Deck 8: Internal and External Validity

Question 1

Describe a few ways in which researchers measure aggression in a laboratory setting.

Answer 1

(1) Shock intensity/noise blasts/heat pulses administered to a confederate, (2) Subtraction of pay for a confederate, (3) Verbal aggression against a confederate, (4) Negative written comments about a confederate

Question 2

A study with good internal validity

A) has good environmental generalization.
B) has good temporal generalization.
C) is free from confounds.
D) has at least one interaction with selection.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a threat to internal validity?

A) Multiple-treatment interference
B) History
C) Maturation
D) Statistical regression

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Jerry is concerned about whether his independent variable is the only possible explanation for the results of his experiment. Jerry is concerned about

A) external validity.
B) internal validity.
C) reliability.
D) convenience sampling.

Question 5

In general, which has higher internal validity: experiments or correlational studies? Why?

Question 6

__________ refers to events that occur between repeated measurements of the dependent variable.

A) Maturation
B) Statistical regression
C) Selection
D) History

Question 7

Dependent variable measurements that actually change the dependent variable being measured are known as

A) nonreactive measures.
B) reactive measures.
C) diffusion of treatments.
D) instrumentation problems.

Question 8

Ron is conducting an experiment that lasts several hours. During part of the experiment, a noisy power saw operates outside the room. Ron is concerned that responses may be influenced by the power saw instead of his independent variable. This example illustrates the potential problem of

A) instrumentation.
B) testing.
C) history.
D) selection.

Question 9

Anderson and Bushman (1997) argue that if a study has low internal validity, a discussion of external validity is meaningless. Explain.

Question 10

Bonnie conducts an experiment to examine the effects of media on college women's body image. She gives a sample of women a body image questionnaire, then a week later exposes them to magazine photos of very thin models. Then a week later she administers a posttest designed to assess any changes in body image. Right before the posttest, a famous supermodel is reported to be suffering from anorexia; the story is on the cover of several magazines. Bonnie is concerned that the women's responses on the posttest may be influenced by the supermodel story instead of her independent variable. This example illustrates the potential problem of

A) mortality.
B) statistical regression.
C) selection.
D) history.

Question 11

On the surface, it seems as though indeed, laboratory settings have little relation to the outside world (note, for instance, the differences in your answers for questions 5 and 6). How do Anderson and Bushman (1997) refute this claim?

Question 12

________ refers to a threat to internal validity that occurs because measuring the dependent variable causes a change in the dependent variable.

A) History
B) Maturation
C) Testing
D) Instrumentation

Question 13

Explain why sometimes, the artificial laboratory environment may be preferable to real world settings.

Question 14

Describe a few ways in which researchers measure aggression in the real world.

Question 15

Changes in participants that occur over time during an experiment are referred to as

A) history.
B) maturation.
C) testing.
D) selection.

Question 16

According to Anderson and Bushman (1997), in what way is aggression in the laboratory similar to aggression in the real world? Why is it important to note these similarities?

Question 17

In general, which has higher external validity: field research or laboratory research? Why?

Question 18

Tad takes the SAT twice and his scores improve by a few points the second time. Tad's improvement is most likely due to

A) a practice effect.
B) selection.
C) mortality.
D) diffusion of treatment.

Question 19

Maturational changes are most likely to occur in an experiment that has

A) repeated measurements of the dependent variable.
B) one measurement of the dependent variable.
C) one measurement of the independent variable.
D) high external validity.

Question 20

Stanley conducts a study in which he assesses teasing in a sample of first-graders during the first week of school and again three months later. Because the study is longitudinal, Stanley has to worry about which of the following threats to internal validity?

A) Selection
B) Temporal generalization
C) Demand characteristics
D) Maturation

Question 21

Andy conducts a study to improve reading scores in elementary schools. He obtains a sample of second-graders whose reading level was very much below average. He enrolls these students in a reading program and then measures their reading level six months later. Reading levels were significantly higher after the program than before. Because Andy selected participants on the basis of their extreme scores, he should be concerned about

A) diffusion of treatment.
B) statistical regression.
C) temporal generalization.
D) instrumentation.

Question 22

Instrumentation can refer to problems with

A) equipment.
B) human observers, judges, raters, and coders.
C) either equipment or human observers, judges, raters, and coders.
D) neither equipment nor human observers, judges, raters, and coders.

Question 23

Gary conducts a study to examine the effectiveness of an exercise program on weight loss. The experimental group must exercise for two hours per day for six months. The control group must exercise for 15 minutes per day for six months. Gary finds greater weight loss in the experimental group than the control group. Unfortunately, 60% of the participants in the experimental group dropped out of the study, compared to 10% of the control group participants. Gary has encountered what kind of problem?

A) Statistical regression
B) Instrumentation
C) Mortality
D) Maturation

Question 24

Emily conducts an experiment in which her experimental group and control group are not equivalent at the beginning of the experiment. Emily has a(n)__________ problem.

A) regression
B) selection
C) maturation
D) instrumentation

Question 25

Ben conducts a study to test the effectiveness of an alcohol treatment program. He surveys the clients twice: once at intake and again six months later. He finds that overall, the treatment program was effective, but approximately 30% of the original sample dropped out of the program so he does not have posttest data for them. Ben has encountered which kind of problem?

A) Instrumentation
B) Mortality
C) Statistical regression
D) Diffusion of treatment

Question 26

________ refers to a threat to internal validity that can occur if the experimental participants from different groups drop out of the experiment at different rates.

A) History
B) Maturation
C) Mortality
D) Selection

Question 27

DV measurements that do not influence the DV being measured are known as

A) reactive measures.
B) nonreactive measures.
C) demand characteristics.
D) maturation problems.

Question 28

The "Sports Illustrated jinx" refers to the fact that athletes who appear on the cover of the magazine often then experience a decline in performance afterwards. Some researchers attribute this to the fact that athletes who are placed on the cover are those who are at the top of their game, and performance naturally reverts back to a more normal level after time. These researchers are referring to the problem of

A) statistical regression.
B) mortality.
C) selection.
D) instrumentation.

Question 29

Tony uses one-way mirrors in his study so that participants won't know that they are being watched. Tony is concerned about

A) reactive measures.
B) maturation.
C) history.
D) statistical regression.

Question 30

Why do the groups have to be equivalent at the start of an experiment?

A) If the groups are not equivalent at the start of an experiment, the experiment is contaminated by ethnocentrism.
B) If the groups are not equivalent at the start of an experiment, demand characteristics are more likely.
C) If the groups are not equivalent at the start of an experiment, it is impossible to conduct a replication.
D) If the groups are not equivalent at the start of an experiment, we cannot be certain that the IV caused any difference observed in the DV.

Question 31

___________ refers to a threat to internal validity that occurs when low scorers improve or high scorers fall on a second administration of a test as a result of statistical reasons.

A) Mortality
B) Selection
C) Statistical regression
D) History

Question 32

Which of the following is used by psychologists to create nonreactive measures?

A) a representative sample
B) attitude questionnaires instead of behavioral observations
C) deception
D) All of the above.

Question 33

Delia gives students a questionnaire on attitudes toward affirmative action. Then she shows her participants a movie on affirmative action. Then the participants fill out the same questionnaire again. Which of the following problems is most likely in Delia's study?

A) Reactive measures
B) Selection
C) Nonreactive measures
D) Type III error

Question 34

Joy scored a 98% on her last Research Methods exam. Based on the concept of statistical regression, we would predict that her score on the next exam will be

A) 98%
B) a little bit lower than a 98%
C) 70%
D) 58%

Question 35

Which threat to internal validity is most likely to affect an experiment in which one of the conditions is very unpleasant or demanding?

A) Mortality
B) History
C) Selection
D) Interactions with selection

Question 36

__________ refers to a threat to internal validity that occurs if the equipment or human measuring the DV changes the measuring criterion over time.

A) Mortality
B) Maturation
C) History
D) Instrumentation

Question 37

Christina conducts a study on the effects of a reading comprehension course to help first-graders who aren't reading at their grade level. She obtains a sample of 30 children from an inner city elementary school, and 30 children from a school in the suburbs. The 30 inner-city children are the control group and don't get the treatment, and the 30 children from the suburbs are the experimental group and get the treatment. Six months later, the children in the treatment group improved markedly in their reading, whereas the children in the control group did not. Christina's study suffers from which threat to internal validity?

A) Instrumentation
B) Selection
C) Mortality
D) Diffusion of treatment

Question 38

Sasha conducts a study to compare self-esteem in American versus Swedish school children. She assesses the children at ages 5, 7, and 9. Which of the following interactions is most likely?

A) Selection-history interaction
B) Selection-instrumentation interaction
C) Selection-regression interaction
D) Selection-generalization interaction

Question 39

A coder in an experiment has to code participant responses over a period of several months. The coding that she does during the first month is noticeably different from the coding she does during the last month. The experiment has ___________ problems.

A) statistical regression
B) instrumentation
C) mortality
D) maturation

Question 40

Threats to internal validity that can occur if there are systematic differences between selected treatment groups based on maturation, history, or instrumentation are referred to as interactions with __________.

A) generalizability
B) regression
C) selection
D) testing

Question 41

An industrial-organizational psychologist is hired to help increase productivity at a company. He teaches one group of workers strategies to improve productivity and has a control group who does not learn the new strategies. However, workers in the experimental group talk to their friends in the control group about the new strategies, and pretty soon everyone is using them. Which kind of problem has the psychologist encountered?

A) Mortality
B) Maturation
C) Diffusion of treatment
D) Statistical regression

Question 42

When a pretest sensitizes participants to the treatment yet to come, researchers have a problem of

A) interaction of testing and treatment.
B) temporal generalization.
C) multiple-treatment interference.
D) convenience sampling.

Question 43

How should a researcher guard against diffusion of treatment?

A) Be sure to randomly assign participants to groups.
B) Do not choose participants who have very high or very low scores.
C) Check experimental equipment every day.
D) Tell participants not to talk to others about the experiment.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT a threat to external validity?

A) Statistical regression
B) Reactive arrangements
C) Convenience sampling
D) Multiple-treatment interference

Question 45

Angela conducts a study demonstrating that active learning strategies in a research methods course produce greater understanding of the material than passive learning strategies. She hopes that her results will apply to other research methods courses outside of the one she studied. Angela is concerned with

A) demand characteristics.
B) temporal generalization.
C) environmental generalization.
D) statistical regression.

Question 46

If participants in one treatment group become familiar with the treatment of another group and copy that treatment, the experiment has low internal validity due to

A) selection.
B) maturation.
C) statistical regression.
D) diffusion of treatment.

Question 47

Generalizability is most closely associated with

A) internal validity.
B) external validity.
C) statistical regression.
D) instrumentation.

Question 48

What is the most important property of any experiment?

A) Environmental generalization
B) Temporal generalization
C) Population generalization
D) Internal validity

Question 49

_____________ generalization refers to applying the results from an experiment to participants outside of those used in the original experiment.

A) Temporal
B) Environmental
C) Population
D) Selection

Question 50

Research on racial attitudes from the 1950s may not generalize to present-day attitudes. This research exhibits low

A) population generalization.
B) temporal generalization.
C) environmental generalization.
D) internal validity.

Question 51

Pablo gives a racism scale to participants, then gives a half-hour lecture on racism, and then gives participants the racism scale again. Which threat to external validity should Pablo be most concerned about?

A) Multiple-treatment interference
B) Interaction of testing and treatment
C) Interaction of selection and treatment
D) Statistical regression

Question 52

____________ generalization refers to applying the results from an experiment to situations that differ from those of the original experiment.

A) Population
B) Treatment
C) Temporal
D) Environmental

Question 53

Sharon hopes that the results of her study generalize beyond the participants in her study. Sharon is concerned about ___________ generalization.

A) environmental
B) population
C) temporal
D) testing

Question 54

If an experiment has diffusion of treatment, what is the likely result of such an experiment?

A) The differences between the groups would be large.
B) There would be no differences between the groups.
C) The results would not be affected by diffusion of treatment.
D) None of the above.

Question 55

Exhibiting a high degree of control over the experiment _________ internal validity and __________ external validity.

A) decreases; decreases
B) increases; increases
C) increases; decreases
D) decreases; increases

Question 56

_____________ generalization refers to applying the results from an experiment to a different time period.

A) Population
B) Environmental
C) Temporal
D) Statistical

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT a type of generalization described in the textbook?

A) Population generalization
B) Internal generalization
C) Environmental generalization
D) Temporal generalization

Question 58

Tracy hopes that the results of her experiment are applicable to college students in general, not just the 100 students in her study. Tracy is concerned about

A) internal validity
B) statistical regression.
C) external validity.
D) demand characteristics.

Question 59

When diffusion of treatment occurs, the researcher effectively no longer has a(n) ________ variable.

A) extraneous
B) dependent
C) independent
D) internal

Question 60

A researcher should evaluate _________ validity prior to __________ validity.

A) external; internal
B) internal; external
C) interior; exterior
D) exterior; interior

Question 61

_________ is considered to be the "father of Black American psychology."

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Erik Eriksen
C) Francis Cecil Sumner
D) Alfred Adler

Question 62

Which of the following groups is overrepresented as participants in psychological research?

A) Europeans
B) Primates
C) College students
D) Psychology professors

Question 63

A threat to external validity caused by an experimental situation that alters participants' behavior, regardless of the independent variable involved, is known as

A) multiple-treatment interference.
B) reactive arrangements.
C) instrumentation.
D) diffusion of treatments.

Question 64

Early social psychologists were _______ likely to use diverse populations in their research compared to current social psychologists.

A) more
B) less
C) as
D) None of the above.

Question 65

When a treatment effect is found only for a specific sample of participants, it is referred to as a(n)

A) interaction of selection and treatment.
B) interaction of testing and treatment.
C) multiple-treatment interference.
D) reactive arrangement.

Question 66

A researcher does a study on a new therapy to treat anxiety. All of her participants are men; it turns out the therapy is not effective with women. This example illustrates which of the following threats to external validity?

A) Reactive arrangements
B) Multiple-treatment interference
C) Interaction of selection and treatment
D) Interaction of testing and treatment

Question 67

Reactive arrangements tend to ________ demand characteristics.

A) increase
B) decrease
C) be unrelated to
D) first increase, then decrease

Question 68

Early psychological theories tended to focus primarily on

A) women only.
B) men only.
C) both men and women.
D) female fetuses.

Question 69

What is comparative psychology?

A) the study of gender differences
B) the study of behavior in different species
C) the study of differences in the subdisciplines of psychology
D) the study of cultural differences

Question 70

The extensive use of white rats in research represents a potential problem with ________ validity

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

Question 71

The threat of a(n) _______________ becomes greater as it becomes more difficult to find participants because the participants that the researcher does find are likely to be unique and not representative of the population.

A) interaction of testing and treatment
B) reactive arrangement
C) interaction of selection and treatment
D) instrumentation threat

Question 72

Features from the experiment that inadvertently lead participants to respond in a particular manner are known as

A) demand characteristics.
B) multiple-treatment interferences.
C) interactions with selection.
D) ethnocentric biases.

Question 73

Which of the following are differences between college students and the general population, according to Sears (1986)?

A) learning processes
B) the stability of attitudes
C) memory processes
D) All of the above.

Question 74

Because the laboratory is such an artificial environment, it is sometimes referred to as a(n)

A) multiple-treatment interference.
B) environmental generalization.
C) reactive arrangement.
D) practice effect.

Question 75

What is multiple-treatment interference?

A) A threat to external validity that occurs when a set of findings results only when participants experience multiple treatments in the same experiment.
B) A threat to external validity that occurs when a treatment effect is found only for a specific sample of participants.
C) A threat to external validity that occurs when a pretest sensitizes participants to the treatment yet to come.
D) A threat to external validity caused by an experimental situation that alters participants' behavior, regardless of the IV involved.

Question 76

Psychologists often use college students enrolled in introductory psychology courses as participants. This is referred to as a

A) random sample.
B) representative sample.
C) stratified random sample.
D) convenience sample.

Question 77

Sears (1986) argued that research findings that have only been tested in college students may not generalize to other populations, which is referred to as a __________ problem.

A) reactive arrangements
B) multiple-treatment interference
C) selection-treatment interaction
D) demand characteristics

Question 78

Ebbinghaus's research in which he memorized large numbers of nonsense syllables was not applicable to people who learned small numbers of nonsense syllables. Ebbinghaus's research represents

A) interaction of testing and treatment.
B) a reactive arrangement.
C) multiple-treatment interference.
D) faulty internal validity.

Question 79

Which of the following animal species is overrepresented in psychological research?

A) orangutans
B) gorillas
C) ants
D) rats

Question 80

Reactive arrangements tend to __________ external validity.

A) increase
B) decrease
C) be unrelated to
D) first increase, then decrease