Exam 3: Three Claims,Four Validities: Interrogation Tools for Consumers of Research

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children.You know this relationship may not be causal because you are not sure which occurred first-watching television or being aggressive.You are questioning which of the following rules of causation?

Which of the following is true of variables?

Dr.Ellison finds a relation between the amount of sleep and problem solving.Specifically,having a higher amount of sleep the night before an exam is associated with higher scores on two measures of problem solving.This is an example of which type of association?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5 From a Slate.com article entitled "Psych-Out Sexism: The Innocent, Unconscious Bias That Discourages Girls from Math and Science," published on March 1, 2011. Stout, Dasgupta, and their colleagues wanted to find out why women's outstanding performance on science and math tests in high school and college correlates so weakly with their eventual interest in pursuing careers in those fields. In high school and college, girls increasingly earn math and science grades equal to or better than the grades of their male peers. But when it comes to choosing a career in math or science, more men than women decide to walk through those open doors. The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E =? mc2 equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test (comprising 10 questions) when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major. -Refer to Research Study 3.5 above to answer the following question. In the study described above,name the variables and indicate the levels of each.

One problem with reading about psychological studies in the popular press is that the popular press often fails to provide information that allows you to interrogate the study's ______________ validity.

Consider two variables: income and relationship satisfaction.Describe the four types of associations assuming these two variables.

For the following three terms,create a manipulated operational definition for each: stress,personal space,and study skills.

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1 Anderson is reading his morning paper and reads the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked to complete a math test by either a male math major or a female math major. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major compared with a male math major. -Refer to Research Study 3.1 above to answer the following question. How many variables are mentioned in this study/headline?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6 You read an article stating that Facebook is related to unhappiness. In the study, a group of high school students were asked how many times a day they checked their Facebook pages and how happy they were. In discussing this article with your friend Matt, he exclaims, "I knew it! I have always said that being on Facebook is the cause of all my unhappiness!" -Refer to Research Study 3.6 above to answer the following question. Considering the study above,explain why converting the study to an experiment changes the type of claim the researcher can make.

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1 Anderson is reading his morning paper and reads the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked to complete a math test by either a male math major or a female math major. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major compared with a male math major. -Refer to Research Study 3.1 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is a constant in this study/headline?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.2 Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse." -Refer to Research Study 3.2 above to answer the following question. Which type of claim is Dr.LaSalle making?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4 Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B. -Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is the independent variable in Dr.Kang's study?

Stefan wants to make a causal claim in his dissertation.Which of the following is necessary?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.2 Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse." -Refer to Research Study 3.2 above to answer the following question. Which of the following statements is true of Dr.Ramon's and Dr.LaSalle's claims?

Which of the following phrases would indicate that a researcher is making a causal claim?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6 You read an article stating that Facebook is related to unhappiness. In the study, a group of high school students were asked how many times a day they checked their Facebook pages and how happy they were. In discussing this article with your friend Matt, he exclaims, "I knew it! I have always said that being on Facebook is the cause of all my unhappiness!" -Refer to Research Study 3.6 above to answer the following question. Using the three criteria for evaluating causal claims,discuss the reasons your friend Matt is correct or incorrect in his interpretation of the study.

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4 Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B. -Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is the dependent variable in Dr.Kang's study?

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children.You are curious as to whether peer pressure is really to blame (peer pressure encourages you to watch television and peer pressure encourages you to be aggressive).You are questioning which of the following rules of causation?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4 Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B. -Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. If Dr.Kang decided against using random assignment,which of the following would be threatened?

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5 From a Slate.com article entitled "Psych-Out Sexism: The Innocent, Unconscious Bias That Discourages Girls from Math and Science," published on March 1, 2011. Stout, Dasgupta, and their colleagues wanted to find out why women's outstanding performance on science and math tests in high school and college correlates so weakly with their eventual interest in pursuing careers in those fields. In high school and college, girls increasingly earn math and science grades equal to or better than the grades of their male peers. But when it comes to choosing a career in math or science, more men than women decide to walk through those open doors. The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E =? mc2 equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test (comprising 10 questions) when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major. -Refer to Research Study 3.5 above to answer the following question. In the study described above,consider the measured variable.Provide both a conceptual definition and an operational definition for it.