Deck 7: Naturalistic Methods

Question 1

Event sampling, individual sampling, and time sampling are all used in

A) systematic observation.
B) behavioral categorization.
C) case studies.
D) archival research.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A researcher who simply watches behavior on the subway in a large city to learn about helping behavior is using which of the following techniques?

A) Unacknowledged observer
B) Behavioral categorization
C) Acknowledged observer
D) Archival analysis

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following three approaches are used to reduce the amount of data that needs to be recorded in naturalistic observation?

A) Time, event, and behavioral sampling
B) Time, behavioral, and individual sampling
C) Behavioral, event, and time sampling
D) Time, individual, and event sampling

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Coding large amounts of information into systematic categories is known as

A) content analysis.
B) a case study.
C) observational research.
D) archival research.

Question 5

Research that is conducted in situations that are similar to the everyday life experiences of the participants is said to have

A) ecological validity.
B) observational realism.
C) systematic validity.
D) construct validity.

Question 6

A researcher who plans ahead of time exactly what observations he is going to be looking for is using

A) categorical observation.
B) individual observation.
C) systematic observation.
D) behavioral categorization.

Question 7

Which of the following are most likely to be used in naturalistic research?

A) Interviews
B) Questionnaires
C) Observations
D) Surveys

Question 8

Case studies are frequently based on a descriptive record of

A) a large group who have normal experiences.
B) a large group who have abnormal experiences.
C) one or two individuals who have normal experiences.
D) one or two individuals who have abnormal experiences.

Question 9

A study investigating learning that examines how children teach each other in their classroom is likely to have high

A) ecological validity.
B) descriptive validity.
C) reactivity.
D) construct validity.

Question 10

Joe decides to study how insects behave in their everyday life. He watches some ladybugs in his back yard, and codes whether they are either living alone, living in groups, or living in pairs. Joe's observational system is based on the use of which of the following?

A) Archival data
B) Content coding
C) Behavioral categories
D) Case analysis

Question 11

Which of the following is the best method of increasing the reliability of naturalistic observations ?

A) Increase the number of raters
B) Increase the time period under study
C) Increase the number of individuals who are sampled
D) Reduce the number of events that are sampled

Question 12

Which of the following research approaches is most likely to allow the researcher to develop close friendships with the people being studied?

A) Archival participant
B) Unacknowledged participant
C) Acknowledged observer
D) Unacknowledged observer

Question 13

Tim wants to study aggression in children on a school playground. He decides to look for hitting, kicking, and biting. In this design, hitting, kicking, and biting can be considered as

A) aggressive categories.
B) sampled categories.
C) person categories.
D) behavioral categories.

Question 14

On what data is archival research based?

A) Historical descriptions
B) Existing reports of experiments
C) Any type of existing records of public behavior
D) Descriptions of problems found in research

Question 15

Systematic observation and content coding of archival data both normally make use of which of the following techniques?

A) Case sampling
B) Interrater reliability
C) Behavioral categorization
D) Participant observation

Question 16

Relying upon detailed descriptions of a single individual is known as the __________ method.

A) systematic
B) simple sampling
C) case study
D) self-report

Question 17

Content analysis refers to

A) the systematic coding of data, such as in archival research.
B) the systematic coding of behavioral categories in observational research.
C) a method for increasing the reliability of observational research.
D) a method for increasing the amount of data that can be collected in naturalistic observations.

Question 18

A scientist wants to study the behaviors of factory workers under stressful working conditions. She takes a job in a factory where no one knows her true identity. Which research approach is being used?

A) Acknowledged participant
B) Unacknowledged participant
C) Acknowledged observer
D) Unacknowledged observer

Question 19

Which of the following is most likely to be a problem in naturalistic research methods?

A) High ecological validity
B) Low reactivity
C) High construct validity
D) Ethical concerns

Question 20

Which of the following research approaches is most likely to have ethical problems?

A) The acknowledged participant
B) The case study
C) The acknowledged observer
D) The unacknowledged observer

Question 21

Which of the following observational research methods is most likely to create ethical problems?

A) Acknowledged participant
B) Unacknowledged participant
C) Unacknowledged experimenter
D) Acknowledged experimenter

Question 22

Alex is interested in studying aggressive driving patterns. He gets in his car, cuts some people off on the highway and has his passenger code how the other drivers react. Alex is using which of the following types of observational research?

A) Acknowledged participant
B) Acknowledged observer
C) Unacknowledged participant
D) Unacknowledged observer

Question 23

One of the advantages of naturalistic research is its

A) ability to simulate natural environments in lab settings.
B) ability to predict unusual or abnormal behavior.
C) high test-restest reliability.
D) high ecological validity.

Question 24

In a study involving altruism in restaurants, Elena focused only on the helping behaviors that each restaurant employee demonstrated (and not on any other types of behaviors). This is an example of which of the following?

A) Event sampling
B) Time sampling
C) Individual sampling
D) Snowball sampling

Question 25

The oldest method of conducting research is

A) observational research.
B) ANOVA.
C) experimental designs.
D) regression analysis.

Question 26

In order to reduce observer bias in an observational research design, a researcher might

A) set the alpha level prior to observing.
B) use field notes or brief reports to record data.
C) specify ahead of time who will be observed and for how long.
D) use a stratified random sample.

Question 27

Which of the following is not an example of a case study as described in your textbook?

A) Stanley Milgram's research on obedience
B) The study of Phineas Gage's behavior after a railroad accident
C) The developmental work of Jean Piaget
D) The psychoanalytic studies of Sigmund Freud

Question 28

Case studies differ from observational research because they

A) assess people in a natural setting.
B) make use of the Chi-square analysis.
C) may assess the behavior of only one person.
D) are more useful in creating valid samples.

Question 29

Fowler, Lilienfield, and Patrick (2009) studied the extent to which observers agreed on judgments of psychopathy after viewing "thin slices" (short glimpses) of the behavior of prisoners. The researchers based their findings on which of the following?

A) Content analysis.
B) Ecological validity
C) Inter-rater reliability
D) Inter-rater validity

Question 30

Jamal decides to compare the lyrics of rock and roll songs in the 1950s and the 1990s. He selects from the top 10 lists for each time period, and compares the lyrics. Jamal's research method is based upon

A) Individual sampling
B) Lyrical sampling
C) Archival data
D) Ecological sampling

Question 31

One of the advantages of archival research is that the researcher can

A) expect honest answers from respondents.
B) have access to more valid information.
C) easily give informed consent to the participants.
D) use existing data that has been collected by others.