Exam 2: Scientific Methods in Psychology

Naturalistic observation refers to the observation of

Dr.Wizard randomly assigns people to two groups.Those in the experimental group receive a "subliminal audiotape" that they are told will improve their self-esteem.The other group receives no treatment.Three weeks later Dr.Wizard interviews them and reports that people in the experimental group show higher self-esteem.What change would IMPROVE the procedure for this research?

You wish to determine whether the difference between the experimental group and the control group was statistically significant.To make that determination,you will need to know three of the following types of information.Which one will you NOT need to know?

An operational definition for hunger is the number of hours since the person last ate a meal.

Dr.Hoonoes got statistically significant results in her last experiment,but she is worried about experimenter bias.By this she means that the results may have been influenced by

If an increase in one variable is not associated with any consistent increase or decrease in a second variable,then the correlation between the two variables is ____________________. zero or 0

Which of the following is a desirable feature of a scientific theory?

The ____________________ is the sum of all the scores divided by the total number of scores. mean

A mother is attempting to minimize the number of times that her toddler pulls on his kitty's tail.She wants to assess whether different types of discipline have any effect on his behavior.For three weeks during the month,the mother gives the toddler one week of one specific type of discipline.One week the toddler receives time outs,one week he has a toy taken away,and one week he is told to clean the kitty's bowl for each kitty tail pull.At the end of each week,the mother tallies up the number of kitty tail pulls for the week.Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable.

If competent researchers consistently get similar results whenever they follow a particular procedure,then the results are

After using which of the following methods would an experimenter be most confident in making statements about cause and effect?

In one experiment,participants who were told they were in a sensory deprivation experiment (but who really were not)showed the same symptoms as participants who really were kept in sensory deprivation.These results suggest that the experiences reported by the participants were influenced by

A case history

It is found that children who have many friends are generally happier than children who have fewer friends.What kind of research design was probably used in this study?

Participants who volunteer for an experiment would most likely be in a __________ sample.

A researcher conducts a survey of the Canadian population,interviewing 1000 people with the same distribution of men and women,old and young,urban and rural people as the whole Canadian population.Of the following terms,this sample is best described as

An investigator finds no consistent relationship between how much sleep students get at night and their grade point average in school.According to that study,the correlation between sleep and grades is

An investigator who wishes to study the attitudes of people in Illinois identifies 1,000 people in Illinois,taking care that the percentages of male and female,black and white,young and old are the same in the sample as in the total population of the state.What kind of sample is the investigator trying to obtain?

Professor Taylor provides a review session for half the students taking Psychology 101.Later he compares their scores against those of the other students.What is the independent variable in this experiment?

An instructor gives weekly tests in one class and just one midterm exam to a second class and then compares performances of students in the two classes when they all take the same final exam.What is the dependent variable in this experiment?