Exam 8: Experimental Design

One problem with the pretest-posttest design is that participants:

When a confounding variable is present in an experiment, one cannot tell whether the results were due to the _____.

Powel wants to find out how using fins increases swimming speed. This hypothesis could be tested with a counterbalanced repeated measures design by:

Sasha, a psychologist, has participants serve as their own control group by having them take part in every condition of her study. This experimental approach is an example of a(n) _____.

Which of the following statements is true about using repeated measure designs over independent group designs?

Failure to control some extraneous variables is likely to result in a(n) _____ variable.

Mike wants to find out whether campers prefer cotton or nylon sleeping bags. He asks a group of girl campers to try both the nylon and cotton sleeping bags. The sleeping bags were rated for softness and warmth. What is the confounding variable in Mike's experiment?

Juan wants to compare the effectiveness of two drugs in treating migraines. He administers Drug A to a participant and then Drug B to the same participant eight hours later when Drug A is still in the participant's system. In this case, the study is contaminated by a _____ effect.

Michelle is interested in factors that influence the perceptions of others. She provides participants with photographs of female supermodels and asks them to rate the attractiveness of each woman. She then provides participants with photographs of women who are not models and asks the participants to rate the attractiveness of each woman. She finds that participants rate the women who are not models much lower. What effect may be responsible for the lower ratings of the women who are not models?

Reah, a developmental psychologist measures aggressive behavior in a group of second graders before and after viewing an aggressive cartoon. This design would best represent a(n) _____ design.

Improvement of performance as a result of repeated exposure to a task is referred to as a _____ effect.

A design that assigns different participants to each condition using random assignment is a(n) _____ design.

When testing the effect of noise on the performance of a task, Marco tests half the participants in a cool, quiet room and the other half in a hot, noisy room. In this case, what confounding variable has Marco failed to eliminate?

Colin wants to find out how using fins increases swimming speed. If an independent groups design is used, the researcher would manipulate the variable by:

_____ is a technique to control for order effects without having all possible orders.

If a greater percentage of heart surgeons than skin doctors are sued for malpractice, can it be concluded that heart surgeons are less competent than skin doctors?

Mortality in experimental design refers to the fact that participants:

At the end of a three-year study, Lene finds that 12 percent of her participants did not take part in the final survey because they moved away to another city. In research terms, Lene is experiencing issues related to _____.

In a _____ design, comparisons are made among the same group of participants.

Which of the following is likely to be the most important consideration for a repeated measures design using alcohol or drugs?