Deck 4: Research Methods

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of treatment outcome research?

A)determining whether a medication actually has any impact on the function of the brain
B)examining the changes in serotonin levels from taking medication
C)exploring the parts of cognitive-behavioural therapy homework that are most difficult for patients to perform
D)examining the impact of medication on depression

Answer 1

examining the impact of medication on depression

Question 2

Historical case studies have provided new knowledge that has often eliminated existing societal myths.Whose research contributed to eliminating myths regarding human sexuality?

A)Nisbett and Ross
B)Freud and Johnson
C)Durand and Car
D)Masters and Johnson

Answer 2

Masters and Johnson

Question 3

Which of the following is a problem in understanding variations in behaviour among individuals from different cultural groups?

A)The differences may be due to environmental factors.
B)The differences may be due to genetic or cultural factors or a combination of both.
C)Different cultural research methods are used to study and define psychopathology.
D)Different research methods are used to study psychopathology across cultures.

Answer 3

The differences may be due to genetic or cultural factors or a combination of both.

Question 4

In a control group, which of the following is NOT a way people are similar to the experimental group?

A)They have been exposed to the independent variable but have been told they are receiving a placebo.
B)They are not exposed to the dependent variable at all.
C)They have not been exposed to the independent variable but have been told they are receiving a placebo.
D)They are not exposed to the independent variable at all.

Question 5

According to your textbook, what is one of the most important reasons to conduct cross-cultural research in psychopathology?

A)We can understand more about psychopathology by understanding how culture is reflected in the experience of various disorders.
B)Genetic influences of disorders can be best determined through careful comparison of the different environmental stressors found in various cultures.
C)The stigma of psychopathology can be removed by understanding that psychopathology exists in all cultures.
D)We can gain a better appreciation for the virtues of various cultures by examining how psychopathology is viewed by different cultures.

Question 6

What does the most influential and successful research generally involve?

A)multiple longitudinal designs over a period of time
B)a combination of well-controlled correlational studies and cross-sectional research
C)a program of research that uses multiple research designs over a period of time
D)multiple, well-controlled, double-blind experiments

Question 7

Which genetic mechanism contributes to the underlying problems that cause the difficulties experienced by people with psychological disorders?

A)electrolytes
B)phenotypes
C)endophenotypes
D)genotypes

Question 8

Your psychology professor is conducting research and desperately needs more research participants because the existing subjects keep running from the building screaming.She tells the class that everyone must be a subject to get a grade in the class and that there are no exceptions.In terms of ethical treatment of research subjects, what would you say about her policy?

A)It violates the informed consent concept of volunteerism.
B)It violates the informed consent concept of competence.
C)It is acceptable if she carefully explains the experiment to each participant and allows participants to quit if they are uncomfortable during the procedure.
D)It is acceptable if her procedures are presented to the research ethics board.

Question 9

One of the major problems with the case study method is that it is too easy to make false conclusions based on which of the following?

A)statistical significance
B)poorly defined dependent variables
C)correlations
D)coincidence

Question 10

Which of the following hypotheses would have adequate testability?

A)All people see a bright light before they die.
B)Behaviour is influenced by subconscious thoughts.
C)Supernatural forces influence our behaviour every day.
D)Children who view aggression are more likely to act in an aggressive manner.

Question 11

Brown and Finn (1982) found that attitudes regarding alcohol were somewhat different for 12-, 15-, and 17-year-olds.All measures were taken during the same year from children of different ages.What kind of research method is this?

A)experimental
B)cross-sectional
C)case study
D)longitudinal

Question 12

Joe has been diagnosed by his psychiatrist as having an anxiety disorder.His psychiatrist prescribes a medication that has been found to help reduce anxiety.Joe takes the medication, but his anxiety level does not improve at all.Because an anxiety medication did not work, Joe concludes that his psychiatrist must be wrong and that he, Joe, must be suffering from some other disorder.What is the problem with Joe's conclusion?

A)He is failing to consider the external validity of the prior research.
B)He is failing to consider the internal validity of the research studies.
C)He is failing to consider the lack of clinical significance of many research findings.
D)He is failing to consider the patient uniformity myth.

Question 13

In the early 20th century, many people displayed symptoms of a disorder similar to organic psychosis.Most of these people were also poor, which led to speculation about class inferiority.Goldberger found correlations between the disorder and diet and identified the cause of the disorder as a deficiency of the B vitamin niacin.What was this research study an early example of?

A)clinical psychology
B)experimental research
C)the case study method
D)epidemiology

Question 14

What do genetic researchers examine in family studies?

A)genetic influences on family behavioural patterns
B)the genetic mapping of a disorder across relatives of the proband
C)environmental influences on the genotype
D)a behavioural pattern or emotional trait in the context of the family

Question 15

Which of the following would be the most likely correlation between the number of hours that a student studies for her tests and her exam grades?

A)approximately -0.50
B)approximately 0.00
C)approximately 0.50
D)approximately 1.00

Question 16

Your friend Sally has trouble making commitments in relationships, and you believe that this is because Sally's parents had a bitter divorce when she was young.What is exemplified by your belief that a child who lives through a bitter parental divorce will have trouble making commitments in relationships as an adult?

A)an applied theory
B)an independent variable
C)a hypothesis
D)an empirical inference

Question 17

What is one reason why cross-sectional studies are more common than longitudinal studies?

A)Cross-sectional studies involve a very small number of subjects.
B)Cross-sectional studies produce more accurate results.
C)Longitudinal studies take many years to complete.
D)Longitudinal studies involve very sophisticated statistical procedures.

Question 18

Professor Black is asked by one of his students to describe the meaning of a hypothesis.What should Professor Black say?

A)A hypothesis is a question.
B)A hypothesis is a statement of fact
C)A hypothesis is a prediction about behaviour.
D)A hypothesis is an established theory.

Question 19

Approximately how many genes were discovered in the human genome project?

A)10000
B)25000
C)75000
D)125000

Question 20

In research, what does the term "clinical significance" refer to?

A)whether the effects observed in the study are due to controlled sampling
B)whether the effects observed in the study are due to the manipulation of the independent variable
C)whether the effects observed in the study are due to chance
D)how important the effects are in the "real world"

Question 21

Consider the correlation between the amount of time university students study and their heights in centimetres.What kind of correlation would this indicate?

A)no correlation
B)a causal correlation
C)a positive correlation
D)a negative correlation

Question 22

In cross-cultural research, what is the usual independent variable?

A)the method used to treat the disorder
B)the disorder
C)the environment
D)the culture

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of treatment process research?

A)determining which treatment reduces patients' anxiety in the fewest sessions
B)examining the impact of Prozac on serotonin levels
C)determining how many therapy sessions it takes for most anxiety patients to feel better
D)examining the impact of Prozac on depression

Question 24

In what type of study does a researcher manipulate an independent variable and observe the effects on a dependent variable?

A)a case study
B)a correlational study
C)an experiment
D)an epidemiological study

Question 25

Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalytic theory and the methods of psychoanalysis on the basis of what?

A)case studies
B)correlations
C)prior research
D)statistical significance

Question 26

To study how anxiety disorders develop in individuals, a researcher asks a group of adults whether they were anxious about school when they were children, and then measures their current functioning with respect to symptoms of anxiety.What is one significant limitation of this approach?

A)The information about childhood experiences is retrospective in nature and may not be accurate.
B)It confuses age differences with cohort effects.
C)It measures only change within individuals, not differences between groups.
D)Genetics and early life experiences are confounded.

Question 27

Why are analogue models used?

A)to create laboratory studies that are comparable to the real-life phenomenon being studied
B)to create laboratory studies that replicate earlier conducted studies
C)to create laboratory studies that produce reliable results
D)to create laboratory studies that include and observe both treatment and control groups

Question 28

While trying to discover the nature of the relationship between stress and blood pressure, a researcher asks participants to complete a difficult task.The researcher monitors the participants' blood pressure while exposing some participants to noisy distractions and other participants to a quiet environment.What type of research study is this?

A)a correlational study
B)a case study
C)a placebo control study
D)an experiment

Question 29

What is the purpose of random assignment?

A)to ensure that each research participant spends an equal amount of time in the treatment and control groups
B)to ensure that each research participant has an equal chance of being in the treatment or control group
C)to ensure that everyone in each group is exactly the same on the independent variable
D)to ensure that everyone in each group is exactly the same on the dependent variable

Question 30

Two monozygotic twins are raised in very different environments.One is adopted into a loving, healthy environment and the other is raised in a war-ravaged country where food, safety, and family support are hard to find.Compared to the child raised in the war-ravaged country, the child raised in the healthy environment will most likely be which of the following?

A)significantly taller and less likely to have psychological problems
B)physically weaker, but likely less likely to have psychological problems
C)quite similar in almost every way
D)about the same height but less likely to have psychological problems

Question 31

Why are adoption studies often used when attempting to study the influence of genetic factors on psychological disorders?

A)They allow examination of genetic influences of psychopathology using more sophisticated statistical techniques.
B)They allow examination of genetic influences of psychopathology without the typical confound of having siblings raised in the same environment.
C)They allow examination of genetic influences of psychopathology without the typical confound of common biological parents.
D)They allow examination of genetic influences of psychopathology through direct examination of genetic causes.

Question 32

Given what we know about the effects of genes and the environment, which of the following pairs of children would be expected to be most similar in terms of overall personality, psychological disorders, and intelligence?

A)biological siblings, each adopted immediately after birth, one raised in Vancouver and the other raised in Toronto
B)dizygotic twins, one raised in a wealthy family living in a modern city and the other raised in poverty in a developing nation
C)biological siblings raised in the same home
D)adopted children from different biological families raised in the same home

Question 33

If you study two variables using the correlation method, what can you determine?

A)how one variable causes change in the other variable
B)how the variables are related to one another
C)whether both variables are affected by a third variable
D)whether one variable produces a confound in studying the second variable

Question 34

Genetic linkage analysis has not yet provided the types of answers scientists hope for in terms of understanding the specific genetic influences of psychopathology.Why is this so?

A)because psychopathology will be easier to measure than to understand
B)because psychopathology will be impossible to understand until the entire human genome is sequenced
C)because psychopathology will be difficult to understand with the limited statistical models available
D)because psychopathology will be based on more than single gene defects

Question 35

What kind of study is conducted to identify the location of genes that may be associated with specific psychological disorders?

A)a single-case genetic experiment
B)a genetic linkage analysis
C)a family DNA study
D)a comparative gene analysis

Question 36

What is the purpose of a control group in experimental research?

A)to reduce demand characteristics
B)to determine whether an independent variable actually caused a change in the dependent variable
C)to keep constant the level of the independent variable being tested in the treatment group
D)to control all the factors that might affect the treatment outcome

Question 37

There are four basic components of informed consent; competence and volunteerism are two of these.What are the other two?

A)anonymity and full information
B)full information and comprehension
C)knowledge of results and anonymity
D)comprehension and knowledge of results

Question 38

Dr.Marx says that a study he is reviewing has good internal validity.What does Dr.Marx believe?

A)the independent variable is causing the dependent variable to change
B)the dependent variable is causing the independent variable to change
C)the sampling procedure is supported by the study
D)the hypothesis is supported by the study

Question 39

Which of the following makes it difficult to determine the genetic components of psychological disorders by using family studies?

A)physical similarities
B)shared genes
C)the same socioeconomic conditions
D)the fact that family members live together

Question 40

Why do researchers use control groups?

A)to compare previously completed academic studies
B)to make comparisons with the treatment group
C)to randomize the experiment
D)to control the hypothesis

Question 41

A new research study is published and becomes the "hot daily news story." This story concerns you because the researchers report that they are the first scientists to find a higher incidence of depression for individuals taking a particular vitamin-the same vitamin that your physician has had you taking for years.While this may be cause for you to investigate further, why should you probably NOT panic?

A)Unless it was a double-blind experiment, the results are probably in error.
B)Research like this is rarely accurate.
C)Without replication, the finding could just be due to coincidence.
D)Your physician would have also relied on his own patient feedback throughout the years.

Question 42

"I remember being a very shy child, keeping to myself, and reading books.As an adolescent, I became more serious and quieter.As a young adult, I became more confident and outgoing." What type of research would this kind of information be used for?

A)a longitudinal study
B)a sequential study
C)a correlational study
D)a cross-sectional study

Question 43

What does "phenotype" refer to?

A)hidden characteristics
B)cognitive influences
C)observable characteristics
D)environmental influences

Question 44

In prevention research, what are the two most frequently used methods for examining psychopathology across time?

A)longitudinal and case study
B)longitudinal and experimental
C)longitudinal and sequential
D)longitudinal and cross-sectional

Question 45

Which of the following questions could be answered using a cross-sectional design?

A)What early behaviours did adult panic disorder patients tend to display when they were young?
B)Are the cognitive triggers for panic disorder different in children and adults?
C)How does panic disorder develop from childhood to adulthood in an individual?
D)Does the severity of anxiety change over time?

Question 46

Barlow's research team had reason to celebrate.A similar team at another university had been able to replicate their findings.What did the second teamdo?

A)They identified the strengths and weaknesses of the original research.
B)They used the research of the first team to take the project to a new level.
C)They repeated the research of the first team and generated identical results.
D)They found that the negative correlations were actually positive.

Question 47

What techniques have researchers used to examine the psychological effects of the stress of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks?

A)experiments
B)clinical research
C)epidemiological research
D)a case study

Question 48

Dr.Allen is lobbying the government to start a reading program for all children who live in regions where school achievement is lower than average.What type of program would this be?

A)a universal prevention strategy
B)a selective prevention strategy
C)a health promotion strategy
D)an experimental prevention strategy

Question 49

A researcher examines the effects of violent media on aggressive behaviour in a lab setting.The experimental group views a violent video clip, and the control group views a nonviolent video clip.This method is used instead of asking participants to monitor their naturally occurring TV viewing to reduce the possibility of confounds, such as variations in the level and amount of aggressive images they watch.In doing so, the researcher will increase the internal validity of her study, but what does she risk reducing?

A)the confounds of her results
B)the statistical significance of her results
C)the generalizability of her results
D)the clinical significance of her results

Question 50

Krank and colleagues (2005, 2006) studied the development of alcohol and drug use in British Columbia youth.To do this, they collected cross-sectional survey data from more than 1300 students in Grades 7 to 9.For the longitudinal part of the study, they then re-tested the students once a year for the next two academic years.What is this combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional methods in one study called?

A)a cross-linkage research design
B)a cohort research design
C)a sequential research design
D)an association research design

Question 51

Which research design is most helpful in determining how individuals with particular disorders change over time?

A)the experimental method
B)the cross-sectional design
C)the longitudinal method
D)the cohort design

Question 52

A researcher has found that the more hours students spend socializing, the lower their exam scores tend to be.What do the findings of this study illustrate?

A)a zero correlation
B)a causal correlation
C)a positive correlation
D)a negative correlation

Question 53

When a control group is used in experimental research, how will the members of the control group be treated?

A)the same as the control group in any other psychology study
B)the same as the treatment group except that they will be given psychological therapy
C)the same as the treatment group except that they will not be exposed to the independent variable
D)the same as the treatment group except that they will be exposed to the independent variable

Question 54

What is the advantage of using a withdrawal design as part of a single-case experiment?

A)The researcher can determine whether improvements gained with treatment are lost when the treatment is withheld.
B)The researcher can counterbalance the research design with additional measures to improve internal and external validity.
C)The researcher can conduct a true double-blind experiment.
D)The researcher can control for the placebo effect.

Question 55

Why do repeated measures improve internal validity in a single-case experiment?

A)They provide increased interaction between the researcher and the participant.
B)They provide a check on the randomization procedure.
C)They provide a more reliable measure of behaviour both before and after treatment.
D)They provide more data for statistical significance tests.

Question 56

Statistical significance determines whether an observed difference between a treatment and control group is likely due to which of the following?

A)random assignment
B)external validity
C)chance
D)confounds

Question 57

Dr.Ishmael wants to use a case study design.Which of the following is a possible problem with her chosen method?

A)It includes the use of the experimental method.
B)It has high internal validity but external validity is frequently compromised.
C)The results may be unique to the particular person(s) being studied.
D)The characteristics of one individual can rarely tell you anything meaningful about a disorder.

Question 58

A researcher studying a family with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) records data for each person in the family with OCD and for those who have been diagnosed with OCD in the past.The researcher is interested in whether family members with OCD share any other inherited characteristics.What type of research is being conducted?

A)an association study
B)a chromosome analysis
C)a genetic linkage analysis
D)a family DNA analysis

Question 59

Why is it important to use a double-blind procedure in some research studies?

A)to prevent the participants' expectations from biasing the expectations of the researcher
B)to prevent the independent variable from influencing the dependent variable
C)to prevent the researcher's expectations from biasing the outcome
D)to prevent the confusion of correlation with causation

Question 60

Montrose Wolf advocated for the assessment of what he called "social validity", a subjective way of determining which concept?

A)clinical significance
B)statistical significance
C)effect size
D)analogue models

Question 61

Single-case experimental designs use several strategies to improve their internal validity.Which of the following is one of these strategies?

A)repeated measures
B)random assignment
C)process measures
D)placebo controls

Question 62

Combining twin and adoption studies, researchers often study monozygotic twins raised in different families.Using this method, what do similarities in behaviours, traits, and psychological disorders between monozygotic twins raised apart help researchers to determine?

A)whether it is detrimental to separate twins at birth
B)the effects of genes on psychological functioning
C)whether genes impact likelihood of adoption
D)the effects of adoption on a child's psychological functioning

Question 63

A researcher is testing the effects of violent media images on tolerance for aggressive behaviour by showing either nonviolent or violent movie scenes to participants and then asking the participants to rate the level of aggression they perceive in children interacting on a playground.Which of the following is the independent variable?

A)the type of scene that is shown
B)how aggressive the children are behaving on the playground
C)the participants' rating of aggression
D)tolerance for aggression

Question 64

At this point, the human genome project has been successful in producing which of the following?

A)a map of the structure of human genes, but little success in mapping gene locations
B)a map of some but not all human genes
C)a rough draft of the mapping of all human genes
D)a complete listing of each human gene and its function

Question 65

While studying the impact of nutrition on intelligence, a researcher gives one group of rats a vitamin-rich diet while the other rat group eats Big Macs.While observing the rats run a complicated maze, the researcher notes that the vitamin-enhanced rats' maze is more brightly lit than the Big Mac rats' maze.What is the difference in lighting in this study?

A)a hypothesis
B)an independent variable
C)a dependent variable
D)a confound

Question 66

What is a hypothesis?

A)a research question tested through experimentation
B)a theory that is based on available information
C)a prediction about behaviour that is derived from theory and is tested through research
D)a research question formulated through observation of daily occurrence

Question 67

Dr.Ahmed, an epidemiological researcher, is studying the psychological experiences of the residents of Fort McMurray, Alberta, following the devastating fire that engulfed the town.What research method is Dr.Ahmed most likely using?

A)the experiment
B)the longitudinal study
C)the correlational model
D)the case study

Question 68

A researcher is studying how people of different ages tend to experience anxiety.The researcher interviews anxious adolescents, young adults, individuals in their 30s and 50s, and those over 70.What do the individuals in each age group represent?

A)a cross-section
B)a cohort
C)a longitudinal group
D)an experimental group

Question 69

A researcher interested in understanding the relationship between panic attacks and alcohol abuse might choose to study the effects of anxiety induction in the lab on how much alcohol research participants choose to drink.Which statement would be most accurate, given this information?

A)The amount of alcohol participants choose to drink is the independent variable.
B)The level of anxiety induced is the dependent variable.
C)The amount of alcohol participants choose to drink is the dependent variable.
D)The number of panic attacks is the independent variable.

Question 70

In which situation might you observe the "allegiance effect" in a double-blind study?

A)The researcher tries to replicate the results of an earlier study.
B)A treatment doesn't seem to be working, so the researcher puts less effort into that treatment group.
C)The participants in the treatment group show a greater commitment to the study than do participants in the control group.
D)The researcher and the participants in the control group work together to bring about a treatment effect.

Question 71

Family studies are often used to help determine whether a psychological disorder has a genetic component.Which of the following patterns is typical for a disorder that is influenced by genetics?

A)Siblings of the person with the disorder will almost always have the same or similar disorders, and cousins are more likely than the general public to have the disorders.
B)Siblings will almost always have the same or similar disorders, while cousins may have a similar rate of the disorder as the general public.
C)Siblings of the person with the disorder are more likely than cousins to have the disorder, and cousins are more likely to have the disorder than the general public.
D)Siblings of the person with the disorder are more likely to have the disorder than cousins, and cousins are just as likely to have the disorder as the general public.

Question 72

What does the term "external validity" refer to?

A)the degree to which we can attribute the results to the effects of the independent variable
B)the degree to which the dependent variable was changed in the study
C)the power of the independent variable to cause a change in the dependent variable
D)the extent to which findings apply to individuals or situations other than those studied

Question 73

A researcher studies the impact of stress on college students' exam scores.Whether the results of this study help us to understand the relationship between job performance and stress levels of real-life organizational workers is a question of which of the following?

A)external validity
B)a clinical hypothesis
C)study confounds
D)random sampling

Question 74

The internal validity of a study can be increased by using which of the following to create different research groups?

A)valid measures
B)generalizable methods
C)randomization
D)the personal characteristics of potential participants

Question 75

A child is having temper tantrums at home, at school, and at his grandparents' house.After working with the parents for a while, the therapist believes that the child is being rewarded for his tantrums in each setting because his teacher, parents, and grandparents generally give him what he wants just to make him stop yelling.The therapist devises a plan to stop his tantrums but implements the plan at home first, at school the following week, and at the grandparents' home several weeks later.From a research perspective, what is this strategy an example of?

A)multiple baseline
B)repeated measures
C)withdrawal method
D)placebo control

Question 76

What problem is shared by the placebo, control method, and the withdrawal design method?

A)the concern about withholding treatment from those who need it
B)the issue of tricking people into thinking that they will get better
C)the fact that the individual will likely respond to the unique circumstances of the research setting
D)the lack of control of the independent variable

Question 77

What is one problem with longitudinal research?

A)The research question may be confounded with cohort effects.
B)The research question may become less valid as people age.
C)The research question may become irrelevant by the time the study is complete.
D)The research question may not be answerable and the time spent will be wasted.

Question 78

Your friend was the recipient of a nine-month research grant.Based on her interests, she can choose one of the four areas of concentration.She has always wanted to work with street youth.Based on this fact, what prevention strategy will she most likely choose?

A)a selective prevention strategy
B)a universal prevention strategy
C)a positive development strategy
D)an indicated prevention strategy

Question 79

What is the main advantage of longitudinal research over cross-sectional research?

A)Longitudinal research can assess individual change and allows examination of cohort effects.
B)Longitudinal research can distinguish between cause and effect and allow examination of cohort effects.
C)Longitudinal research can assess individual change and avoid cohort effects.
D)Longitudinal research is easier to use and allows examination of causal influences.

Question 80

The more a researcher controls internal validity by restricting the study to participants who are similar to one another, the less of which type of validity will the study generally contain?

A)internal validity
B)clinical validity
C)external validity
D)sequential validity