Exam 2: Psychologys Scientific Method

When considering measures of dispersion, ________ is the most sophisticated because it involves taking the squared deviation from the mean.

Dr. Gillespie has two groups in her experiment. She places each participant in a group by flipping a coin - heads means Group A, tails means Group B. Dr. Gillespie has satisfied the requirement of

Dr. Matthews has proposed to conduct a study on first year students' alcohol consumption. The institutional review board at her university will decide

In experimental research, the group which receives no treatment is called the ________ group.

A researcher tells a group of participants that as part of his experiment they are going to receive "painful" electrical shocks. He tells a second group that they will receive "mild" electric shock. He asks participants in both groups whether they prefer to wait alone or with others while he sets up the shock machinery. What is the dependent variable?

Although the true nature of the experiment was supposed to be a secret, Professor Bobson always smiled when a subject checked the left box. As a result, subjects began to routinely check The left box. How would one describe this potential problem?

Group A received progressive relaxation training prior to test taking while Group B received no treatment. Group A is the ________ group, while Group B is the ________ group.

The placebo effect refers to the

A researcher predicted that talking to plants enhances their growth. She gave 24 plants the same amount of food, water, and sunlight. She talked to 12 of the plants daily for 6 weeks. In this experiment, what was the dependent variable?

If a psychologist were to study "love," she would need to have a(n) ________ love. Without this specific information, the hypothesis could not be tested.

The mode of a distribution of scores refers to the

According to James Pennebaker, writing about one's traumatic experiences is positively related to

Contestants of reality TV shows are often asked to engage in unpleasant behaviors (such as eating bugs on Fear Factor or being stranded in a foreign country on The Amazing Race). While viewers think they are learning about human nature, these "experiments" are not real psychological studies that employ the scientific method and ethical guidelines as put forth by the American Psychological Association. Describe why these TV shows do not meet the ethical guidelines that psychological research must follow.

Under certain conditions, deception can be used in psychological studies of humans.

Dr. Smith has plans to conduct an experiment on motivation. His subjects will be varsity athletes who receive the experimental treatment as a group. Dr. Smith has hired Jack to act as a research subject who has little motivation despite the encouragement provided to him during the experiment. Dr. Smith wants to see how Jack's behavior affects the motivation of the actual research subjects. Jack is serving as

Professor Stenson is examining the effects of color on patients' anxiety level. She randomly assigns patients to either a room painted white or a room painted black, and then records their Blood pressure. What is the independent variable?

Dr. Jimand poses as a student in his study of Bosnian students who are adjusting to college life in the United States. Dr. Jimand lives in the dorm with the students and attends classes with them. What research method is he using?

Dr. Wong's research subjects include all of the students who are taking his introductory sociology course. In the context of the research, this group of students are referred to as the

When conducting an experiment, Jamie assigns everybody who arrives before noon to the treatment condition and everybody who arrives after noon to the control group. What is wrong with this experiment?

The ethical obligation to tell participants about the study once participation in the study is complete is called