Research Methods Exam 2

Front 1

de Abreu, Gathercole, and Martin (2011) found that the correlation of non-word repetition and digit recall in a memory was r = .59. Based on Cohen’s (1992) guidelines, how would you describe this effect size?

Back 1

large

FEEDBACK: TABLE 8.4 — According to the table, an r of approximately 0.50 is considered to have a large or strong effect size.

Front 2

Which type of validity is typically not relevant to association claims?

Back 2

internal

FEEDBACK: Interrogating Association Claims — Internal validity is typically not relevant to association claims because both variables are being measured, and neither is being manipulated.

Front 3

There is a strong positive association between years of education and income. The mean income for American adults in 2005 was $32,000 and the average number of years of education was 12. Mr. Lopez has 16 years of education. What would you predict about his income?

Back 3

His income is probably higher than $32,000.

FEEDBACK: Larger Effect Sizes Give More Accurate Predictions — Since Mr. Lopez has more schooling than average, based on the positive association you would expect his income to be higher than average.

Front 4

What other information, in addition to effect size, must you know in order to determine if a correlation is statistically significant?

Back 4

sample size

FEEDBACK: Effect Size, Sample Size, and Significance — Larger samples are less easily affected by chance so a small correlation can be significant if the sample size is large.

Front 5

Nesta is making a scatterplot of the digit spans (how many numbers you can remember and repeat back) for his psychology class, with the spans for digits the students hear on one axis and the span for digits the students read on the other. The association is strong, but he notices that one student has a visual digit span that is twice as long as anyone else. What statistical validity question is he raising?

Back 5

Could outliers be affecting the relationship?

FEEDBACK: Statistical Validity Question 3: Could Outliers Be Affecting the Association? — One extreme score can have a strong effect on the correlation coefficient, r.

Front 6

If the relationship between two variables changes depending on the level of another variable, what is this other variable called?

Back 6

a moderator

FEEDBACK: Moderating Variables — In association research, when the relationship between two variables changes depending on the level of a third variable, the third variable is called a moderator. Gender moderates the relationship between extroversion and group conversations in Table 8.6.

Front 7

Vida is studying the connection between school grades and time spent using social media. She finds a strong correlation, showing the students with lower grades spend more time using social media. She decides that before she can claim that increased use of social media causes grades to drop she must make sure that the social media came before the low grades. What criterion of causality is she concerned with?

Back 7

temporal precedence

FEEDBACK: Internal Validity: Can We Make a Causal Inference from an Association? — To make a causal claim, she needs to establish that the increased social media use preceded the low grades.

Front 8

When is an outlier most likely to be problematic?

Back 8

when the sample size is small and the outlier is extreme on both variables

FEEDBACK: Statistical Validity Question 3: Could Outliers Be Affecting the Association? — Outliers are most problematic when the sample size is small and the outlier is extreme on both variables.

Front 9

Professor Schwartz does a study that examines the relationship between time spent at a shopping mall and happiness. She finds that for women, the more time in the mall is associated with higher levels of happiness. She finds that for men, the more time in the mall is associated with lower levels of happiness. What is the moderator in this relationship?

Back 9

gender

FEEDBACK: Moderating Variables — When the relationship between two variables (time in the mall and happiness) depends on the level of a third variable (gender), that variable is a moderator of the relationship.

Front 10

Professor Fofana wonders if there is an association between students' grades and whether they complete extra credit in his classes. He makes a scatterplot, with the number of extra credit points earned on the x-axis and the numerical grade in his course without extra credit on the y-axis. He finds that r = 0.28. What does this correlation tell him about which students take advantage of the extra credit option?

Back 10

Students with higher grades are more likely than students with lower grades to do extra credit work.

FEEDBACK: Introducing Bivariate Correlations — This association is positive, meaning that the cloud of points in the scatterplot would slope upward.

Front 11

Professor Fofana wonders if there is an association between students' grades and whether they complete extra credit in his classes. He makes a scatterplot, with the number of extra credit points earned on the x-axis and the numerical grade in his course without extra credit on the y-axis. He finds that r = 0.28. In addition to this correlation coefficient, what other information would Professor Fofana need to determine if this result is statistically significant?

Back 11

the sample size

FEEDBACK: Effect Size, Sample Size, and Significance — The r value is the effect size; in addition to it, to find significance you need the sample size.

Front 12

Dr. Thompson researches gang-related crime in Chicago. She notices that more graffiti appears when there are more ice cream trucks in town. She does a study that measures the frequency of new graffiti being reported and ice cream truck sales for each week over a year. She finds a positive association between ice cream truck sales and graffiti and concludes that the ice cream trucks are encouraging graffiti. Her colleague, Dr. Richardson, points out that both ice cream sales and graffiti might be influenced by rising temperatures during the summer. What kind of problem has Dr. Richardson identified?

Back 12

a third variable problem

FEEDBACK: More on Internal Validity: When Is That Potential Third Variable a Problem? — The changing temperature throughout the year is responsible for both the increase in ice cream truck sales and the increase in graffiti. The third variable of temperature is responsible for the relationship between the two variables that Dr. Thompson studied.

Front 13

Mischel (1972) studied delay of gratification in preschoolers: Children were offered a special reward if they could wait or a less attractive treat if they chose not to wait. A follow-up study was done years later, looking at the same children as adolescents. The researchers found an association between the waiting times of the preschoolers and parents' reports of the same children's behaviors as adolescents. What is a question that one could ask to assess the construct validity of this association?

Back 13

How well was delay of gratification measured?

FEEDBACK: Construct Validity: How Well Was Each Variable Measured? — Table 8.5 lists the validity questions, including convergent validity, or how well the results of two tests correlate with each other.

Front 14

Mischel (1972) studied delay of gratification in preschoolers: Children were offered a special reward if they could wait or a less attractive treat if they chose not to wait. A follow-up study was done years later, looking at the same children as adolescents. The researchers found an association between the waiting times of the preschoolers and parents' reports of the same children's behaviors as adolescents. Overall, a positive relation between waiting time as a preschooler and self-control in adolescence emerged. Can a causal relationship be inferred?

Back 14

No, because internal validity was not established.

FEEDBACK: Internal Validity: Can We Make a Causal Inference from an Association? — There was not a manipulated variable so there may have been other alternative explanations for the results.

Front 15

Dr. Stevens wants to examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and depression. He selects a sample of American athletes who are currently training for the summer Olympic Games as his research subjects. Dr. Stevens finds no relationship between BMI and depression. What is one problem with his research design that could have kept him from finding a relationship between those variables?

Back 15

There is a restriction of range problem.

FEEDBACK: Statistical Validity Question 4: Is There Restriction of Range? — Olympic athletes generally have low BMIs, so Dr. Stevens may not be finding a relationship between BMI and depression because there is a restriction of range of the BMI variable.

Front 16

What type of research design involves measuring the same variables, for the same people, across different points in time?

Back 16

longitudinal

FEEDBACK: Establishing Temporal Precedence with Longitudinal Designs — In longitudinal designs, the same variables are studied in the same people across time

Front 17

Dr. Russell did a study that found that praise provided by supervisors is associated with higher levels of work productivity only because more motivated employees are praised more often, and highly motivated people are more productive. In her findings, employee motivation is a ___________ in the relationship between praise from supervisors and work productivity.

Back 17

confounding third variable

FEEDBACK: Mediators vs. Third Variables — In a third-variable explanation, the third variable (employee motivation) is external to the two variables in the original bivariate correlation (praise from supervisors and work productivity).

Front 18

Iva is studying whether students gain weight during their first year of college. She collects weights from all the incoming freshmen in the fall, then collects weights from them again at the end of the spring term. What is the term for the correlation she finds when she compares the fall and spring weights of the students?

Back 18

autocorrelations

FEEDBACK: Autocorrelations — This is a correlation of one variable with itself, measured on two different occasions or an autocorrelation.

Front 19

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that job satisfaction at the first time point is correlated with job satisfaction at the second time. What type of correlation is this?

Back 19

autocorrelations

FEEDBACK: Autocorrelations — Each of these is a correlation of a variable with the same variable measured at two different times.

Front 20

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that home life satisfaction measured at the first time point is strongly correlated with job satisfaction measured at the second time point. What type of correlation is this?

Back 20

cross-lag

FEEDBACK: Cross-Lag Correlations — When one variable measured at time one correlates with another variable measured at time two, there is a cross-lag correlation.

Front 21

Professor Horvat designs a study to assess the work satisfaction and home life satisfaction of a group of graduate students. She administers the same measures of work and home life satisfaction on two occasions, one year apart. She finds that home life satisfaction measured at the first time point is strongly correlated with job satisfaction at the second time point, but there is no correlation between job satisfaction measured at the first time point and home life satisfaction measured at the second time point. Which of the three criteria for causation does Professor Horvat's study fulfill?

Back 21

covariance and temporal precedence

FEEDBACK: Longitudinal Studies and the Three Criteria for Causation — Because the path from home satisfaction to job satisfaction is stronger than the path from job satisfaction to home satisfaction, the experimenter is closer to determining which precedes the other.

Front 22

How do multiple-regression designs help address internal validity?

Back 22

by ruling out third variables

FEEDBACK: Regression Results Indicate If a Third Variable Affects the Relationship — By measuring possible third variables and using multiple-regression analysis, these third variables can be eliminated as explanations for the relationship between the key variables.

Front 23

When using multiple regression, what is the term for the variable that the researcher is most interested in explaining or predicting?

Back 23

criterion

FEEDBACK: Criterion Variables and Predictor Variables — Multiple regression is used to study three or more variables and the variable chosen as one that researchers want to understand is called the criterion variable.

Front 24

Dr. Aarons does a study that finds that having a cognitively demanding job is associated with cognitive benefits in later years, but only among men, not among women. In her findings, gender is a _________ in the relationship between having a cognitively demanding job and cognitive benefits later in life.

Back 24

moderator

FEEDBACK: Mediators vs. Moderators — Moderating variables (gender) provide information about when or under what conditions two other variables (cognitively demanding jobs and cognitive benefits later in life) are related.

Front 25

A multiple-regression analysis is run to examine third variables as a follow-up to the study indicating that boys with unusual names are more likely to commit crimes. Unusual names, ethnic backgrounds, and geographical regions are all included as predictor variables. Even after controlling for all of these variables, unusual names still predict criminal activity. Why doesn’t this study establish causation?

Back 25

There may be some other third variable.

FEEDBACK: Regression Does Not Establish Causation — Multiple regression controls for any third variable the researcher measures in the study, but it can’t control for unmeasured variables.

Front 26

Dr. Samuels does a study that finds that children with unusual names are more likely to have delinquency records as adolescents because they got teased more, and the teasing makes them act out. He found that teasing is a ________ in the relationship between having an unusual name and adolescent delinquency.

Back 26

mediator

FEEDBACK: Mediation — A mediator (teasing) explains why there is a relationship between two other variables (having an unusual name and adolescent delinquency).

Front 27

When a third variable explains the relationship between two other variables, that kind of a third variable is called a:

Back 27

mediator.

FEEDBACK: Mediators vs. Moderators — Mediators address the question of why two other variables are related.

Front 28

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. What is the criterion variable?

Back 28

foreign language achievement

Front 29

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. They found that foreign language anxiety was â =-0.39 and academic achievement was â = 0.29. What does this mean?

Back 29

Foreign language anxiety has a bigger effect than academic achievement does on foreign language achievement.

Front 30

Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999) examined foreign language anxiety as a predictor of foreign language achievement. They performed a multiple-regression analysis and included other predictor variables including academic achievement, perceived scholastic competence, and perceived self-worth. The beta for the predictor variable of perceived scholastic competence was positive and statistically significant. Why couldn’t you say that perceived scholastic competence improves foreign language achievement?

Back 30

The temporal precedence is not established and there may be another variable that accounts for the relationship.

FEEDBACK: Regression Does Not Establish Causation — While perceived scholastic competence clearly is related to foreign language achievement, it isn’t clear whether the perceived competence preceded foreign language achievement or if there is another variable besides foreign language anxiety, academic achievement, and perceived self-worth involved.

Front 31

Dr. Keller wants to test the effect of a new anti-anxiety medication. He recruits a group of anxious patients and randomly assigns them to two groups. One group will receive his new medication and the other will receive a sugar pill. What is the second group called?

Back 31

placebo group

FEEDBACK: Control Groups, Treatment Groups, and Comparison Groups — When the control group is exposed to an inert treatment such as a sugar pill, it is called a placebo group.

Front 32

What is the name for a variable that the experimenter holds constant on purpose?

Back 32

control variable

FEEDBACK: Control Variables — A variable that could be a nuisance variable is held constant and called a control variable.

Front 33

Participants in a research study are given a list of words to study for 3 minutes and then, following a delay, are asked to recall the list. The length of the delay is manipulated between participants to be either 2 minutes, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes. Since different groups need different amounts of time, the first 25 participants who arrive are assigned to the 10-minute group, the next 25 are assigned to the 5-minute group, and the final 25 are assigned to the 2-minute group. What confound does this create?

Back 33

selection effect

FEEDBACK: Selection Effects — The participants that arrive first may be systematically different from the later arrivals, so the differences between group performances may result from this rather than the independent variable.

Front 34

Kathryn wants to control for intelligence in her study. She has a list of all of the participants for her study and their IQ scores. She sorts the list of participants according to their IQ scores and then forms groups making sure that the groups are balanced in terms of IQ scores. Finally, she randomly assigns each group to one of the conditions of her study. What kind of design is Kathryn using?

Back 34

matched-groups

FEEDBACK: Matched-Groups Designs Also Take Care of Selection Effects — This is used to make sure that no one group has a disproportionate number of participants with a particular level of one trait.

Front 35

What design is an experiment in which each participant is randomly assigned to one level of the independent variable and then tested on the dependent variable once?

Back 35

posttest only

FEEDBACK: Posttest-Only Design — The participants are randomly assigned to the groups and only a posttest is administered.

Front 36

Which of the following does NOT need to be considered as an alternative explanation of the results in a within-groups design experiment? order effects selection effects practice effects carryover effects

Back 36

selection effects

FEEDBACK: Covariance, Temporal Precedence, and Internal Validity in Within-Groups Designs — Selection effects only apply to independent-groups designs.

Front 37

Eric designs a study to examine drink preferences of university freshmen. He is planning to have all of the freshmen who participate in his study drink a cup of coffee then rate their enjoyment of the coffee, then drink a cup of tea and rate their enjoyment of the tea, and finally drink a cup of milk and rate their enjoyment of the milk. Eric tells Theresa about the plans for his study and she says she is concerned that he could have a problem with order effect in his study. How can Eric fix this problem?

Back 37

counterbalancing

FEEDBACK: Avoiding Order Effects by Counterbalancing — Eric could avoid an order effect by having participants consume and rate the drinks in varying orders.

Front 38

In psychology lab, Tetiana is conducting an experiment on depth perception using the Howard-Dolman box. Inside the box are two vertical rods and a horizontal ruler. The participant manipulates the rods until they appear to be aligned at the same distance away, then the experimenter measures how far out of alignment they are. There are three conditions: left eye only, right eye only, and both eyes. Tetiana is using a repeated-measures design. What is the independent variable in this experiment?

Back 38

eye/eyes used

FEEDBACK: Independent and Dependent Variables — Tetiana is manipulating whether participants use their left eyes, right eyes, or both eyes.

Front 39

In psychology lab, Tetiana is conducting an experiment on depth perception using the Howard-Dolman box. Inside the box are two vertical rods and a horizontal ruler. The participant manipulates the rods until they appear to be aligned at the same distance away, then the experimenter measures how far out of alignment they are. There are three conditions: left eye only, right eye only, and both eyes. Tetiana is using a repeated-measures design. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

Back 39

distance out of alignment of the rods

FEEDBACK: Independent and Dependent Variables — Tetiana is measuring how far out of alignment the rods are, making that the dependent variable.

Front 40

In psychology lab, Tetiana is conducting an experiment on depth perception using the Howard-Dolman box. Inside the box are two vertical rods and a horizontal ruler. The participant manipulates the rods until they appear to be aligned at the same distance away, then the experimenter measures how far out of alignment they are. There are three conditions: left eye only, right eye only, and both eyes. Tetiana is using a repeated-measures design. She finds that d = 1.53. What effect size is this?

Back 40

strong

FEEDBACK: How Large is the Effect? — Her findings give a d well above 0.80, so the effect size is strong.

Front 41

In psychology lab, Tetiana is conducting an experiment on depth perception using the Howard-Dolman box. Inside the box are two vertical rods and a horizontal ruler. The participant manipulates the rods until they appear to be aligned at the same distance away, then the experimenter measures how far out of alignment they are. There are three conditions: left eye only, right eye only, and both eyes. Tetiana is using a repeated-measures design. How is the independent variable being manipulated in Tetiana's design?

Back 41

within-groups

FEEDBACK: Posttest-Only Designs — Tetiana is having each participant complete each of the conditions, so it is a within-groups study.

Front 42

In a business class experiment on the endowment effect, Theo is comparing the value of a coffee mug to someone who owns it and is selling it to someone who is buying it. The endowment effect describes the tendency of sellers to value something they own more than buyers do. Participants are randomly assigned to be buyers or sellers of a mug with their first name on it. Buyers select the maximum price they would pay for the mug. Sellers select the minimum price they would accept for the mug. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

Back 42

value selected for the mug

FEEDBACK: Independent and Dependent Variables — The value of the mug is the measured variable.

Front 43

In a business class experiment on the endowment effect, Theo is comparing the value of a coffee mug to someone who owns it and is selling it to someone who is buying it. The endowment effect describes the tendency of sellers to value something they own more than buyers do. Participants are randomly assigned to be buyers or sellers of a mug with their first name on it. Buyers select the maximum price they would pay for the mug. Sellers select the minimum price they would accept for the mug. How does Theo control for selection effects?

Back 43

by using random assignment of participants

FEEDBACK: Selection Effects — Random assignment avoids selection effects since each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to either condition.

Front 44

__________ is a simple study that uses a separate group of participants that is generally completed before conducting the study of primary interest in order to confirm the effectiveness of a manipulation.

Back 44

A pilot study

Front 45

___ is an extra dependent variable that can be used to help researchers quantify how well an experimental manipulation worked.

Back 45

A manipulation check

FEDBACK: Manipulation Checks and Pilot Studies — Manipulation checks help researchers measure how well their manipulation worked.

Front 46

Which of the following is NOT one of the three most common threats to internal validity?

Back 46

floor effects

FEEDBACK: Threats to Internal Validity: Did the Independent Variable Really Cause the Difference? — Floor effects are a special case of weak manipulations and insensitive measures, not one of the three most common threats.

Front 47

Emma is planning an experiment to examine whether reading to children increases their vocabulary size. She plans to measure the vocabulary size of a group of 18-month-olds, read to them three times a week for three months, then measure their vocabulary size again. How could Emma change the design of the study to remove a major threat to internal validity?

Back 47

She could add a comparison group.

FEEDACK: Maturation Threats to Internal Validity — Adding a comparison group would allow her to show that her intervention had an effect above and beyond the normal effects of maturation.

Front 48

A city in California has asked Professor Rodriguez to conduct an experiment on earthquake preparedness. Professor Rodriguez will assess the preparedness of a random sample of residents in the city and the city will mail out their annual brochure on earthquake safety. Then, two weeks later, he will again assess the preparedness of those residents. Right after the brochures are mailed, a large earthquake is reported in Japan. What threat to internal validity does this pose? selection

Back 48

history

FEEDBACK: History Threats to Internal Validity — The earthquake is an external or "historical" event that occurs to everyone in the study, therefore the effect of the brochure cannot be assessed.

Front 49

Which threat to internal validity occurs when there is a greater systematic loss of participants in one condition than the other condition?

Back 49

attrition

FEEDBACK: Attrition Threats to Internal Validity — Attrition is not a threat if it occurs uniformly across both groups, but if it is systematic, it becomes a threat.

Front 50

As part of an experiment on the effects of behavior modeling, a set of raters are evaluating the prosocial behavior in a series of videotapes of a class of preschoolers. Initially, the raters were quite strict in their ratings, but after three hours of rating, their criteria had changed. What type of threat to internal validity has occurred?

Back 50

instrumentation

FEEDBACK: Instrumentation Threats to Internal Validity — The raters, who are the measuring instrument, are changing over time.

Front 51

Dr. Harrison wants to test the effectiveness of the support group he runs for undergraduates who have drinking problems. He recruits a group of students who have been referred to the counseling center. He randomizes them to two groups — a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group attends 10 structured support group sessions at 8:00 a.m. on Fridays that are facilitated by Dr. Harrison. The control group attends 10 unstructured meetings at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays that are facilitated by members of the group. Several of the participants in the treatment group stop attending the group after just a couple of sessions. All of the control group members attend their group regularly. At the end of the 10 weeks of groups, Dr. Harrison measures drinking behavior of the people who are still attending the groups. He finds that the drinking behavior of people who attended all 10 of the structured group sessions is less than the drinking behavior of people who attended all 10 of the unstructured group sessions. What kind of threat to internal validity should Dr. Harrison be concerned about?

Back 51

selection-attrition threat

FEEDBACK: Combined Threats — Only one of Dr. Harrison’s groups experienced attrition. Those who dropped out of his treatment group may very well have been those with the worst drinking problems.

Front 52

Which of the following does NOT contribute to within-groups variability? individual differences ceiling effect measurement error situation noise

Back 52

ceiling effect

FEEDBACK: Perhaps Within-Groups Variability Obscured the Group Differences — Selection effects can lead to a confounded experiment, but would not increase variability within groups.

Front 53

Individual differences can contribute to too much within-group variability. Which of the following is NOT a possible solution to individual differences?Use a within-groups design rather than an independent-groups design. Use a matched-groups design rather than an independent-groups design. Use a double-blind study. Add more participants.

Back 53

Use a double-blind study.

FEEDBACK: Individual Differences — Double-blind studies can control for observer effects and demand characteristics, but this wouldn’t help with the contribution of individual differences to within-group variability.

Front 54

Jared is conducting an experiment with ESP (extrasensory perception) training. He begins with a pretest of his 40 participants and divides them into two groups based on their scores. The participants with the 10 lowest scores are given extensive training on how to detect the signals. The participants with the 30 highest scores are given no training. Both groups are retested and the average score of the participants with the training improved, while the average score of the participants without the training actually fell. What threat to internal validity should Jared consider?

Back 54

regression

FEEDBACK: Regression Threats to Internal Validity — The group that was given training had an unusually bad performance on the pretest, so was likely to regress upward in performance on the posttest, even without training.

Front 55

Lucia is interested in studying discrimination in hiring. She designs an experiment in which the participant takes the role of an employer looking at job candidates for a specific position. Each participant is given two very similar resumés—one of a candidate with a female name and one of a candidate with a male name—and is then asked to rate the suitability of each candidate for a job. Lucia finds no difference in participants' ratings of male and female candidates. What threat to internal validity should she be concerned about?

Back 55

demand characteristics

FEEDBACK: Demand Characteristics — She should be concerned that the participants guessed the manipulation in the study and gave what they thought was the more socially acceptable answer.

Front 56

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects. Which is NOT a possible explanation?

attrition

The independent variable did not affect the dependent variable.

The variability within each group obscured the group differences.

The manipulation was not strong enough.

Back 56

attrition

FEEDBACK: Interrogating Null Effects: What If the Independent Variable Does Not Make a Difference? — In a study that only lasts a few minutes, attrition isn’t usually an issue. There was no mention of participant loss.

Front 57

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects, and almost all of the participants remembered all of the words on both lists. What is a likely solution?

Back 57

change the design to eliminate ceiling effects

Front 58

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. When Professor Mutola rechecks her data, she finds that the five students with the lowest scores on the first exam have dropped the class. What threat to internal validity is this?

Back 58

attrition

FEEDBACK: Attrition Threats to Internal Validity — The rise in scores on the second test may be due to the loss of these extreme scores, which is attrition

Front 59

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. Professor Mutola looks back over the second exam and begins to wonder if it was just an easier exam. What threat to internal validity is she considering?

Back 59

instrumentation

FEEDBACK: Instrumentation Threat to Internal Validity — Instrumentation threat occurs when the pretest and posttest are not sufficiently equivalent.

Front 60

An instructor hypothesizes that doing jumping jacks will improve his students’ quiz performance. On Monday, he has his class sit in their chairs for five minutes before completing a multiple-choice quiz on their reading assignment. On Wednesday, he has his class do two minutes of jumping jacks before completing the same quiz that they took on Monday. The students performed better on the quiz on Wednesday. What is a possible threat to internal validity in this study?

Back 60

testing threat

FEEDBACK: Testing Threats to Internal Validity — Since the students are taking the same quiz just two days later, they might have done better because of their previous experience with the quiz.

Front 61

What is it called when the effect of one independent variable depends on the level of another independent variable?

Back 61

interaction

FEEDBACK: Experiments with Two Independent Variables Can Show Interactions — An interaction means there is a difference in the differences.

Front 62

In a factorial design study, which effect is usually considered the most important effect?

Back 62

the interaction

FEEDBACK: Main Effect = Overall Effect — If the study’s results show an interaction, the interaction itself is the most important effect.

Front 63

Koordeman et al. (2011) conducted a study on the effect of alcohol commercials on alcohol consumption in a movie theater. Participants saw one of two types of beverage commercials: alcoholic or nonalcoholic. Their consumption of alcohol during the movie was then measured. Finally, they completed a questionnaire on their usual drinking habits. Koordeman et al. found that young adults who generally consume large amounts of alcohol each week were influenced to drink more alcohol when they saw alcohol commercials, whereas the alcohol consumption of young adults who generally consume small amounts of alcohol each week was not influenced by the type of commercial shown. What type of design is this?

Back 63

independent-groups factorial design

FEEDBACK: Independent-Groups Factorial Designs — There are four groups in the experiment: large weekly consumers who see the alcohol commercials, large weekly consumers who see the nonalcoholic commercials, small weekly consumers who see the alcohol commercials, and small weekly consumers who see the nonalcoholic commercials

Front 64

What are the two main reasons researchers use factorial designs?

Back 64

to test the limits of an effect and to test theories

FEEDBACK: Factorial Designs Can Test Theories — Factorial designs can check the generalizability of a causal variable and find if variable interactions are consistent with those predicted by theories.

Front 65

A _______ design is one in which there are two or more independent variables.

Back 65

factorial

FEEDBACK: Factorial Designs Study Two Independent Variables — This is the definition of a factorial design.

Front 66

___________ are the means for each level of an independent variable, averaging over levels of the other independent variable.

Back 66

Marginal means

FEEDBACK: Main Effects: Is There an Overall Difference? — Marginal means are a way of looking at the main effect of one variable.

Front 67

In a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, what are all the possible effects to test?

Back 67

three main effects, three two-way interactions, and a three-way interaction

FEEDBACK: Main Effects and Interactions from a Three-Way Design — Each factor must be checked for a main effect, each of the possible two-way interactions must be checked, and the three-way interaction must be checked.

Front 68

A researcher wants to run a 2 x 3 mixed factorial design. The first factor is within-subjects. The second factor is between-subjects. If the researcher wants 20 observations per cell, how many participants will he need in total?

Back 68

60

FEEDBACK: Mixed Factorial Designs — Since only the second factor is between-subjects, the researcher needs a different group of 20 people for each of those three levels.

Front 69

When authors of a research article are describing just the results of a factorial study, which of these terms would you NOT expect to see?

correlation

main effect

interaction effect

significant

Back 69

correlation

FEEDBACK: Identifying Factorial Designs in Empirical Journal Articles — Correlation is not a term used in describing the results of a strictly factorial study, though it may be used within the same article.

Front 70

Yan and Sengupta (2011) examined the effects of price, attractiveness, and consumer on the perceived tastiness and expensiveness of a dish of fried rice. The study was a 2 × 2 × 2 design that varied price (inexpensive or expensive), picture (attractive or unattractive), and consumer (self or classmate) in a between-subjects design. How many cells are there in this study?

Back 70

8

span style="font-size: 12pt;"FEEDBACK: Increasing the Number of Independent Variables — In a 2 × 2 × 2 study, there are three independent variables, one for each number, and the numbers tell the number of levels of each variable. The number of cells is 2×2×2=8./span

Front 71

Koordeman et al. (2011) conducted a study on the effect of alcohol commercials on alcohol consumption in a movie theater. Participants saw one of two types of beverage commercials: alcoholic or nonalcoholic. Their consumption of alcohol during the movie was then measured. Finally, they completed a questionnaire on their usual drinking habits. Koordeman et al. found that young adults who generally consume large amounts of alcohol each week were influenced to drink more alcohol when they saw alcohol commercials, whereas the alcohol consumption of young adults who generally consume small amounts of alcohol each week was not influenced by the type of commercial shown. Which of the following can be inferred from the study?

Back 71

The effect of the alcohol commercial on alcohol consumption depended on whether the viewer was usually a heavy drinker or a light drinker.

FEEDBACK: Describing Interactions in Words — In interactions, the effect (of the commercial on alcohol consumption) depends on the level of another variable (type of drinker).

Front 72

Yan and Sengupta (2011) examined the effects of price, attractiveness, and consumer on the perceived tastiness and expensiveness of a dish of fried rice. The study was a 2 × 2 × 2 design that varied price (inexpensive or expensive), picture (attractive or unattractive), and consumer (self or classmate) in a between-subjects design. What is the dependent variable?

Back 72

tastiness and expensiveness

FEEDBACK: Review: Experiments With One Independent Variable — What is being measured is the perceived tastiness and expensiveness.

Front 73

Susan designed a study in which she had a group of younger adults (18–24 year-olds) and older adults (50–65 year-olds). She had both groups recite a poem by memory once in front of an audience of 50 people and once in a room by themselves. She counterbalanced the order of these tasks between participants. She had the participants rate their level of anxiety right before they recited the poem each time. What kind of study design is this?

Back 73

mixed factorial design

FEEDBACK: Mixed Factorial Designs — The age factor is between-groups, and the audience size factor is within-groups, so the design is mixed.

Front 74

Susan ran a study in which she had a group of younger adults (18–24 year-olds) and older adults (50–65 year-olds). She had both groups recite a poem by memory once in front of an audience of 50 people and once in a room by themselves. She counterbalanced the order of these tasks between participants. She had the participants rate their level of anxiety right before they recited the poem each time. Susan found that there was a main effect for age such that younger people reported being more anxious than older people. She found a main effect for audience size such that people were more anxious in the room with 50 people than they were in the room by themselves. She did not find an interaction in the results. If Susan were to graph her results, what would they look like?

Back 74

two parallel diagonal lines

FEEDBACK: Detecting Interactions from a Graph — Since there is a main effect for both variables, the lines would be diagonal, and since there is no interaction, the lines would be parallel.

Front 75

Lisa is interested in how well people are able to detect whether another person is a “Cooperator”, a “Competitor”, or an “Individualist” simply by looking at a picture of the person’s face. She wants to know what kind of face can be identified most easily, and whether this varies by the race of the person in the picture. She designs a 2 x 3 within-group design where she has participants in her study look at faces from African-American and Caucasian people who are “Cooperators”, “Competitors”, or “Individualists.” The participants try to identify the personality of the person in each picture and Lisa keeps track of the number of pictures accurately identified for each picture type. Caucasian “Competitors” were identified more easily than the other two Caucasian personality types, but there was no difference in accuracy for African-American faces. What does this describe?

Back 75

a two-way interaction between Caucasian and personality

FEEDBACK: Figure 12.20 — This wording suggests that the dependent variable was changed by the personality manipulation in the Caucasian condition, but not in the African-American condition.

Front 76

What is the term for a quasi-experimental design with at least one treatment group and one comparison group, but in which the participants have not been randomly assigned to the groups?

Back 76

nonequivalent control group design

FEEDBACK: Two Examples of Independent-Groups Quasi-Experiments—The participants haven’t been randomly assigned to the groups, making it a quasi-experiment.

Front 77

Following implementation of a new city law, a restaurant chain began displaying the nutrition labels for their menu items. The restaurant owner recorded sales of the 15 highest-calorie menu items on three occasions—once the month before the change in menu display, once the week of the change in menu display, and once the month after the change in menu display. The owner observed that the sale of the high-calorie menu items dropped, while overall sales remained steady. What type of design is this?

Back 77

interrupted time-series design

FEEDBACK: Food Breaks and Parole Decisions — This study is a repeated-measure design with an interruption: the introduction of the nutrition information on the menus.

Front 78

Gathercole and Baddeley (1990) examined phonological memory skills in children with disordered language development using two control groups, one made up of much younger children who were matched on verbal abilities. If they had done a follow-up study a year later, which type of threat to internal validity would this age difference most likely have caused?

Back 78

maturation

FEEDBACK: Maturation Threat — In this case, because of the age differences, the younger children may have matured at a very different rate than the treatment group.

Front 79

Two universities are involved in a study of the effects on student retention and attitude toward campus life based on a pre-freshman year summer visit program that one of the schools had implemented. The schools, both state universities in the same state, were closely matched in student body characteristics. In the fall of the first year of the program, the school that was serving as the control was struck by a rare fall tornado, which did damage to several campus buildings. What type of threat to internal validity would this cause?

Back 79

selection-history

FEEDBACK: History Threat — This threat comes from selection history because the history belongs to only one group.

Front 80

Researchers are conducting a repeated-measures quasi-experiment. What type of threat to internal validity should concern the researchers if they notice the participants are taking less and less time to complete the assessment questionnaires that are administered weekly?

Back 80

testing

FEEDBACK: Testing and Instrumentation Threats — The participants may be becoming fatigued or bored by the repeated testing so performance may decline independently of the treatment.

Front 81

A company that owned several hospitals in rural areas of the south went bankrupt and closed the hospitals it operated over a period of a couple of months. Researchers became aware of this situation and used public health records to document average age at death of residents in those communities where the hospitals closed and in communities that were matched on several variables but did not lose their hospitals. The researchers collected death records for several years before and after the closure of these hospitals to look at the effect the closure had on life expectancy. What kind of research design are the researchers using?

Back 81

nonequivalent control group interrupted time-series design

FEEDBACK: Television Access and Crime Rates - In nonequivalent control group interrupted time-series design the independent variable is studied both as a repeated-measures variable and as an independent-groups variable.

Front 82

Which of these is NOT a reason for a researcher to select a quasi-experimental design?

enhancement of external validity

to avoid the ethical issues a true experiment would cause

improved internal validity

opportunity to take advantage of real-world occurrences to study phenomena and events

Back 82

improved internal validity

FEEDBACK: Internal Validity in Quasi-Experiments — The researcher does not control the independent variable in a quasi-experiment, which creates issues with internal validity.

Front 83

A study by Grimstvedt et al. (2010) of the effects of signage on stair use in university buildings examined the effect of placing signs encouraging stair use near elevators. Based on their design, Blake is designing a study for her campus. The initial part of the study will be a month-long measuring of elevator and stair use in four different buildings on the campus. This will be followed by the treatment: the simultaneous posting of signs at each of the four locations. Elevator and stair use will then be measured for another month. What type of design is this?

Back 83

stable-baseline

FEEDBACK: Stable-Baseline Design — The researchers plan to first establish a baseline of elevator and stair use before administering the treatment.

Front 84

Which of the following is NOT a method for addressing concerns about external validity in a small-N study?

triangulate by comparing results with other research.

Specify a limited population to which to generalize.

Nothing — it is not possible to achieve external validity in small-N design.

Specify that the result only applies to the participant studied.

Back 84

Nothing — it is not possible to achieve external validity in small-N design.

FEEDBACK: Evaluating the Four Validities in Small-N Designs — The small-N external validity question typically centers on generalizability to other people or groups, not to other settings.

Front 85

Julie works at a large gym. She wants to do a study of the effect of having a personal trainer on self-esteem and mood. She collects a list of members at her gym who would like to have a personal trainer. She assigns half of them to have a trainer right away and half of them to wait several months before being assigned a trainer. She measures self-esteem and mood in all of the participants over the next several months when only one of the groups would have a trainer. What advantages does Julie’s design have over selecting a group of people at the gym who were already using personal trainers and a group who were not using trainers?

Back 85

She is preventing a selection effect.

FEEDBACK: Selection Effects — By using a wait-list design, Julie is preventing a selection effect because there may be preexisting differences between people who are already using personal trainers and those who are no

Front 86

In a quasi-experiment by Minke (2011), the effectiveness of Skejby, a Danish half-way house which mixes offenders with non-offenders, was compared to that of the control condition of half-way houses housing only offenders. Measurement of effectiveness was based on rate of recidivism of former inmates. If inmates are allowed to choose their own half-way house, which threat to internal validity would this potentially pose?

Back 86

selection

FEEDBACK: Selection Effects — Inmates that would choose a half-way house with non-offenders may differ systematically in some way from other inmates.

Front 87

In a quasi-experiment by Minke (2011), the effectiveness of Skejby, a Danish half-way house which mixes offenders with non-offenders, was compared to that of the control condition of half-way houses housing only offenders. Measurement of effectiveness was based on rate of recidivism of former inmates. What was the dependent variable in this study?

Back 87

rate of recidivism

FEEDBACK: The Head Start Study — The dependent variable is what is measured, which is the rate of recidivism.

Front 88

Which of the following does NOT characterize a small-N design?

Results are analyzed in terms of statistical significance.

Individuals’ data are presented, as opposed to comparing group averages.

Each participant is treated as a separate experiment.

Researchers collect a lot of information on relatively few cases

Back 88

Results are analyzed in terms of statistical significance.

FEEDBACK: Table 13.1 — Small-N does not allow tests of statistical significance; instead the replicability is found by repeating the experiment with a new participant.

Front 89

A drought in California created the opportunity for a quasi-experiment on the effectiveness of fines on water conservation (Agras et al., 1980). Three comparable California cities were considered: two that instituted fines at different times and a third that did not institute fines. Water consumption data for the three years before the onset of the fines was used as baseline and subsequent consumption data was gathered through the end of the drought. Effectiveness of fines was assessed by examining consumption the following month. With regard to the monitoring of water consumption, what type of design was this?

Back 89

multiple baseline

FEEDBACK: Multiple-Baseline Designs — Each of the cities has a baseline, and the institution of fines occurred at different times in the two treatment cities.

Front 90

In quasi-experiments, researchers lack full experimental control. Therefore, which type of validity must they assess to make sure they can draw firm conclusions from their results?

Back 90

internal
FEEDBACK: Internal Validity in Quasi-Experiments — Internal validity in quasi-experiments cannot be assured in the same way as in a true experiment, so researchers need to closely examine the design and results of the study to ensure that internal validity is maintained.

Front 91

In the previous study, the result was:-> r = -.55, p < .01. The p value is most closely related to what sort of validity?

A. Construct

B. Internal

C. External

D. Statistical

Back 91

D. Statistical

Front 92

Dr. Bob says that the reason for the observed correlation of -.55 between beer and publication is not really beer; it’s home life. Unhappily married faculty both drink lots of beer and find it hard to concentrate on writing. Dr. Bob’s criticism is about

A. Construct validity

B. A third variable problem

C. The null hypothesis

D. The alternative hypothesis

Back 92

B. A third variable problem

Front 93

Dr. Behringer writes that Dr. Bob (last question) is wrong, short, and ugly. Dr. B. says that people think that drinking stops people from writing. But that’s exactly backwards. People start drinking after they cannot write because the lack of publication is so anxiety producing. Dr. B is arguing about

A. Construct validity

B. Directionality

C. The alternative hypothesis

D. Beer

Back 93

B. Directionality