Exam 4: The Psychologists Toolbox: Tools for Building Better Designs

Rocco is on the championship wrestling team, and right before his match the coach must weigh him. Rocco gets on the scale the first time and it reads 175.7 lbs. He doesn't think that sounds correct so he weighs himself again, on the same scale, and it reads 176.3 lbs. Rocco's coach requests a third weigh-in and the scale reads 175.2 lbs. This unpredictable variation in Rocco's weight is best explained by:

Dr. Murphy is examining factors associated with retention in a smoking cessation group. Dr. Murphy wants to focus on the impact of quasi-independent variables in his research design. Which of the following should Dr. Murphy focus on?

A drawback of using behavioral trace is that it:

Which of the following participants would not fit the identified WEIRD sample of participants typically used in research?

In line with the social desirability bias and societal norms, which of the following are female participants most likely to lie about on a self-report measure to make themselves "look better" to others?

Which of the following is a quasi-independent variable?

The goal of a psychological measure is to:

The _____ is the entire group of interest in a research study.

Each of the following is a nonexperimental research design, EXCEPT:

A sample is made up of:

Each of the following are potential disadvantages of self-report measures, EXCEPT:

What is social desirability bias?

Random error is:

Aliza is conducting an independent study examining cultural influences on family traditions. Based on the level of accuracy of most self-report data, Aliza would gain the most accurate information from her participants if she were to ask questions about:

Observer bias can be minimized in behavioral data by:

Professor Simpkins designs a self-report measure to assess his students' perceptions of a lesson plan. In one section he lectures on the course material. In another section of the same course he supplements his lecture with a class activity. Then, his students rate the educational value of the class. Unfortunately, Professor Simpkins doesn't learn anything about the distinction between lecturing and active learning, because both classes rated the education value as a three (very educational) on a scale from one to three. What is wrong with Professor Simpkins's research?

Researchers have _____ chance of eliminating bias as compared to random error.

Data obtained from self-report and behavioral measures:

Muhammad is conducting a research study and would like to minimize the effect of social desirability bias on his results. Which of the following should he do?

What is the difference between a true experiment and a quasi-experimental design?