Deck 2: Research Methods in Human Sexuality

Question 1

Dr. Wong is conducting a long-term study of a single individual who has an unusual sexual problem. Dr. Wong is using which of the following methods?

A)Experimental
B)Survey
C)Correlational
D)Case study

Answer 1

D

Question 2

If randomly selected people refuse to participate in studies,

A)researchers may have too many individuals for their study.
B)volunteers are likely to be more "uptight."
C)the representativeness of a sample is likely to be lost.
D)participants may have to be coerced to volunteer for the study.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

If you were interested in the sexual behavior of all students enrolled in university human sexuality courses, then all students enrolled in university human sexuality courses is the

A)sample.
B)target population.
C)representative sample.
D)randomized sample.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Inference allows scientists to move from observations of events to

A)an unbiased description.
B)models that help explain them.
C)controlling events.
D)results.

Question 5

In describing his dog's sexual behaviors, Frank says his dog is the "stud" of the local neighborhood, describing how his dog regularly visits nearby female dogs. Frank's explanation shows

A)cultural relativism.
B)empiricism.
C)objective description.
D)anthropomorphism.

Question 6

In scientific research, a population is

A)individuals in a research study.
B)a representative sample.
C)a complete group of organisms.
D)a percentage of a large group.

Question 7

Individuals participating in a research study make up a

A)sample.
B)group.
C)population.
D)faction.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a goal of science?

A)Coercion
B)Explanation
C)Prediction
D)Control of events

Question 9

Why do researchers choose NOT to measure an entire population?

A)The data are not as reliable as data from a sample.
B)Populations are not representative of the sample.
C)Many studies have already studied a population.
D)It is often impossible to study all of a population.

Question 10

The hypothesis is a

A)grounded theory.
B)precise prediction.
C)controlled experimentation.
D)statement of truth.

Question 11

A researcher would likely choose to use a case study methodology if

A)the focus is on understanding a small group.
B)they want the study to be anonymous.
C)they have a study sample that is randomly selected.
D)they only have one opportunity to question their sample.

Question 12

When subgroups of a population are represented in a sample in proportion to their numbers in the population, the sample is known as a

A)random sample.
B)stratified random sample.
C)systematic area sample.
D)proportional sample.

Question 13

Marcelo wonders if people masturbate because they do not have partners available to have sex with. He predicts that people having frequent sex will masturbate less, and that people who have less sex will masturbate more due to their "deprivation." He creates a survey to ask people how frequently they currently have sex and how frequently they masturbate. He finds the opposite of his prediction! Marcelo's experience is an example of

A)why scientific methods can confuse our beliefs with inconsistent findings.
B)how scientific methods are inferior to intuition because people clearly masturbate when they do not have sexual partners available.
C)using scientific methods to test a hypothesis and gain information about sexuality.
D)an incomplete use of the scientific method.

Question 14

All of the following are examples of demographic variables EXCEPT

A)the age of an individual.
B)the individual's heart condition.
C)the religious background of a respondent.
D)where the respondent lives.

Question 15

A random sample is one in which

A)every member of the target population has an equal chance of participating.
B)people who happen to be available are used.
C)no plan is used for recruiting participants.
D)persons with required characteristics are selected.

Question 16

All of the following are elements of the scientific method EXCEPT

A)performing a Web search on a topic.
B)formulating a research question.
C)framing the research question in the form of a hypothesis.
D)drawing conclusions.

Question 17

In the goals of science, the concept of "controlling human behavior" means

A)coercing people to change a behavior.
B)expanding people's sexual horizons.
C)helping people to create goals and meet them.
D)limiting personal sexual expression.

Question 18

Rosita gained her knowledge about sex from television shows, movies, and friends. Those sources are

A)accurate because so many people trust them.
B)accurate if one looks at the story lines.
C)often subject to misinformation.
D)considered timely and scientific.

Question 19

Critical thinking and the scientific approach are similar in that they

A)share the same theories.
B)make assumptions.
C)embrace skepticism.
D)seek truth.

Question 20

The empirical approach to studying human sexuality is based on

A)intuition.
B)subjective evidence.
C)superstition.
D)research evidence.

Question 21

Which of the following ethnicities were best represented in The National Health and Social Life Survey?

A)Latino and Latina Americans
B)Asian Americans
C)Native Americans
D)Jewish Americans

Question 22

The major surveys used in research studies of sexuality are similar in that they

A)generally represent the American population at large.
B)ask about intimate and private aspects of participants' lives.
C)usually are equally scientific in their methods and conclusions.
D)typically focus on the incidence of sexual activities.

Question 23

Which of the following groups were underrepresented in Kinsey's studies?

A)Gays, lesbians, and urban populations
B)Elderly, upper class, and urban populations
C)Upper class, ethnic populations, and Christians
D)Poor, ethnic, and rural populations

Question 24

One disadvantage of the case-study method is

A)rich and persuasive information on research participants.
B)the potential for observer bias.
C)too little contact time between subject and researcher.
D)the representation of too diverse a point of view.

Question 25

All of the following were measures taken by Kinsey and colleagues to help urge honest answers, EXCEPT:

A)They assured participants that their record would be kept confidential.
B)Interviewers trained and practiced being non-judgmental in the interview.
C)Interviewers practiced keeping a steady tone of voice and maintaining eye contact.
D)They used male interviewers for male participants, and female interviewers for female participants.

Question 26

In what ways did Kinsey encourage honesty in his subject?

A)He assured subjects that their answers were confidential.
B)The interviewers were trained to be objective.
C)The subjects were assured that no judgment was being passed on their behavior.
D)All of the above

Question 27

In his studies, Kinsey used

A)interviews.
B)a case study method.
C)group survey methods.
D)mailed questionnaires.

Question 28

Even though Kinsey's population was unrepresentative of some groups, which of the following statements is generalizable?

A)There is a positive link between level of education and participation in oral sex.
B)37% of males reached orgasm through male-male sexual activity.
C)Catholic participants were uncomfortable discussing masturbation.
D)People in rural areas chose not to participate in Kinsey's study.

Question 29

The National Health and Social Life Survey was

A)conducted by the United States and French government.
B)supported solely by U.S. government funds.
C)originally supported by U.S. government funds, but then conducted under private funding.
D)supported from the tobacco settlement funds.

Question 30

An advantage to using interviews instead of questionnaires is that

A)interviews are more objective.
B)they take less time to administer.
C)they have fewer expenses.
D)interviewers can probe answers.

Question 31

Case studies often have been a method for

A)reporting new treatments of sexual dysfunctions.
B)developing new sexual techniques.
C)recording ethnic differences in sexual response.
D)identifying social barriers reported by homosexuals.

Question 32

In the 1940s, ______________ pioneered the use of large scale studies of sexual behavior and attitudes.

A)Cheney
B)Hite
C)Masters
D)Kinsey

Question 33

How did Kinsey attempt to validate his subjects' responses?

A)He compared the reports of husbands and wives.
B)He assured participants that their responses would be confidential.
C)He trained interviewers not to show emotional responses.
D)He re-interviewed subjects 18 months later.

Question 34

All of the following are advantages of the survey method EXCEPT

A)questionnaires are less expensive than interviews to develop.
B)they can be administered to many people at the same time.
C)questionnaires can be used by people who cannot read.
D)respondents can return them anonymously.

Question 35

The survey type that allows the interviewer with the most amount of flexibility when asking planned and follow-up questions is the

A)face-to-face interview.
B)written questionnaire.
C)Internet survey.
D)representative sample.

Question 36

If you tried to conduct a survey of sexual behavior, which of the following would encourage you that your participants were answering reliably?

A)The frequency of behaviors that your participants report initially changes considerably when asking them again after 18 months.
B)When interviewing spouses separately, they report very similar behaviors and frequencies of their sexual behaviors.
C)Participants' responses to your friendliest interviewer were more revealing than responses to your least friendly interviewer.
D)The frequencies of sexual behavior reported in your sample are larger than in any other available study.

Question 37

How did Kinsey and his colleagues obtain their sample?

A)They started asking friends and family, then friends of those friends, and so on until they had a large sample.
B)They contacted organizations or community groups, and attempted to get full participation from the group.
C)They randomly called individuals using telephone books from across the country.
D)They polled college students from most Midwestern universities.

Question 38

Because Kinsey's research participants were grouped from various organizations and communities, his sample was

A)a stratified random sample.
B)not embarrassed or uncomfortable.
C)not representative of the general population.
D)an accredited sample.

Question 39

In reliability studies done 18 months after his original surveys, Kinsey found

A)significant changes in the sexual behavior of his subjects.
B)consistency in the frequency of sexual behavior reported by his subjects.
C)consistency in the incidence of sexual behavior reported by his subjects.
D)inconsistencies in the incidence of sexual behavior reported by his subjects.

Question 40

Kinsey checked the reliability of his data by

A)recording interviews and checking them against the interviewers' notes.
B)checking individual's responses against their partners' response.
C)reexamining interviewees after at least 18 months had passed.
D)mailing out a questionnaire two weeks after the interview.

Question 41

According to the National Surveys on Family Growth, which of the following is True of 15-19 year olds in the U. S. who report engaging in sexual intercourse over the last two decades?

A)Males report higher rates compared to females.
B)Females report higher rates compared to males.
C)Males and females report exactly the same rate in every sample.
D)Many more males than females refused to answer this question.

Question 42

According to the National Surveys on Family Growth, the percentage of 15-19 year olds in the U. S. who report engaging in sexual intercourse over the last two decades has

A)risen dramatically.
B)plummeted until 200 and has shot up since.
C)been exactly the same.
D)dropped steadily.

Question 43

In the naturalistic observation method,

A)scientists directly observe the behavior of animals and humans where it happens.
B)scientists study sexual behaviors and customs among ethnic groups.
C)scientists send surveys or questionnaires directly to the participant's home.
D)scientists participate in the behavior of the participants.

Question 44

The process of gathering information from volunteer respondents about their knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors is called

A)a case study.
B)correlational research.
C)a survey.
D)an experiment.

Question 45

Fisher et al. (2012) reported that men in their study reported __________ thoughts about sex compared to the number women reported

A)significantly more
B)the same amount of
C)significantly less
D)significantly more homosexual

Question 46

Scientists are likely to do which of the following in naturalistic observation?

A)Manipulate a variable and observe its effects on a second variable.
B)Interview subjects about their attitudes and lifestyle.
C)Learn about people's behavior by directly interacting with them.
D)Watch the behavior of animals and humans where it happens.

Question 47

Which ethnic population was either not surveyed or was underrepresented in The National Health and Social Life Survey studies?

A)Asian Americans
B)Native Americans
C)Latino and Latina Americans
D)European Americans

Question 48

Which of the following statements is True regarding surveys conducted by magazines such as Psychology Today, Redbook, and Elle?

A)The large sample size of these surveys makes them meaningful contributions to sexology.
B)The sampling techniques in most of these surveys were scientific and unbiased.
C)These surveys give accurate insights to the attitudes of the magazines' readership.
D)These surveys use unscientific samples and cannot be generalized to a population.

Question 49

When a survey respondent does not answer honestly, how are they probably forming responses?

A)They probably are underreporting behaviors that are embarrassing or that could be illegal.
B)They are probably overreporting behaviors that are bizarre or extreme in order to invalidate the survey results.
C)They are probably randomly making responses to questions.
D)They may hide information that they either fear or are embarrassed to reveal, or they may exaggerate to get attention or to play with the survey.

Question 50

According to the National Surveys on Family Growth, which of the following is True of the gender gap between males and females 15-19 year olds who report engaging in sexual intercourse over the last two decades?

A)The gap is widening.
B)The gap is narrowing.
C)There is no gap.
D)The gap is related to overall poorly health.

Question 51

In survey research, the problem of participants providing responses that they think are acceptable instead of honest responses is called

A)social desirability.
B)denial.
C)contradiction.
D)volunteer bias.

Question 52

One of the best studies since Kinsey to offer an accurate picture of the sexual practice of the general population in the United States was the

A)The National Health and Social Life Survey.
B)Masters and Johnson.
C)The Hite Report.
D)The Family Counsel Survey.

Question 53

In a sexual survey, a participant brags to the interviewer that he has had twelve different partners in the last year when, in actuality, he has had only two. This participant presents a research limitation called

A)observer bias.
B)volunteer bias.
C)social desirability.
D)denial.

Question 54

Which of the following statements about surveys is most accurate?

A)Although surveys of the general population are useful, it can be valuable to target a particular, smaller population to better understand that group.
B)Surveys that apply to broader populations are superior to surveys targeting groups.
C)Large-scale surveys are better suited for testing questions about smaller groups in America.
D)No survey method is better than any others; decisions of the size and scope of a survey typically reflect the biases of the researcher or the availability of funding.

Question 55

All of the following are ways that The National Health and Social Life Survey encouraged completion of the questionnaire, EXCEPT

A)identities of participants were kept confidential.
B)incentives up to $100 were offered.
C)a letter was sent to each household, then the interviewer visited one week later.
D)the sexual aspect of the survey was originally concealed from the participants.

Question 56

A Facebook survey of sexual behavior is likely to be flawed due to

A)too large a sample.
B)poorly worded questions.
C)biased sampling.
D)the ease of finding pornography on the internet.

Question 57

According to the results from the National Survey of Adolescents and Young Adults,

A)the majority of adolescents believe in waiting until marriage to have sex, and believe most of their peers wait.
B)the majority of adolescents sampled said that they would like to have more information about STIs.
C)the majority of adolescents correctly identified that condoms could offer protection from some STIs.
D)most adolescents correctly identified that oral sex carries risks of transmitting some STIs.

Question 58

What is the term used when a researcher encounters a participant who feels pressured to answer a survey or interview question in a certain way?

A)Volunteer bias
B)Observational desirability
C)Social desirability
D)Group aptness

Question 59

Which of the following surveys probably offered the most accurate picture of the sexual practices of the general population in the United States?

A)The Kinsey Surveys
B)The National Survey of Family Growth
C)The Bell and Weinberg surveys
D)The Family Counsel Survey

Question 60

In sex research surveys, an unavoidable bias in the people who participate may be

A)an overrepresentation of older adults.
B)more permissive attitudes about sex.
C)a lack of education.
D)more conservative beliefs about premarital sex.

Question 61

A penile strain gauge

A)was used by Masters and Johnson to study changes in women's internal sex organs.
B)measures a man's erectile response by recording changes in the length of the penis.
C)indicates the level of blood congestion by measuring the amount of light reflected from the internal sex organs.
D)measures a man's erectile response by recording changes in the circumference of the penis.

Question 62

Which of the following characterized initial public reactions to Masters and Johnson's research?

A)Their first book revolutionized general medicine.
B)There was a popular movement seeking more funding for sex research.
C)Their studies were denounced as immoral.
D)Masters received additional funding from his sponsoring institution.

Question 63

Researchers studying mate-swapping in the 1970s represented themselves as swingers seeking sexual relations. These researchers used a method called

A)field observation.
B)ethnographic research.
C)anthropological research.
D)participant observation.

Question 64

The instruments in Masters and Johnson's study did NOT allow them to measure

A)vasocongestion.
B)physiological responses.
C)myotonia.
D)emotional responses.

Question 65

Which of the following scientists would typically specialize and engage in ethnographic research?

A)Psychologists
B)Sociocultural theorists
C)Anthropologists
D)Cultural biologists

Question 66

In the laboratory observation method,

A)scientists directly observe the behavior of animals in the laboratory, but set it up to reflect natural surroundings.
B)scientists study sexual behaviors and customs that occur among ethnic groups.
C)scientists bring individuals out of their natural settings into the laboratory.
D)scientists learn about participants' behavior by interacting with them.

Question 67

Masters and Johnson found that the human sexual response of males and females was comprised of how many phases?

A)Three for both males and females
B)Three for males and four for females
C)Four for both males and females
D)Four for males and three for females

Question 68

Anthropologist Margaret Mead reported on the customs of various people of New Guinea by examining

A)language barriers to successful mating.
B)age differences in childbearing.
C)gender roles.
D)homosexuality.

Question 69

Scientists take precautions to keep naturalistic observations

A)brief.
B)unobtrusive.
C)conspicuous.
D)light-hearted.

Question 70

Which of the following is True regarding Masters and Johnson's recruitment of participants for their studies?

A)Some participants were medical students or patients of the researchers.
B)Participants were randomly selected using phone lists.
C)Participants included men who attended strip clubs.
D)Participants only included heterosexuals.

Question 71

The first researchers to report direct laboratory observations of couples engaged in sexual activity were

A)Kinsey and his colleagues.
B)Masters and Johnson.
C)Ford and Beach.
D)Kinsey and Hunt.

Question 72

In sex research, laboratory observation is limited because

A)people are reluctant to share their sexual histories before participating.
B)it is always difficult to get people to participate in sex research.
C)sexual activities performed in a lab may differ from those in private.
D)many people cannot perform the activities requested by researchers.

Question 73

Anthropologist Margaret Mead reported on the customs of various people of New Guinea. The type of research she conducted was

A)survey research.
B)experimental research.
C)laboratory observation.
D)ethnographic research.

Question 74

Which of the following is a likely behavior of a naturalistic observer that is conducting a research study?

A)Inform authorities of illicit sexual behavior.
B)Allow a sick animal to die.
C)Report substance abuse to the authorities.
D)Mend the broken leg of a puppy.

Question 75

A naturalistic observation is also known as a

A)lab study.
B)field study.
C)mall study.
D)volunteer study.

Question 76

When researchers in the past engaged in sexual intercourse at "swinging parties," the researchers claimed to be using what research method?

A)Ethnographic
B)Participant observation
C)Anthropological
D)Naturalistic observation

Question 77

Anthropologist Margaret Mead reported on the customs of various people of New Guinea and argued that gender roles

A)were consistent across all three societies.
B)were nonexistent in all three societies.
C)varied dramatically across all three societies.
D)could not be examined.

Question 78

Masters and Johnson's early work scientifically described

A)male reproductive anatomy.
B)the human sexual response.
C)female reproductive anatomy.
D)the flirting behavior of adults.

Question 79

Masters and Johnson believed that to understand the human sexual response, researchers should

A)ask people on the street about sex.
B)have people fill out questionnaires.
C)study actual physical responses to sexual stimulation.
D)draw scientific conclusions from memory.

Question 80

In the ethnographic observation method,

A)scientists directly observe the behavior of animals and humans where it happens.
B)scientists study sexual behaviors and customs that occur among ethnic groups.
C)scientists send surveys or questionnaires directly to the participant's home.
D)scientists intervene and influence the behavior of the participants.