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

Question 1

RESEARCH STUDY 3.3: Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class.In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem.Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced.I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem.Could you predict one from the other?" Clarissa's concern is addressing which of the following?

A) the study's statistical validity
B) the study's internal validity
C) the study's external validity
D) the study's construct validity

Answer 1

the study's construct validity

Question 2

Which of the following phrases would NOT indicate that a researcher is making a causal claim?

A) "curbs"
B) "seems to decrease"
C) "suggests a change"
D) "is at higher risk of"

Answer 2

"is at higher risk of"

Question 3

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." Which type of claim is Dr.LaSalle making?

A) anecdotal claim
B) association claim
C) causal claim
D) frequency claim

Answer 3

association claim

Question 4

Which of the following is the difference between claims based on personal experience (anecdotal claims) and frequency claims?

A) Anecdotal claims involve a single variable; frequency claims involve two variables.
B) Anecdotal claims are not based on scientific studies but frequency claims are.
C) Anecdotal claims are less interesting than frequency claims.
D) Anecdotal claims appear in newspapers; frequency claims appear in journals.

Question 5

Dr.Hoda measures job satisfaction and number of years of education.In examining her scatterplot, she sees the cloud of points has no slope.This indicates which type of relationship?

A) negative association
B) positive association
C) zero association
D) causal association

Question 6

To evaluate how well a study supports a frequency claim, you need to focus most on evaluating which of the following validities?

A) Construct validity and external validity
B) Statistical validity and external validity
C) Internal validity and external validity
D) Internal validity and construct validity

Question 7

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." Which type of claim is Dr.Ramon making?

A) anecdotal claim
B) association claim
C) causal claim
D) frequency claim

Question 8

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1: Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music.Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. In this study, the researchers recorded how many errors participants committed.This is an example of which of the following?

A) a constant
B) a variable's level
C) a measured variable
D) a manipulated variable

Question 9

Which of the following is an association claim?

A) "Owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction."
B) "A majority of Americans like dogs."
C) "Dog traveled 500 miles to find its owners."
D) "Being visited by dogs in the hospital causes decreases in recovery time."

Question 10

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1: Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music.Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. How many variables are included in this study?

A) one
B) two
C) four
D) five

Question 11

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1: Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music.Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. Which of the following is a variable in this study?

A) the sex of the researcher
B) the volume of the music
C) the type of game
D) the sex of the participant

Question 12

RESEARCH STUDY 3.3: Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class.In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem.Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced.I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem.Could you predict one from the other?" Quinn's concern is addressing which of the following?

A) the study's statistical validity
B) the study's internal validity
C) the study's external validity
D) the study's construct validity

Question 13

Which of the following allow us to make strong predictions using association claims?

A) strong positive associations
B) strong negative associations
C) both strong positive associations and strong negative associations
D) neither strong positive associations nor strong negative associations

Question 14

Which of the following is true of variables?

A) Variables are the same as constants.
B) All variables can be manipulated.
C) Some variables can be either manipulated or measured.
D) Variables only need conceptual definitions.

Question 15

Dr.Ellison finds a relation between 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?

A) negative association
B) positive association
C) zero association
D) causal association

Question 16

Which of the following is true of operational definitions?

A) Conceptual definition and operational definition mean the same thing.
B) Some psychological concepts are more difficult to operationally define than others.
C) Some psychological concepts cannot be operationally defined.
D) Operational definitions answer the question, "Why did the researchers measure this variable?"

Question 17

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1: Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music.Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. Which of the following is a constant in this study?

A) the type of game
B) effort put into playing the game
C) the sex of the participant
D) the number of researchers

Question 18

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." Which of the following statements is true of Dr.Ramon's and Dr.LaSalle's claims?

A) Dr. Ramon's claim goes further than Dr. LaSalle's claim.
B) Dr. LaSalle's claim goes further than Dr. Ramon's claim.
C) Dr. LaSalle's claim is the same as Dr. Ramon's claim.
D) Dr. Ramon's claim involves more variables than Dr. LaSalle's claim.

Question 19

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1: Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music.Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. In this study, the authors were interested in participants' board game performance.Which of the following would be a reasonable operational definition of performance?

A) an earnest attempt to finish quickly
B) which board game participants chose to play
C) performance when playing a board game
D) whether participants won against a partner

Question 20

RESEARCH STUDY 3.3: Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class.In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem.Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced.I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem.Could you predict one from the other?" Manish's concern is addressing which of the following?

A) the study's statistical validity
B) the study's internal validity
C) the study's external validity
D) the study's construct validity

Question 21

Which of the following is a dependent variable?

A) one that is manipulated
B) one that is measured
C) one that is kept constant
D) one that has one level

Question 22

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. Based on this study, Dr.Kang can make which of the following claims?

A) Emotion enhances memory.
B) Distraction is associated with worse memory.
C) Group A has better memory than Group B.
D) Fifteen percent of emotional words are remembered.

Question 23

Dr.Hadden wants to conduct a study that will allow him to make claims that apply to all college students.Which of the following validities is he prioritizing?

A) the statistical validity of the study
B) the internal validity of the study
C) the construct validity of the study
D) the external validity of the study

Question 24

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. Dr.Kang's decision to assign participants randomly to Group A and Group B increases which of the following?

A) the covariance of the study
B) the temporal precedence of the study
C) the internal validity of the study
D) the external validity of the study

Question 25

Which of the following could be an independent variable in a causal claim?

A) one that is manipulated
B) one that is measured
C) one that is kept constant
D) one that has one level

Question 26

Which of the following questions assesses internal validity when evaluating causal claims?

A) Are the groups large enough to find a significant difference?
B) How well did the experiments manipulate the variables?
C) Does the study establish temporal precedence?
D) To what populations can we generalize this claim?

Question 27

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. Which of the following is the dependent variable in Dr.Kang's study?

A) the length of the distractor task
B) the number of words remembered
C) the emotional or neutral content of the words
D) the number of words on the list

Question 28

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

A) He must make a frequency claim first.
B) He must manipulate all of his variables.
C) He must measure all of his variables.
D) He must conduct an experiment.

Question 29

RESEARCH STUDY 3.3: Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class.In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem.Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced.I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem.Could you predict one from the other?" Anton is concerned that the researcher made a Type I error.What does that mean?

A) The researcher failed to consider a third variable.
B) The researcher concluded there was a relationship, but there isn't really one.
C) The researcher failed to establish the first rule of causation.
D) The researcher concluded there was not a relationship, but there really is one.

Question 30

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. If Dr.Kang decided against using random assignment, which of the following would be threatened?

A) the covariance of the study
B) the temporal precedence of the study
C) the internal validity of the study
D) the external validity of the study

Question 31

A Type I error is known as which of the following?

A) a false positive
B) a false negative
C) a near miss
D) a missed opportunity

Question 32

RESEARCH STUDY 3.3: Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class.In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem.Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced.I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem.Could you predict one from the other?" Why should Anton NOT interrogate the internal validity of the study?

A) because he is a student, not a researcher
B) because the author of the study already did
C) because the study's claim is an association claim
D) because he has not taken statistics yet

Question 33

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. Dr.Kang sends his study to a journal to be published.One of the peer reviewers questions the way Dr.Kang manipulated emotion, arguing that being exposed to emotional words does not make one emotional.The reviewer is questioning which of the following?

A) the statistical validity of the study
B) the internal validity of the study
C) the construct validity of the study
D) the external validity of the study

Question 34

Who is responsible for deciding which validity is prioritized in a study?

A) the researcher
B) the participants
C) the peer reviewers
D) the journalist

Question 35

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?

A) the criterion of covariance
B) the criterion of temporal precedence
C) the third-variable criterion
D) the criterion of external validity

Question 36

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. Which of the following is the independent variable in Dr.Kang's study?

A) the length of the distractor task
B) the number of words remembered
C) the emotional or neutral content of the words
D) the number of words on the list

Question 37

When examining the statistical validity of a frequency claim, one should look for the:

A) strength of the association.
B) margin of error estimate.
C) statistical significance.
D) length of the measurement.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a research claim?

A) Texting interferes with driver's ability to pay attention.
B) Most drivers have reported texting while driving.
C) Texting while driving is associated with poor impulse control.
D) Teens spend too much time texting and driving.

Question 39

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. Which of the following makes Dr.Kang's study an experiment?

A) Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another.
B) Dr. Kang used a distractor task.
C) The study was conducted at a university.
D) The study was conducted by a professor.

Question 40

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 criteria of causation?

A) the criterion of covariance
B) the criterion of temporal precedence
C) the third-variable criterion
D) the criterion of external validity

Question 41

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

Question 42

When researchers conduct an experiment comparing two different treatment conditions, they are likely to be more concerned with validity than validity.

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

Question 43

Which of the following is a reasonable causal claim?

A) No one should text and drive.
B) Experts say a majority of drivers text while driving.
C) Texting while driving reduces impulse control.
D) Teens spend too much time texting and driving.

Question 44

What makes certain constructs harder to operationalize?

A) Some constructs are difficult to observe.
B) When different definitions don't correlate
C) When there are only two levels of the variable
D) Some constructs cannot be manipulated.

Question 45

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5: Jenny reads the following headline on an online article: "If You're Sexist, People Will Think You're Racist, and Vice Versa." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Sanchez and colleagues, 2017.) This study found that members of stigmatized groups are threatened by prejudice directed at other stigmatized groups.Their results showed that White women can be threatened by racism, and men of color threatened by sexism, and that these perceptions made participants expect unfair treatment. Which of the following questions assesses the construct validity of this study?

A) Would this research generalize to children?
B) Did the researchers establish temporal precedence?
C) How did the researchers measure expectations of unfair treatment?
D) How big was the effect of perceived discrimination?

Question 46

You read a news article titled, "New Drug Reduces OCD Symptoms in Mice" about a recent scientific study.To evaluate whether the title's claim is supported, you should do which of the following?

A) Ensure that the authors attempted to maximize Type II error.
B) Research the frequency of OCD in mice.
C) Check whether the authors established covariance, temporal precedence, and internal validity.
D) Ask yourself whether the implication makes intuitive sense.

Question 47

Name the three types of claims.Explain the difference between claims.

Question 48

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6: From a Time.com article entitled "Why Men Shouldn't Listen to Rock Music While Playing Board Games," published on December 13, 2016.
Researchers Fancourt, Burton, and Williamon wanted to find out whether different types of music would impact participants' performance on a mock-surgery game, "Operation." Many real-life surgeons listen to music while operating, so the authors were interested in whether this may actually help performance, and whether that differed by sex of the participant.
The psychologists asked male and female participants to play the mock-surgery game, "Operation," in which they needed to remove three different organs from a "patient" using tweezers.The experimenters played either rock music, classical music, or operating-room sounds.They found that the type of music made a difference on the performance of male participants, who were slower to complete the task (in seconds) while listening to rock music compared with classical music.The performance of female participants did not differ based on the type of music they listened to.
What is the difference between a manipulated and a measured variable? Indicate which variables are manipulated and which variables are measured in this study.

Question 49

RESEARCH STUDY 3.7: 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!"
What type of claim is the author making in the article referenced to in this study? Name two reasons you think the author is making this type of claim.

Question 50

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5: Jenny reads the following headline on an online article: "If You're Sexist, People Will Think You're Racist, and Vice Versa." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Sanchez and colleagues, 2017.) This study found that members of stigmatized groups are threatened by prejudice directed at other stigmatized groups.Their results showed that White women can be threatened by racism, and men of color threatened by sexism, and that these perceptions made participants expect unfair treatment. Because of the design of this study, Sanchez and colleagues are likely more interested in than .

A) construct validity; generalizing to all minority groups
B) the effect size of their findings; construct validity
C) generalizing to all minority groups; statistical validity
D) external validity; validating their causal claims

Question 51

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5: Jenny reads the following headline on an online article: "If You're Sexist, People Will Think You're Racist, and Vice Versa." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Sanchez and colleagues, 2017.) This study found that members of stigmatized groups are threatened by prejudice directed at other stigmatized groups.Their results showed that White women can be threatened by racism, and men of color threatened by sexism, and that these perceptions made participants expect unfair treatment. In this study, is a conceptual definition of one of their primary variables.

A) a questionnaire assessing level of stigma perceived
B) perceived prejudiced attitudes
C) age of participants
D) self-reported race on a questionnaire

Question 52

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6: From a Time.com article entitled "Why Men Shouldn't Listen to Rock Music While Playing Board Games," published on December 13, 2016.
Researchers Fancourt, Burton, and Williamon wanted to find out whether different types of music would impact participants' performance on a mock-surgery game, "Operation." Many real-life surgeons listen to music while operating, so the authors were interested in whether this may actually help performance, and whether that differed by sex of the participant.
The psychologists asked male and female participants to play the mock-surgery game, "Operation," in which they needed to remove three different organs from a "patient" using tweezers.The experimenters played either rock music, classical music, or operating-room sounds.They found that the type of music made a difference on the performance of male participants, who were slower to complete the task (in seconds) while listening to rock music compared with classical music.The performance of female participants did not differ based on the type of music they listened to.
What type of claim is the author making in this study? Explain why you think this is the claim being made.

Question 53

Which of the following indicates that an article's claims are based on research?

A) The author describes her creative solution to a scientific problem.
B) The article describes how a scientific study measured a variable.
C) The article includes a direct quote from an expert in the field.
D) The article compares two groups of individuals.

Question 54

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6: From a Time.com article entitled "Why Men Shouldn't Listen to Rock Music While Playing Board Games," published on December 13, 2016.
Researchers Fancourt, Burton, and Williamon wanted to find out whether different types of music would impact participants' performance on a mock-surgery game, "Operation." Many real-life surgeons listen to music while operating, so the authors were interested in whether this may actually help performance, and whether that differed by sex of the participant.
The psychologists asked male and female participants to play the mock-surgery game, "Operation," in which they needed to remove three different organs from a "patient" using tweezers.The experimenters played either rock music, classical music, or operating-room sounds.They found that the type of music made a difference on the performance of male participants, who were slower to complete the task (in seconds) while listening to rock music compared with classical music.The performance of female participants did not differ based on the type of music they listened to.
Consider the measured outcome variable in this study.Provide both a conceptual definition and an operational definition for it.

Question 55

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5: Jenny reads the following headline on an online article: "If You're Sexist, People Will Think You're Racist, and Vice Versa." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Sanchez and colleagues, 2017.) This study found that members of stigmatized groups are threatened by prejudice directed at other stigmatized groups.Their results showed that White women can be threatened by racism, and men of color threatened by sexism, and that these perceptions made participants expect unfair treatment. The results of this study can be generalized to which of the following groups?

A) White women and African American men
B) All minority groups
C) African American women
D) Individuals receiving unfair treatment

Question 56

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6: From a Time.com article entitled "Why Men Shouldn't Listen to Rock Music While Playing Board Games," published on December 13, 2016.
Researchers Fancourt, Burton, and Williamon wanted to find out whether different types of music would impact participants' performance on a mock-surgery game, "Operation." Many real-life surgeons listen to music while operating, so the authors were interested in whether this may actually help performance, and whether that differed by sex of the participant.
The psychologists asked male and female participants to play the mock-surgery game, "Operation," in which they needed to remove three different organs from a "patient" using tweezers.The experimenters played either rock music, classical music, or operating-room sounds.They found that the type of music made a difference on the performance of male participants, who were slower to complete the task (in seconds) while listening to rock music compared with classical music.The performance of female participants did not differ based on the type of music they listened to.
Explain the difference between a variable and a constant.Give an example of each from this study.

Question 57

Which of the following statements is an operational definition of "fear of snakes" that could be assessed as a structured question?

A) measuring heart rate following exposure to snakes
B) asking the question "When was the last time you saw a snake?"
C) assigning the participant to keep a "daily fear diary" in which they track their fear level
D) asking, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how afraid of snakes are you?"

Question 58

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5: Jenny reads the following headline on an online article: "If You're Sexist, People Will Think You're Racist, and Vice Versa." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Sanchez and colleagues, 2017.) This study found that members of stigmatized groups are threatened by prejudice directed at other stigmatized groups.Their results showed that White women can be threatened by racism, and men of color threatened by sexism, and that these perceptions made participants expect unfair treatment. In this study, the article's headline is because .

A) justified; the researchers manipulated sexism
B) justified; the findings are significant
C) unjustified; it is impossible to manipulate sexism
D) unjustified; the researcher did not study all groups of individuals who are sexist or racist

Question 59

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6: From a Time.com article entitled "Why Men Shouldn't Listen to Rock Music While Playing Board Games," published on December 13, 2016.
Researchers Fancourt, Burton, and Williamon wanted to find out whether different types of music would impact participants' performance on a mock-surgery game, "Operation." Many real-life surgeons listen to music while operating, so the authors were interested in whether this may actually help performance, and whether that differed by sex of the participant.
The psychologists asked male and female participants to play the mock-surgery game, "Operation," in which they needed to remove three different organs from a "patient" using tweezers.The experimenters played either rock music, classical music, or operating-room sounds.They found that the type of music made a difference on the performance of male participants, who were slower to complete the task (in seconds) while listening to rock music compared with classical music.The performance of female participants did not differ based on the type of music they listened to.
Name the variables in this study and indicate the levels of each.

Question 60

Name the four validities used to interrogate claims.If you were to question a study's four validities, provide a question you might ask related to each validity.

Question 61

For the following three terms, create a measured operational definition for each: academic success, attention, and social anxiety.

Question 62

Name the three criteria/rules necessary for making a causal claim.Describe why each is important.

Question 63

RESEARCH STUDY 3.7: 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!"
Explain why converting this study to an experiment changes the type of claim the researcher can make.

Question 64

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

Question 65

RESEARCH STUDY 3.7: 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!"
Using the three criteria for evaluating causal claims, discuss the reasons your friend Matt is correct or incorrect in his interpretation of the study.

Question 66

RESEARCH STUDY 3.7: 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!"
Explain how one could convert this study into an experiment.