Deck 6: Causation and Experimentation

Question 1

All true experiments measure the outcome in both groups after the experimental group has received the treatment which is known as the 6-11)

A)Pretest
B)Subtest
C)Ex post facto test
D)Posttest

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The criterion of time order indicates that the variation in the independent variable came before the 6-7)

A)Time sensitive criterion variable
B)Dependent variable
C)Variation variable
D)Mechanistic variable

Answer 2

B

Question 3

One of the five basic sources of internal invalidity is 6-18)

A)Endogenous Change
B)Being high in internal validity
C)Inability to produce valid conclusions about causality
D)Lower in generalizable results than quasi-experimental designs

Answer 3

A

Question 4

An explanation that involves the belief that variation in an independent variable will be following by variation in the dependent variable is a 6-2)

A)Idiographic causal explanation
B)Ceteris parabus causal explanation
C)Nomothetic causal explanation
D)None of the above

Question 5

The common feature of before-and-after quasi-experimental designs is 6-16)

A)The absence of an experimental treatment group
B)A fixed sample panel design
C)Absence of a comparison group because all cases are exposed to the experimental group
D)The comprehension of a before and after group

Question 6

When using a true experimental design to test a hypothesis is not feasible, a researcher may use a 6-13)

A)Semi-experimental design
B)Nonequivalent experimental design
C)Nonspurious experimental design
D)Quasi-experimental design

Question 7

In non-equivalent control group designs, a comparison group is selected to be as comparable as possible to the treatment group.One of the selection methods that may be used is 6-13)

A)Individual matching
B)Field Experiment
C)Cohort matching
D)Control Experimentation

Question 8

In ex post facto control group designs, the groups are 6-17)

A)Designated before the treatment has occurred
B)Randomly assigned
C)Designated after the treatment has occurred
D)Correlated to define the group units of analysis

Question 9

An important feature of a true experiment is that there is random assignment to 6-9)

A)One comparison group
B)Two or more comparison groups
C)The associative group
D)The nonspurious comparison group

Question 10

The assessment of change in the dependent variable for both groups after the experimental condition has been applied is known as 6-9)

A)The pretest
B)The ex post facto test
C)The assigned test
D)The posttest

Question 11

An explanation that identifies the concrete, individual sequence of events, thoughts or actions, resulting in a particular outcome is a 6-4)

A)Idiographic causal explanation
B)Ceteris parabus causal explanation
C)Nomothetic causal explanation
D)None of the above

Question 12

A true experiment has 6-9)

A)Three comparison groups
B)Two comparison groups and five interventional groups
C)Two comparison groups
D)None of the above

Question 13

A powerful way to ensure that the independent variable actually affected the dependent variable when using a before-and-after design is by 6-16)

A)Using a multiple group before-and-after design
B)Using only multiple "after" groups
C)Using only multiple "before" groups
D)Using multiple "before and after" groups

Question 14

A researcher determines whether an association exists between the independent and dependent variables in a true experiment because two or more groups differ in terms of their value on the 6-9)

A)Independent variable
B)Dependent variable
C)Control variable
D)Experimental variable

Question 15

Experimental research provides the most powerful design for testing 6-9)

A)Contextual effects
B)Causal hypotheses
C)Randomization
D)Nonequivalency

Question 16

In a true experiment, the ____ group receives some "treatment" 6-9)

A)Control
B)Experimental
C)Dependent
D)Independent

Question 17

The group of subjects who are either exposed to a different treatment than the experimental group or who receive no treatment at all is the 6-9)

A)Control group
B)Posttest group
C)Contextual group
D)None of the above

Question 18

Social experiments conducted in the 'real world' are known as 6-12)

A)City experiments
B)Field experiments
C)Town experiments
D)None of the above

Question 19

A relationship that exists between two variables that is not due to variation in a third variable is 6-7)

A)Spurious
B)Real
C)Conclusive
D)Nonspurious

Question 20

A discernable process that creates a causal connection between two variables is 6-8)

A)The context
B)A mechanism
C)A spurious relationship
D)None of the above

Question 21

Although it is not an optimal substitute for randomization, matching is sometimes used to equate experimental and comparison groups.6-11)

Question 22

No cause can be separated from the larger context in which it occurs.6-8)

Question 23

Empirical association is one of the conditions necessary to determine causality.6-5)

Question 24

Data collected at two or more points in time are 6-26)

A)Cross-sectional designs
B)Inefficient designs
C)Longitudinal research designs
D)Event Based Designs

Question 25

Nonspuriousness is a relationship between two variables not due to a variation in a third variable.6-7)

Question 26

When treatment group members compare their situation to that of the control group members who are not receiving the treatment; experimental group members feel special simply because they are in the experiment.This effect is known as 6-21)

A)The Electric Company effect
B)The Hawthorne effect
C)The Chicago effect
D)None of the above

Question 27

An explanation identifying the concrete individual sequence of events, thoughts or actions that resulted in a particular outcome for a particular individual is a nomothetic causal explanation.6-4)

Question 28

True experiments are the most powerful design for testing causal hypotheses.6-9)

Question 29

When demonstrating a causal connection, it is helpful to be able to conclude that there is a truly discernable means of creating a connection, or mechanism, between the variables.6-8)

Question 30

The control group in a true experiment receives the treatment, or experimental manipulation.6-9)

Question 31

Being able to show that variation in the independent variable came before variation in the dependent variable is crucial in illustrating the criterion of time order.6-7)

Question 32

A longitudinal research design is a study in which data can be collected 6-25)

A)At only one point in time
B)At two or more points in time
C)As though a snapshot were taken from a camera
D)None of the above

Question 33

When subjects develop or change during the experiment as part of an ongoing process independent of the experimental treatment is known as 6-18)

A)Exogenous change
B)Contamination effects
C)Selection bias
D)Endogenous change

Question 34

Using a Solomon four-group design, subjects are randomly assigned to 6-22)

A)Four different experimental groups
B)Three experimental groups and a comparison group
C)Three comparison groups and an experimental group
D)Two experimental groups and two comparison groups

Question 35

An idiographic causal explanation would be that the likelihood of committing violent crimes is higher for individuals who were abused as children.6-4)

Question 36

A source of causal invalidity that occurs when subjects who are chosen for a study because of their extreme scores on the dependent variable become less extreme due to natural cyclical or episodic change in the variable is known as 6-19)

A)The regression effect
B)The maturation effect
C)The testing effect
D)The endogenous effect

Question 37

If an event such as the murder trial of O.J.Simpson occurred during an experiment which changes the subjects' outcome scores, the effect on the experiment would be known as the 6-20)

A)history effect
B)histrionic effect
C)contamination effect
D)regression effect

Question 38

All true experiments have a posttest.6-11)

Question 39

When comparison group members become aware that they are being denied some advantage, they may increase efforts to compensate, creating a problem known as 6-20)

A)Compensatory rivalry
B)The John Henry effect
C)The history effect
D)Both A and B

Question 40

In order to keep experimental staff from subtly conveying their enthusiasm for an experimental program to subjects, experimenters may 6-21)

A)Use blind procedures so that subjects are not aware of who is receiving the actual treatment
B)Use blind, double-blind procedures so that the experimenter is unaware of who is receiving the treatment
C)Use double-blind procedures so that neither the experimenter nor the subjects know who is receiving the treatment
D)Change to another type of experimental process in order to keep from having problems

Question 41

The John Henry effect is a type of contamination in experimental and quasi-experimental designs that occurs when control group members become aware that others are being denied some advantage and they increase their efforts by compensating.6-21)

Question 42

Before-and-after designs are types of quasi-experimental designs.6-14)

Question 43

Endogenous change occurs when the subjects develop or change during an experiment as part of an ongoing process independent of the experimental treatment.6-18)

Question 44

Social experiments are always conducted in a laboratory or controlled environment.6-12)

Question 45

The Hawthorne effect is named after a famous experiment where workers became aware that others had been denied some advantage so they slowed their productivity as a result.6-21)

Question 46

In a double-blind procedure, neither the subjects nor staff overseeing the experiment know which subjects are receiving the experimental treatment and which are receiving the placebo.6-22)

Question 47

In a quasi-experimental design, a comparison group is predetermined to be comparable to the treatment group in critical ways.6-13)

Question 48

A source of causal invalidity known as regression effect occurs when subjects have extreme scores on the dependent variable and the scores become less extreme on the posttest due to the natural cyclical change in the variable.6-19)

Question 49

The groups in ex post facto designs are designated after the treatment has occurred.6-17)