Deck 3: Three Claims,Four Validities: Interrogation Tools for Consumers of Research

Question 1

Which of the following is true of operational definitions?

A) Conceptual definition and operational definition mean the same thing.
B) Popular press descriptions of research usually refer to the operational definitions.
C) Some psychological concepts are more difficult to operationally define than others.
D) Some psychological concepts cannot be operationally defined.
E) Operational definitions answer the question "Why did the researchers measure this variable?"

Answer 1

Some psychological concepts are more difficult to operationally define than others.

Question 2

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1
Anderson is reading his morning paper and reads the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked to complete a math test by either a male math major or a female math major. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major compared with a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.1 above to answer the following question. In this study,the authors recorded how many math questions (out of 10 questions)participants tried to solve.This is an example of which of the following?

A) A constant
B) A variable's level
C) A measured variable
D) A manipulated variable
E) None of the above

Answer 2

A measured variable

Question 3

To evaluate how well a study supports a frequency claim,you need to focus on evaluating which of the following validities?

A) Construct validity and external validity
B) External validity and construct validity
C) Statistical validity and external validity
D) Internal validity and external validity
E) Internal validity and construct validity

Answer 3

Construct validity and external validity

Question 4

Refer to Research Study 3.3 above to answer the following question. Clarissa's concern is addressing which of the following?

A) The study's operational validity
B) The study's statistical validity
C) The study's internal validity
D) The study's external validity
E) The study's construct validity

Question 5

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1
Anderson is reading his morning paper and reads the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked to complete a math test by either a male math major or a female math major. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major compared with a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.1 above to answer the following question. How many variables are mentioned in this study/headline?

A) Two
B) Three
C) Four
D) Five
E) Six

Question 6

Dr.Hoda measures job satisfaction and number of years of education.In examining her scatterplot,she sees that the cloud of points has no slope.This indicates which type of relationship?

A) Negative association
B) Positive association
C) Zero association
D) Curvilinear association
E) There is not enough information to answer this question

Question 7

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1
Anderson is reading his morning paper and reads the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked to complete a math test by either a male math major or a female math major. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major compared with a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.1 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is a variable in this study/headline?

A) The sex of the participants
B) The major of the participants
C) The math test
D) The sex of the role model
E) All of the above are variables

Question 8

Which of the following is the difference between anecdotal claims and frequency claims?

A) Anecdotal claims involve a single variable, but frequency claims involve two variables.
B) Anecdotal claims are not based on scientific studies, but frequency claims are.
C) Anecdotal claims are less interesting than frequency claims.
D) Anecdotal claims appear in newspapers, but frequency claims appear in journals.
E) None of the above are true.

Question 9

Which of the following is an association claim?

A) "Owning a dog related to higher life satisfaction"
B) "A majority of Americans like dogs"
C) "Dog traveled 500 miles to find its owners"
D) "Being visited by dogs in the hospital causes decreases in recovery time"
E) None of the above are association claims

Question 10

Why do we normally consider statistical validity when interrogating association claims but not when interrogating frequency claims?

A) Because association claims involve numbers
B) Because association claims involve more participants
C) Because researchers use statistical techniques to analyze association claims
D) Both a and c
E) All of the above

Question 11

RESEARCH STUDY 3.2
Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse."
Refer to Research Study 3.2 above to answer the following question. Which type of claim is Dr.Ramon making?

A) Anecdotal claim
B) Association claim
C) Causal claim
D) Frequency claim
E) It is unclear which type of claim she is making

Question 12

Refer to Research Study 3.3 above to answer the following question. Quinn's concern is addressing which of the following?

A) The study's operational validity
B) The study's statistical validity
C) The study's internal validity
D) The study's external validity
E) The study's construct validity

Question 13

RESEARCH STUDY 3.2
Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse."
Refer to Research Study 3.2 above to answer the following question. Which of the following statements is true of Dr.Ramon's and Dr.LaSalle's claims?

A) Dr. Ramon's claim goes further than Dr. LaSalle's claim.
B) Dr. LaSalle's claim goes further than Dr. Ramon's claim.
C) Dr. LaSalle's claim is the same as Dr. Ramon's claim.
D) Dr. Ramon's claim involves more variables than Dr. LaSalle's claim.
E) None of the above are true.

Question 14

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1
Anderson is reading his morning paper and reads the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked to complete a math test by either a male math major or a female math major. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major compared with a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.1 above to answer the following question. In this study,the authors were interested in students' math effort.Which of the following would NOT be a reasonable operational definition of math effort?

A) An earnest attempt to solve math problems
B) The number of math classes taken in college
C) A score on a standardized measure of math effort
D) The number of math problems students answered correctly
E) All of the above are conceptual definitions

Question 15

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1
Anderson is reading his morning paper and reads the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked to complete a math test by either a male math major or a female math major. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major compared with a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.1 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is a constant in this study/headline?

A) The sex of the participants
B) The effort on math problems
C) The sex of the role model
D) The number of researchers
E) All of the above are constants

Question 16

Which of the following phrases would indicate that a researcher is making a causal claim?

A) Curbs
B) Seems to decrease
C) Suggests a change
D) Enhances
E) All of the above would indicate a causal claim

Question 17

Which of the following allow us to make better predictions using association claims?

A) Strong zero associations
B) Strong positive associations
C) Strong negative associations
D) Both b and c
E) All of the above

Question 18

RESEARCH STUDY 3.2
Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse."
Refer to Research Study 3.2 above to answer the following question. Which type of claim is Dr.LaSalle making?

A) Anecdotal claim
B) Association claim
C) Causal claim
D) Frequency claim
E) It is unclear which type of claim she is making

Question 19

Which of the following is true of variables?

A) Variables must have at least two levels.
B) Some variables can only be measured.
C) Some variables can be either manipulated or measured.
D) All variables must have operational definitions.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 20

Dr.Ellison finds a relation between the amount of sleep and problem solving.Specifically,having a higher amount of sleep the night before an exam is associated with higher scores on two measures of problem solving.This is an example of which type of association?

A) Negative association
B) Positive association
C) Zero association
D) Curvilinear association
E) There is not enough information to answer this question

Question 21

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5
From a Slate.com article entitled "Psych-Out Sexism: The Innocent, Unconscious Bias That Discourages Girls from Math and Science," published on March 1, 2011.
Stout, Dasgupta, and their colleagues wanted to find out why women's outstanding performance on science and math tests in high school and college correlates so weakly with their eventual interest in pursuing careers in those fields. In high school and college, girls increasingly earn math and science grades equal to or better than the grades of their male peers. But when it comes to choosing a career in math or science, more men than women decide to walk through those open doors.
The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E =? mc2 equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test (comprising 10 questions) when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.5 above to answer the following question.
In the study described above,consider the measured variable.Provide both a conceptual definition and an operational definition for it.

Question 22

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Dr.Kang's decision to assign participants randomly to Group A and Group B increases which of the following?

A) The covariance of the study
B) The temporal precedence of the study
C) The internal validity of the study
D) The external validity of the study
E) The construct validity of the study

Question 23

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5
From a Slate.com article entitled "Psych-Out Sexism: The Innocent, Unconscious Bias That Discourages Girls from Math and Science," published on March 1, 2011.
Stout, Dasgupta, and their colleagues wanted to find out why women's outstanding performance on science and math tests in high school and college correlates so weakly with their eventual interest in pursuing careers in those fields. In high school and college, girls increasingly earn math and science grades equal to or better than the grades of their male peers. But when it comes to choosing a career in math or science, more men than women decide to walk through those open doors.
The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E =? mc2 equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test (comprising 10 questions) when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.5 above to answer the following question.
In the study described above,name the variables and indicate the levels of each.

Question 24

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5
From a Slate.com article entitled "Psych-Out Sexism: The Innocent, Unconscious Bias That Discourages Girls from Math and Science," published on March 1, 2011.
Stout, Dasgupta, and their colleagues wanted to find out why women's outstanding performance on science and math tests in high school and college correlates so weakly with their eventual interest in pursuing careers in those fields. In high school and college, girls increasingly earn math and science grades equal to or better than the grades of their male peers. But when it comes to choosing a career in math or science, more men than women decide to walk through those open doors.
The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E =? mc2 equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test (comprising 10 questions) when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.5 above to answer the following question.
Explain the difference between a variable and a constant.Give an example of each in the above study.

Question 25

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children.You know this relationship may not be causal because you are not sure which occurred first-watching television or being aggressive.You are questioning which of the following rules of causation?

A) The rule of covariance
B) The rule of temporal precedence
C) The third-variable rule
D) All of the above rules
E) None of the above rules

Question 26

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Which of the following makes Dr.Kang's study an experiment?

A) Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another.
B) Dr. Kang used a distractor task.
C) The study was conducted at a university.
D) The study was conducted by a professor.
E) All of the above make Dr. Kang's study an experiment.

Question 27

Dr.Hadden wants to conduct a study that will allow him to make claims that apply to all college students.Which of the following validities is he prioritizing?

A) The statistical validity of the study
B) The internal validity of the study
C) The construct validity of the study
D) The external validity of the study
E) He is not prioritizing any of the validities

Question 28

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is the independent variable in Dr.Kang's study?

A) The length of the distractor task
B) The number of words remembered
C) The emotional or neutral word list
D) The number of words on the list
E) All of the above are independent variables

Question 29

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Dr.Kang can make a causal claim that "emotion enhances memory" because:

A) There is a numeric difference between Groups A and B
B) Reading the words occurred before recalling the words
C) Dr. Kang treated Groups A and B identically except for the emotional word content
D) All of the above allow him to make a causal claim
E) He cannot make a causal claim based on his study

Question 30

A dependent variable is one that:

A) Is manipulated
B) Is measured
C) Is kept constant
D) Has one level
E) None of the above

Question 31

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is the dependent variable in Dr.Kang's study?

A) The length of the distractor task
B) The number of words remembered
C) The emotional or neutral word list
D) The number of words on the list
E) None of the above are dependent variables

Question 32

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. Dr.Kang sends his study to a journal to be published.One of the peer reviewers questions the way Dr.Kang manipulated emotion,arguing that being exposed to emotional words does not make one emotional.The reviewer is questioning which of the following?

A) The statistical validity of the study
B) The internal validity of the study
C) The construct validity of the study
D) The external validity of the study
E) He is questioning all of the validities

Question 33

Stefan wants to make a causal claim in his dissertation.Which of the following is necessary?

A) He must make a frequency claim first.
B) He must manipulate his two variables.
C) He must measure his two variables.
D) He must conduct an experiment.
E) None of the above are necessary.

Question 34

One problem with reading about psychological studies in the popular press is that the popular press often fails to provide information that allows you to interrogate the study's ______________ validity.

A) Statistical
B) Internal
C) Construct
D) External
E) All of the above

Question 35

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Refer to Research Study 3.4 above to answer the following question. If Dr.Kang decided against using random assignment,which of the following would be threatened?

A) The covariance of the study
B) The temporal precedence of the study
C) The internal validity of the study
D) The external validity of the study
E) The construct validity of the study

Question 36

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5
From a Slate.com article entitled "Psych-Out Sexism: The Innocent, Unconscious Bias That Discourages Girls from Math and Science," published on March 1, 2011.
Stout, Dasgupta, and their colleagues wanted to find out why women's outstanding performance on science and math tests in high school and college correlates so weakly with their eventual interest in pursuing careers in those fields. In high school and college, girls increasingly earn math and science grades equal to or better than the grades of their male peers. But when it comes to choosing a career in math or science, more men than women decide to walk through those open doors.
The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E =? mc2 equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test (comprising 10 questions) when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.5 above to answer the following question.
In the study described above,what type of claim is the author making? Explain why you think this is the claim being made.

Question 37

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5
From a Slate.com article entitled "Psych-Out Sexism: The Innocent, Unconscious Bias That Discourages Girls from Math and Science," published on March 1, 2011.
Stout, Dasgupta, and their colleagues wanted to find out why women's outstanding performance on science and math tests in high school and college correlates so weakly with their eventual interest in pursuing careers in those fields. In high school and college, girls increasingly earn math and science grades equal to or better than the grades of their male peers. But when it comes to choosing a career in math or science, more men than women decide to walk through those open doors.
The psychologists asked female students studying biology, chemistry, and engineering to take a very tough math test. All the students were greeted by a senior math major who wore a T-shirt displaying Einstein's E =? mc2 equation. For some volunteers, the math major was male. For others, the math major was female. This tiny tweak made a difference: Women attempted more questions on the tough math test (comprising 10 questions) when they were greeted by a female math major rather than a male math major.
Refer to Research Study 3.5 above to answer the following question.
What is the difference between a manipulated and a measured variable? In the study described above,indicate which variables are manipulated and which variables are measured.

Question 38

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children.You are curious as to whether peer pressure is really to blame (peer pressure encourages you to watch television and peer pressure encourages you to be aggressive).You are questioning which of the following rules of causation?

A) The rule of covariance
B) The rule of temporal precedence
C) The third-variable rule
D) All of the above rules
E) None of the above rules

Question 39

An independent variable is one that:

A) Is manipulated
B) Is measured
C) Is kept constant
D) Has one level
E) None of the above

Question 40

Who is responsible for deciding which validity is prioritized in a study?

A) The researcher
B) The participants
C) The peer reviewer
D) The journal editor
E) The journalist

Question 41

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6
You read an article stating that Facebook is related to unhappiness. In the study, a group of high school students were asked how many times a day they checked their Facebook pages and how happy they were. In discussing this article with your friend Matt, he exclaims, "I knew it! I have always said that being on Facebook is the cause of all my unhappiness!"
Refer to Research Study 3.6 above to answer the following question.
Explain how you could convert the study described above into an experiment.

Question 42

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6
You read an article stating that Facebook is related to unhappiness. In the study, a group of high school students were asked how many times a day they checked their Facebook pages and how happy they were. In discussing this article with your friend Matt, he exclaims, "I knew it! I have always said that being on Facebook is the cause of all my unhappiness!"
Refer to Research Study 3.6 above to answer the following question.
Using the three criteria for evaluating causal claims,discuss the reasons your friend Matt is correct or incorrect in his interpretation of the study.

Question 43

For the following three terms,create a measured operational definition for each: academic success,attention,and social anxiety.

Question 44

Name the three types of claims.Explain the difference between claims.

Question 45

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6
You read an article stating that Facebook is related to unhappiness. In the study, a group of high school students were asked how many times a day they checked their Facebook pages and how happy they were. In discussing this article with your friend Matt, he exclaims, "I knew it! I have always said that being on Facebook is the cause of all my unhappiness!"
Refer to Research Study 3.6 above to answer the following question.
What type of claim is the author making? Name two reasons you think the author is making this type of claim.

Question 46

Consider two variables: income and relationship satisfaction.Describe the four types of associations assuming these two variables.

Question 47

RESEARCH STUDY 3.6
You read an article stating that Facebook is related to unhappiness. In the study, a group of high school students were asked how many times a day they checked their Facebook pages and how happy they were. In discussing this article with your friend Matt, he exclaims, "I knew it! I have always said that being on Facebook is the cause of all my unhappiness!"
Refer to Research Study 3.6 above to answer the following question.
Considering the study above,explain why converting the study to an experiment changes the type of claim the researcher can make.

Question 48

Name the four validities used to interrogate claims.If you were to question a study's four validities,provide a question you might ask related to each validity.

Question 49

For the following three terms,create a manipulated operational definition for each: stress,personal space,and study skills.

Question 50

Name the three criteria/rules necessary for making a causal claim.Describe why each is important.