Deck 6: Thinking As Hypothesis Testing

Question 1

An important difference between inductive and deductive thinking is that you can prove your beliefs with the inductive method, but you can only provide support for your beliefs with the deductive method.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Sample size is an important variable in both formal scientific research and in casual observations about the nature of the world.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A careful report from a single individual whom you know is often more reliable than a study that used many subjects.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

When we make judgments about groups of people, we tend to think of people in groups that we don't belong to as being very similar to each other and people in the groups we belong to as being very different from each other.

Question 5

In determining cause, the most important variable is the use of correlated groups.

Question 6

One problem with retrospective research is that memory is biased.

Question 7

A negative correlation is undesirable because it shows the negative effect that one variable has on the other.

Question 8

The Rorschach (ink blot) Test has been criticized because of the problem of illusory validity.

Question 9

Ben Franklin never said, "Experience is the best teacher."

Question 10

It is a good idea to find a therapist who has had the same problems as you have because this person will have especially good insight on how to overcome the problems.

Question 11

In scientific research, the development of sound predictive models requires a/an __________ examination of the relationships among variables.

A) diverse
B) repeated
C) intense
D) unusual

Question 12

A team of sociologists, political scientists, and other scholars examined the political and social events leading up to a riot in a large city, in an effort to prevent such riots in the future. This is an example of

A) retrospective research.
B) a case study.
C) prospective research.
D) a correlational design.
E) None of the above

Question 13

Research has indicated that as the amount of television viewing increases, children's vocabulary decreases. These findings describe a

A) regression to the mean.
B) convergent relationship.
C) positive relationship.
D) negative relationship.

Question 14

As people get older, the number of wrinkles on their faces increases. This is a __________ relationship between variables.

A) causal
B) convergent
C) positive
D) negative

Question 15

One reason why cause-and-effect relationships cannot be inferred from correlations is because

A) correlational relationships are usually temporary.
B) correlational relationships are always based on coincidence.
C) many other unidentified variables may be possible causes of a correlation.
D) the correlational method is not useful in determining relationships between variables.
E) All of the above

Question 16

There is a __________ relationship between the size of my research sample and the generalizability of my research results.

A) positive
B) negative
C) lack of
D) curvilinear
E) None of the above

Question 17

Overconfidence in judgments is called __________, and it results from

A) hypothesis framing…..positive correlations.
B) illusory correlation…..retrospective research.
C) illusory validity…..confirmation bias.
D) hypothesis confirmation…..negative correlations.
E) None of the above

Question 18

A researcher is interested in differences in examining the statistical relationship between parental conflict and children's depression. What would you recommend?

A) experimentation
B) a case study
C) pretest-posttest one-group design
D) a correlational design
E) None of the above, because it is unethical to investigate parental conflict

Question 19

Dr. Johnson-Johnson invented a new measure of intelligence based on the number of telephones in a person's house. Joe has only one telephone, while Rick has sixteen telephones. Obviously, Rick is very smart. Joe and Rick were tested three times, and their scores were always the same. This test is

A) reliable and valid.
B) reliable but not valid.
C) valid but not reliable.
D) neither valid nor reliable.

Question 20

Dr. Lopez is assessing how well new drivers recognize road signs from far away. He does this by testing their eyesight, as well as how they perform on a driving simulation task. Their eyesight scores are highly correlated with the number of errors they make on the driving task. Participants generally score the same on each test when they take them again. It seems that the measures Dr. Lopez is using are

A) reliable and valid.
B) reliable but not valid.
C) valid but not reliable.
D) neither valid nor reliable.

Question 21

The children in Ms. Jones' first-grade class are described to her by the principal as "hard-working, very cheerful." The principal describes the new students to Mr. Russell as "very slow, not very bright." At the end of the year, Ms. Jones' students have earned much higher grades and higher scores on standardized achievement tests. It seems likely that the teachers and children experienced a/an

A) self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) self-regulated learning outcome.
C) positive correlation.
D) illusory correlation.
E) None of the above

Question 22

One way to prevent self-fulfilling prophecies from affecting research results is to use a __________.

A) random sample
B) convenience sample
C) correlational design
D) double-blind procedure
E) None of the above

Question 23

Explain how and why operational definitions are used, including specific examples (i.e., how would you measure certain variables?)

Question 24

Explain how the characteristics of a sample of participants and how they were selected to be participants affect the generalization of research results. Include a discussion of convenience samples.

Question 25

Explain the law of large numbers and the law of small numbers. Use them to explain the following statement: "My granddad smoked tobacco, drank gin, and ate bacon for breakfast every day of his life, and he lived to be 92! So, smoking, drinking, and eating high cholesterol foods can't be bad for you.

Question 26

Give an example of a simple three-stage experimental design.

Question 27

The number of ice cream cones sold in a city is positively correlated with the number of bank robberies in the same city. Explain this correlational relationship.

Question 28

A method of conducting research in which possible causative factors of an event are identified before the event occurs is called

A) a correlational design.
B) None of the above
C) retrospective research.
D) a case study.
E) prospective research.

Question 29

Some people who smoke cigarettes suffer from lung diseases, while other people never show any negative outcomes from smoking. These differences are reflective of

A) randomness.
B) data.
C) experimentation.
D) variability.
E) None of the above

Question 30

The main purpose of hypothesis testing is

A) to find differences between people.
B) to describe human behavior.
C) to make accurate predictions about the world.
D) to allow science to continue.
E) None of the above

Question 31

A statement that describes a supposed relationship between variables is called a

A) fallacy.
B) theory.
C) hypothesis.
D) conclusion.

Question 32

A/an __________ tells us how to recognize and measure concepts we are interested in.

A) hypothesis
B) variable
C) operational definition
D) conclusion
E) None of the above

Question 33

The __________ is the variable that is manipulated and controlled by the experimenter; the __________ is the outcome of interest.

A) dependent variable…..independent variable
B) operational definition…..independent variable
C) hypothesis variable…..dependent variable
D) independent variable…..dependent variable

Question 34

When we test hypotheses, we begin by

A) selecting a sample of subjects.
B) identifying the variables of interest.
C) forming the experimental and control groups.
D) selecting a research design.
E) All of the above

Question 35

The set of observations about which a researcher wants to draw conclusions is called

A) the variable.
B) the sample.
C) the hypothesis.
D) the population.
E) None of the above

Question 36

The subset of the population observed by the researchers is the __________, which must be __________.

A) the sample…..large
B) the sample…..representative
C) the data…..representative
D) the observations…..consistent
E) None of the above

Question 37

You are interested in examining how viewing Sesame Street is related to preschoolers' language skills. Which of the following is a confounding variable in your study?

A) viewing Sesame Street
B) preschoolers' language skills
C) random assignment
D) the preschoolers' exposure to other educational television programs
E) None of the above

Question 38

If Wilson Elementary School wanted to examine the effects of participation in music class on children's math ability, the independent variable would be

A) the music teacher.
B) participation in music class.
C) math ability.
D) children.
E) None of the above

Question 39

Great Brands Co. is trying to see if its executive training program is effective for improving employee morale. Which of the following is the dependent variable they are examining?

A) Executives at Great Brands Co.
B) Participation in the training program
C) Employee morale
D) Great Brands Co.
E) None of the above

Question 40

Great Brands Co. is trying to see if its institution of "personal days" for workers is effective for reducing worker absenteeism. Which of the following is the independent variable they are examining?

A) Workers at Great Brands Co.
B) Personal days for workers
C) Worker absenteeism
D) Great Brands Co.
E) None of the above

Question 41

If a researcher wanted to examine the effects of exercise on young adults' lung capacity, the dependent variable would be

A) exercise.
B) young adults.
C) young adults' lung capacity.
D) ability to exercise.

Question 42

The generalizability of research results depends on

A) the size of the sample.
B) how well my sample represents the population.
C) how the sample was selected.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 43

The population of interest in a research study depends on

A) the funding and time available to conduct the research.
B) the main research question(s)
C) the availability of research participants/subjects.
D) the size of the sample.

Question 44

Most scientists use __________ samples in their research.

A) national
B) very small
C) convenience
D) random
E) None of the above

Question 45

What is the best definition of a random sample?

A) Everyone in the population is equally likely to be in the research sample
B) Participants are randomly assigned to groups
C) The sample is representative of the population of interest
D) People randomly volunteer to participate in the sample
E) None of the above

Question 46

Explain how the double-blind procedure may work to combat self-fulfilling prophecies in research.