Exam 2: Section 5: Methods in Psychology

When unobtrusive naturalistic observation is not an option, which is the best technique to avoid demand characteristics?

Bethany thinks her dog is overweight so she switches the dog to a new brand of food for overweight dogs. The switch in dog food is an example of a(n):

A boxer suddenly begins experiencing wild mood swings and bizarre behavior. A neuroscientist determines that the boxer has traumatic brain injury probably caused by numerous concussions. The neuroscientist then studies the brain functioning of the boxer in great detail using fMRI brain-imaging techniques to learn more about concussions. This represents a(n):

_____ use specific rules and techniques for observation, known as a _____, to observe and understand natural phenomena.

Why can you NOT claim a cause-and-effect relationship with correlational studies?

A psychologist observes that some people exposed to a traumatic childhood experience develop anxiety disorders later in life, while others do not. This illustrates which reason why human behavior is a challenging subject matter for science?

Terrence is studying how music affects attitudes. On a hot June day, he exposes one group of college students to classical music and another group to jazz, while he measures their attitudes toward war. The dependent variable is:

A scientist theorizes that several billion years ago, a large asteroid collided with the Earth, knocking tons of rock into space and creating the Moon. Which statement constitutes a research hypothesis that follows from this theory?

According to the American Psychological Association, which statement about the use of coercion in psychological research is true?

An operational definition of a psychological construct that is conceptually unrelated to the construct results in the measure NOT being:

Professor Knice gives his introductory psychology class of 300 students an exam, and everyone earns an A. The exam lacks the _____ to detect which students studied and which did not.

In order for a study to be a true experiment, you must _____ variable and _____ variable.

If an experiment has a high degree of _____, a causal relationship can be demonstrated between two variables.

The more time children spend playing video games at home, the lower their grades are at school. This represents a:

A college recently banned the use of plastic water bottles on campus in an effort to be more eco-friendly. A psychologist at the college is interested in the attitudes of the students toward this ban. She obtains a list of all of the students who are enrolled at the college. She randomly picks 100 students from this list and administers to these students a survey designed to assess their opinions on the plastic water bottle ban. The psychologist is using which method?

Katarina is interested in attention deficit disorder and behavioral problems in school but believes that subjects' socioeconomic statuses may affect her results. So she is studying two groups of children in an intervention treatment, and makes sure each child in one group comes from a home with the same level of income as each child in the other group. What technique is this?