomassignment: ensures that an extraneous variable is just as likely to affect theexperimental group as it is the control; applies to any other variable thatcannot be held constant

Front 27

Describe the three elements for inferring causation. Which ones areachieved by experimental methods? Non-experimental methods? How are theyachieved?

Back 27

- temporal precedence -- experimental method by manipulating the IV and seeing if it has an effect on the DV or non-experimentally by observing

- Covariation -- experimental method -- the experimental condition shows the effect and the control does not

- Eliminate plausible alternative explanations -- experimental method by random assignment and experimental control

Front 28

What are some reasons for using the non-experimental method to study therelationship between variables?

Back 28

- non-experimental methods can be less artificial

- Natural context

- some problems can't be studied because it isn't ethical to do so

- participant variables are non-experimental

- Can be used when you're only looking to describe behaviour

- Predictions about the future don't require cause and effect

Front 29

Distinguish between laboratory and field experiments

Back 29

FieldExperiment: the independent is manipulated in a natural setting

Laboratoryexperiment: the independent is manipulated in a controlled environment

Front 30

Howis the quality of an operational definition affected by low reliability and lowvalidity?

Back 30

Trying tostudy behaviours with unreliable measures is a waste of time; conclusions willbe meaningless, and results will not be able to be repeated. If something isvalid it is “true” and supported by evidence.

Front 31

Whatis meant by the reliability of a measure?

Back 31

theconsistency or stability of a measure of behaviour (tells us the amount oferror)

Front 32

Distinguishbetween true score and measurement error.

Back 32

True Score: person’sreal score on the variable

Measurement Error: the degree towhich a measurement deviates from the true score value

Front 33

Compareand contrast the three ways to determine the reliability of a measure. Whenwould a researcher use each kind of reliability?

Back 33

Convergent Validity:scores on the measure are related to other measures of the same or very similarconstructs

Discriminant Validity: scores on themeasure are not related to other measures that capture theoretically differentconstructs

PredictiveValidity: scores on the measure predict behaviour on a criterion measured inthe future ConcurrentValidity: scores on the measure are related to a criterion measured now (at thesame time)

Front 34

Discussthe concept of construct validity, including how a researcher builds anargument for it.

Back 34

Degree to which the operational value of a variable actuallyreflects the true theoretical meaning of the variable

Established using face, content, predictive, concurrent, convergent anddiscriminant validity

Front 35

Compareand contrast convergent and discriminant reliability, predictive and concurrentvalidity.

Back 35

Convergent Validity:scores on the measure are related to other measures of the same or very similarconstructs

Discriminant Validity: scores on themeasure are not related to other measures that capture theoretically differentconstructs

PredictiveValidity: scores on the measure predict behaviour on a criterion measured inthe future

ConcurrentValidity: scores on the measure are related to a criterion measured now (at thesame time)

Front 36

Whyisn’t face validity sufficient to establish the validity of a measure?

Back 36

Notsufficient to conclude that a measure has construct validity – appearance isnot a good measure of validity

Front 37

Whatis a reactive measure?

Back 37

A reactivemeasure tells what the person is like when he or she is aware of being observed

Front 38

Distinguishamong nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales.

Back 38

Nominal Scale: scale of measurement with two or more categories thathave no numerical (less than, greater than) properties

Ordinal Scales: themeasurement of categories form a rank order along a continuum

Interval Scale: Thedifference between the numbers on a scale is meaningful

Ratio Scales: a scale of measurementin which there is an absolute zero point, indicating an absence of the variablebeing measured. An implication is that ratios of numbers on the scale can beformed

Front 39

Contrastthe major differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches toresearch.

Back 39

Quantitative Approach (empirical): an approach to research that emphasizes scientific empiricism in design, data collection, and statistical analysis

Qualitative Approach: a set of approaches to research that emphasizes people’s lived experiences in their own words, and the researcher’s interpretation of those experiences, expressed in non-numerical terms

Front 40

Describehow a researcher taking either a qualitative or quantitative perspective mightuse naturalistic observation.

Back 40

Qualitative would use it to study behaviour in all types of social and organizational settings without a hypothesis in mind

Quantitative would use it to generate hypotheses for later experiments by observing, interviewing, examining archival info, etc..

Front 41

Whatis naturalistic observation?

Back 41

theresearcher makes observations in a particular natural setting (the field) overan extended period of time using a variety of information collecting techniques

Front 42

Howdoes a researcher collect data when conducting naturalistic observationresearch?

Back 42

Researchers immerse themselves in the situation

Front 43

Distinguishbetween participant and non-participant observation. Compare the pros and cons.

Back 43

Participant Observation: theresearcher assumes a role in the environment they are researching/observing

- Pro: may be able to experience the events the same as natural participants

- Con: may lose objectivity

Non-participant observation: the researcher does not assume a role in the environment

- Pro: easier to maintain objectivity

- Con: may miss out on aspects of the environment

Front 44

Distinguishbetween concealed and non-concealed observation. Compare the pros and cons.

Back 44

Concealed Observation: the researcher assumes a role in the environment but keeps the purpose of the research concealed

- Pro: less reactive because people don't know they're being studied

- Con: can stretch ethics

Non-concealed: the researcher assumes a role in the environment and tells people the purpose of the research

- Pro: ethically sound

- Con: reactivity

Front 45

Whatis systematic observation?

Back 45

thecareful observation of one or more specific behaviours in a particular setting(usually contrived by the researcher)

Front 46

Whyare the data from systematic observation primarily quantitative?

Back 46

- researcher is interested in only a few behaviours

- prior hypothesis

- observations are quantifiable

Front 47

Whatis a coding system?

Back 47

aset of rules used to categorize and summarize observations

Front 48

Whatare some important considerations when developing a coding system?

Back 48

- should be simple

- whether you are coding live behaviours

- length of time they'll be observing for

Front 49

Whatis a case study?

Back 49

a descriptive account of thebehaviour, past history and other relevant factors concerning a specificindividual

Front 50

Whenare case studies used?

Back 50

Thistype of research is usually done when an individual possesses a particularlyrare, unusual or noteworthy condition

Front 51

Whatis a psychobiography?

Back 51

atype of case study in which a researcher applies psychological theory toexplain the life of an individual

Front 52

Whatis archival research?

Back 52

usingpreviously compiled information to answer research questions

Front 53

Whatare the major sources of archival data?

Back 53

1. Writtenrecords

2. Masscommunications

3. Surveyarchives

4. Statisticalrecords

Front 54

Whatis content analysis?

Back 54

systematicanalysis of existing documents; used when coding systems are used to quantifyinformation in archival documents