Deck 6: Validity

Question 1

If you wanted to make sure that fingernail biting was a good way to classify your participants regarding their anxiety level by also testing them with the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, you would have used an)

A) validity verification
B) generalization evaluation
C) manipulation check
D) extraneous variable

Answer 1

C

Question 2

If a researcher finds a result in a laboratory setting but not in a real world setting, the finding

A) lacks statistical validity
B) lacks ecological validity
C) lacks internal validity
D) cannot be published

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The basic idea of validity is that conclusions based on research are)

A) statistically reliable
B) free of experimenter bias
C) correspond to the actual conditions of the world
D) support the researchers hypothesises)

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A researcher that is exploring gender differences is testing

A) construct validity
B) subject variables
C) outliers
D) confounding variables

Question 5

Confounding is a threat to ________ validity

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) statistical

Question 6

Ruling out alternative theoretical explanations of results is the concern of ______ validity.

A) internal
B) construct
C) external
D) statistical

Question 7

The extent to which data are shown to be the result of a cause-effect relationship rather than accident reflects the level of

A) ecological validity
B) external validity
C) statistical conclusion validity
D) manipulation check

Question 8

If a researcher is worried that the results of a study done on taboo words in the 1940s might not yield the same results with today's students, the researcher is concerned about

A) Statistical conclusion validity
B) External validity
C) Internal validity
D) Construct validity

Question 9

If a researcher asks, "Can we be sure that the observed relationship between the independent and dependent variables represents a true cause-effect relationship and is not due to chance?" then the researcher is concerned about ________ validity

A) internal
B) construct
C) external
D) statistical conclusion

Question 10

Any factor that is associated with the independent variable and that is not purposely introduced by the researcher is considered a ______ error

A) subject
B) random
C) testing
D) confounding

Question 11

Two independent variables are confounded when

A) they both vary in the study
B) one varies and one does not
C) their separate effects cannot be tested
D) None of these are true

Question 12

Which one of the following questions is concerned with construct validity?

A) Do the results support the researcher's hypothesis?
B) Do the results support the theory behind the research?
C) Are there alternative variables that can be ruled out as potential causes of the behavior or interest?
D) Are the measuring instruments free of error?

Question 13

An experiment in which extraneous variables are controlled is said to be

A) internally reliable
B) internally valid
C) externally valid
D) externally reliable

Question 14

When subjects are selected because of the presence or absence of a condition, rather than having a condition assigned to them, the experimenter is testing

A) subject variables
B) construct validity
C) face validity
D) confounding variables

Question 15

The strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variable is reflected in the measure of ____________

A) Reliability
B) Power
C) Effect size
D) External validity

Question 16

When statistical tests are used improperly, a lack of ____________validity is reflected

A) Internal
B) External
C) Statistical conclusion
D) Construct

Question 17

External validity refers to the extent to which

A) research results can be generalized to other situations
B) the experimenter unintentionally communicates his or her expectations to the participants
C) historical events occurred that accompanied one or more of the experimental treatments
D) the observed relationship is a true cause-effect relationship

Question 18

If an experiment suffers from lack of____________, the experiment may appear to show that the null hypothesis is supported, when in reality, it should be rejected.

A) External validity
B) Power
C) Ecological validity
D) Reliability

Question 19

An experiment in which the independent variable really caused the change in the dependent variable is said to be high in _________ validity.

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) criterion

Question 20

The threat of confounding is particularly serious in research using

A) randomization
B) true experiments
C) subject variables
D) assignment of subjects to conditions

Question 21

When a researcher asks the question, "Was the subject dropout rate during the course of the study equal over the various conditions or more pronounced in certain treatment groups?", she is concerned with which one of the following potential confounds

A) regression
B) random error
C) mortality
D) events outside the laboratory history)

Question 22

If people who drop out of study are systematically different from those who stay, we have which threat to validity?

A) selection
B) mortality
C) regression to the mean
D) maturation

Question 23

A loose connection between theory and method threatens _________ validity.

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) statistical

Question 24

When a researcher asks the question, "Have changes in some developmental process within the subjects paralleled the treatment effects?", she is concerned with which one of the following potential threats to internal validity?

A) maturation
B) subject selection
C) regression effect
D) testing effect

Question 25

If you were studying the effects of success and failure on feelings of depression and all of the participants experienced the failure condition on a rainy Monday and the success condition on a sunny Wednesday, ______ might be a threat to internal validity.

A) maturation
B) history
C) subject selection
D) mortality

Question 26

A participant who interprets the instructions differently than the researcher intended most threatens the

A) external validity of the experiment
B) replicability of the experiment
C) theoretical interpretation of the results
D) validity of the statistics

Question 27

Students as a group tend to perform better on the second exam. This is similar to ______, which is a threat to validity

A) experimenter bias
B) effects of testing
C) history
D) mortality

Question 28

Regression to the mean can occur when

A) performance on two measures is not completely correlated
B) there is selection on the basis of a measure correlated with the measure of interest
C) a person who scores on the extremes on one test scores closer to the middle on a later test
D) All of these are true.

Question 29

Loss of subjects during the course of a research project usually introduces bias because

A) the resulting sample is too small
B) subjects are not lost on a random basis
C) descriptive statistics cannot be used on the resulting data
D) inferential statistics cannot be used on the resulting data

Question 30

Any bias in selecting subjects for an experiment threatens the _____________ of the experiment.

A) internal validity
B) internal reliability
C) statistical validity
D) statistical reliability

Question 31

If a researcher runs an ad in a paper in order to recruit subjects, and places the first 10 people who call in one group and the next 10 people who call in another group, what sort of threat to internal validity has been introduced?

A) Mortality
B) Experimenter bias
C) Selection bias
D) Regression effect

Question 32

A change in behavior simply as a result of earlier experience in the study is a threat to _________validity.

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) statistical

Question 33

Because the theoretical concept of aggression in cats can be operationally defined as either hunting or fighting, problems with ________ can potentially creep into experiments.

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) statistical

Question 34

Jolene just got a 17 out of 100 on a psychology test. Her friend Melba tries to cheer her up by pointing out that she should perform better on the next test, simply due to_____

A) the regression effect
B) maturation
C) history
D) mortality

Question 35

The assumption that poverty causes level of performance in school suffers from

A) Problems in statistical construct validity
B) Ambiguous temporal precedence
C) Problems with maturation
D) Problems with history

Question 36

Which one of the following is not a threat to the internal validity of an experiment?

A) maturation
B) regression effect
C) random error
D) mortality

Question 37

When a researcher asks the question, "Have subjects been pre-selected so as to represent the extremes on the variable of interest?" she is concerned with which one of the following potential threats to internal validity?

A) testing effect
B) maturation
C) subject selection
D) regression effect

Question 38

Because the test itself is not a perfect measure a particular construct, all measurements contain some level of

A) random error
B) maturation
C) regression effect
D) mortality

Question 39

Suppose a researcher is performing an experiment on children. She tests the children on one level of the independent variable at the beginning of the school year, but cannot return to test the second level until mid-April, when the school year is almost completed. What threat to internal validity may be a problem?

A) History
B) Selection bias
C) Maturation
D) Experimenter bias

Question 40

People tend to deviate from their true score on a test due to

A) random error
B) maturation
C) regression effect
D) mortality

Question 41

Participants exhibiting evaluation apprehension will

A) perceive one alternative as more socially acceptable than the other
B) have a tendency to agree to any statement on the inventory, regardless of its content
C) adopt a "wait and see" attitude
D) work harder if they know that they're being watched.

Question 42

Using a convenience sample instead of a random sample of subjects is a threat to which kind of validity?

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) statistical

Question 43

In the early stages of an experiment, several participants discover that they are being deceived. Since the deception is harmless, they decide to play along so as not to embarrass the researcher. Which one of the following terms best describes this scenario?

A) good subject
B) deception
C) coercion
D) sabotage

Question 44

A source of invalidity that occurs as a result of participants behaving in the manner they think the experimenter expects them to behave is referred to as

A) experimenter bias
B) maturation
C) selection bias
D) good-subject tendency

Question 45

"Blinding" the researcher is a strategy for overcoming which threat to validity?

A) evaluation apprehension
B) role demands
C) experimenter bias
D) selection bias

Question 46

Define the concepts internal and external validity. Discuss why we say that for some experiments an attempt at increasing one type tends to jeopardize the other type.

Question 47

In a study of social interaction in mixed-gender groups, a researcher unconsciously treats women participants differently from the men participants when he reads them the instructions for the experiment. This is an example of

A) evaluation apprehension
B) role demands
C) experimenter bias
D) selection bias

Question 48

Milgram's famous study 1963) in which people were led to believe that they were administering shocks to other people illustrates the power of obedience and

A) evaluation apprehension
B) role demands
C) experimenter bias
D) selection bias

Question 49

An experimental finding that is easily demonstrated in the laboratory but not in the real world suffers from a problem with __________ validity.

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) statistical

Question 50

To ascertain the effect of wilderness survival training, a researcher measures a group of 14-year-old Boy Scouts and a group of 8-year-old Boy Scouts who have not yet had wilderness survival training. The boys are measured at the same time on proficiency in various skills. Discuss the weaknesses related to experimental validity.

Question 51

Automating experiments so that they are run by computer is a strategy for overcoming which threat to validity?

A) evaluation apprehension
B) experimenter bias
C) role demands
D) selection bias

Question 52

A researcher designs a study to assess the effects of individual versus group practice on problem-solving achievement of fifth-grade children. Two teachers in an inner city elementary school volunteer to participate in the study and decide to use the classes that they are already teaching. The teachers decide between themselves which method, either the individual or group method, their students will use. After a 10 week period, a problem solving test is administered to the children. Discuss the threats to internal and external validity in this study.

Question 53

A participant's ideas and expectations about an experiment give rise to

A) evaluation apprehension
B) role demands
C) experimenter bias
D) selection bias

Question 54

Outliers in an experimental data set pose a problem to __________ validity.

A) internal
B) external
C) construct
D) statistical

Question 55

Role demands are a source of

A) selection bias
B) experimenter bias
C) subject bias
D) evaluation bias

Question 56

Marie is a participant in an experiment on food preferences. She has a habit of eating her fish sandwiches with coleslaw, cocktail sauce, and peanut butter on them on them. When asked about her preferences in eating fish, she doesn't mention all of the condiments that she uses. Marie is showing

A) evaluation apprehension
B) maturation
C) selection bias
D) good-subject tendency

Question 57

List at least 4 threats to internal validity and explain what they mean.

Question 58

When an experimenter knows what the results of an experiment "should" be, it is possible for the results to be unintentionally influenced. This is an example of

A) evaluation apprehension
B) role demands
C) experimenter bias
D) selection bias

Question 59

Which one of the following questions does not concern a threat to external validity? Would the same experiment _______

A) conducted at another time produce the same results?
B) conducted in another place produce the same results?
C) produce the same results if other subjects were used?
D) produce the same results if the independent variable were operationalized differently?