Deck 4: Fundamental Research Issues

Question 1

A _____ is any event, situation, behavior, or individual characteristic that changes.

A)variable
B)module
C)parameter
D)system

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A researcher finds that the more a song is played on the radio, the greater the liking for the song. However, she also finds that if the song is played too much, people start to dislike the song. In the context of relationship between variables, what type of relationship exists between the song and its likeness factor?

A)Positive linear relationship
B)Negative linear relationship
C)No relationship
D)Curvilinear relationship

Answer 2

D

Question 3

_____ validity concerns whether the methods of studying variables are accurate.

A)Linear
B)External
C)Construct
D)Internal

Answer 3

C

Question 4

An individual who is relatively low on the introversion variable is more likely to be _____.

A)reactive
B)depressed
C)extraverted
D)submissive

Question 5

Roger, a researcher, conducted a study to analyze the impact of alcohol exposure during childhood. He found that the more a person was exposed to alcohol during childhood, the more likely he or she will experience alcoholism as an adult. In this case, there is _____ relationship between alcohol exposure during childhood and alcoholism.

A)positive linear
B)negative linear
C)curvilinear
D)nonlinear

Question 6

The _____ definition of a variable is the set of procedures used to measure or manipulate it.

A)technical
B)operational
C)general
D)legal

Question 7

Jim, a psychiatrist, is developing a method to study mood swings in individuals. He asks individuals to describe the frequency and intensity of mood swings and rates them on a scale of 1 to 10. He desires to develop treatment plan according to average outcomes of frequency and intensity of mood swings. In this context, Jim is trying to _____ the variable "mood swing."

A)describe
B)theorize
C)operationalize
D)internalize

Question 8

In the context of relationship between variables, what type of relationship is present between the variables when increases in the values of one variable are associated with decreases in the values of a second variable?

A)Positive linear relationship
B)Nonlinear relationship
C)Negative linear relationship
D)Curvilinear relationship

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true of the operational definitions of variables?

A)It is easier to operationalize a variable such as pain which is very specific and concrete.
B)There are no benefits associated with operational definition of a variable.
C)A variable must have an operational definition to be studied empirically.
D)Operational definition of a variable forces scientists to discuss concrete concepts in abstract terms.

Question 10

Which of the following statements best describes construct validity?

A)It refers to one's ability to draw conclusions about causal relationships.
B)It refers to the adequacy of the operational definition of variables.
C)It refers to concerns whether the findings of a study can be generalized to other settings.
D)It refers to the accuracy of conclusions about cause and effect.

Question 11

A psychologist develops a measure of self-esteem in order to study the variable of self-esteem. He then conducts a number of studies investigating the differences between candidates who score low and candidates who score high on self-esteem. He does so to devise an accurate method of studying self-esteem. In this case, the psychologist is trying to establish _____.

A)construct validity
B)internal validity
C)reliability
D)reactivity

Question 12

In the context of relationship between variables, increases in the values of one variable are accompanied by increases in the values of the second variable in a _____ relationship.

A)positive linear
B)non-linear
C)negative linear
D)curvilinear

Question 13

In the context of relationship between variables, when increases in the values of one variable are associated with both increases and decreases in the values of a second variable, what type of relationship is present between the variables?

A)Positive linear relationship
B)Nonlinear relationship
C)Curvilinear relationship
D)Negative linear relationship

Question 14

In a curvilinear relationship, increases in the values of one variable are accompanied by systematic increases and decreases in the values of the other variable. Due of this type of correlation between variables, curvilinear relationship is also called a(n) _____ function.

A)unsystematic
B)construct
C)extraneous
D)nonmonotonic

Question 15

Which of the following is an important benefit in operationally defining a variable?

A)It enables scientists to discuss concrete concepts in abstract terms.
B)It ensures accuracy of conclusions about cause and effect.
C)It enables to generalize the findings of a study to other settings.
D)It helps researchers to communicate their ideas with others.

Question 16

In the context of relationship between variables, identify a difference between negative and curvilinear relationships.

A)In a negative relationship, variables have an inverse relationship; whereas in a curvilinear relationship, variables can have both increase and decrease in values.
B)A negative relationship is represented by an increasing-trend line on a graph; whereas curvilinear relationship is represented with a straight line on a graph.
C)A negative relationship has more than one extraneous variable associated with it, whereas curvilinear relationship has only one associated extraneous variable.
D)In a negative relationship, the cause variable is always dependent, whereas in a curvilinear relationship, the cause variable is independent.

Question 17

An HR executive of a company studies the effect of size of project teams on the teams' performance. He found that team size was not associated with any particular change in performance. In the context of relationship between variables, what type of relationship exists between the size of project teams and their performance?

A)Positive linear relationship
B)Negative linear relationship
C)Curvilinear relationship
D)No relationship

Question 18

The management at Burgerjoy, a small restaurant, finds that the lower the price of hamburgers, the more hamburgers are sold. This is an example of _____ relationship between price and number of hamburgers sold.

A)positive linear
B)negative linear
C)curvilinear
D)nonlinear

Question 19

An advertising agency conducted a research to analyze the effects of advertising on consumer buying behavior. It was found that higher frequency of advertising resulted in more sales of the product being advertised. In this case, there is _____ relationship between the frequency of advertising and the sales of the product.

A)positive linear
B)negative linear
C)curvilinear
D)nonlinear

Question 20

In the context of relationship between variables, when the graph is simply a flat line, it shows that there is _____ between the two variables.

A)a positive linear relationship
B)no relationship
C)a curvilinear relationship
D)a negative linear relationship

Question 21

In the context of psychological research, the variable that is considered to be the cause is called the _____ variable.

A)operational
B)hypothetical
C)independent
D)mediating

Question 22

Which of the following is a problem with making causal statements when the nonexperimental method of study is used in research?

A)Creating operational definitions
B)Determining the direction of cause and effect
C)Establishing a curvilinear relationship between variables
D)Analyzing concrete concepts

Question 23

What is the difference between experimental and nonexperimental methods of study?

A)Nonexperimental methods involve operational definitions, whereas experimental methods are simple observations.
B)Nonexperimental methods result in definite results, whereas experimental methods simply give a broad perspective of the variables under study.
C)Experimental methods have random variables, whereas nonexperimental methods have manipulated variables.
D)Experimental methods involve the manipulation and control of variables, whereas nonexperimental methods require simple observation of the variables.

Question 24

Which of the following in experimental method ensures that an extraneous variable is just as likely to affect one experimental group as it is to affect the other group?

A)Operationalization
B)Construct validity
C)Randomization
D)Correlation coefficient

Question 25

Catherine, a researcher, desires to study child behavior with age, sex, and mental stability as constant variables. She uses level of activity as an independent variable for her study. In this context, Catherine is trying to establish _____.

A)ex post facto design
B)internal validity
C)construct validity
D)experimental control

Question 26

When a nonexperimental method is used for a study, there is a danger that no causal relationship exists between the two variables being studied. This phenomenon is known as a(n) _____ relationship.

A)confounded
B)spurious
C)operational
D)curvilinear

Question 27

In a _____ method, relationships between variables are studied by making observations or measures of the variables of interest.

A)nonexperimental
B)operational
C)curvilinear
D)confounded

Question 28

Dr. Sears, a psychologist, observes that the more time individuals spend in a department store, the more purchases they tend to make. The research method used in this study is the _____ method.

A)confounded
B)nonexperimental
C)operational
D)curvilinear

Question 29

Experimental control is accomplished by:

A)keeping all extraneous variables constant.
B)using a control group as a standard to measure against.
C)using careful operational definitions.
D)paying attention to the sensitivities of the participants.

Question 30

What is the difference between a dependent and an independent variable?

A)Independent variable is the cause, whereas a dependent variable is the effect.
B)Independent variable is called internal variable, whereas a dependent variable is known as external variable.
C)Independent variable has positive linear relationship, whereas dependent variable has negative linear relationship with other variables.
D)Independent variable has a curvilinear relationship, whereas dependent variable has a bi-axial relationship with other variables.

Question 31

Which of the following statements is true of the nonexperimental method?

A)With the nonexperimental method, one variable is manipulated and the other is then measured.
B)The problem of direction of cause and effect is not the most serious drawback to the nonexperimental method.
C)Both variables can be directly manipulated and controlled to arrive at results.
D)It eliminates the influence of all potential confounding third variables on the dependent variable.

Question 32

To study the effect of workplace lighting on employee productivity, a researcher first manipulates the amount of lighting in a workspace and then observes its effect on a group's productivity. In this case, the researcher is focusing on which element of inferences of cause and effect?

A)Temporal precedence
B)Covariation between variables
C)Elimination of possible causes
D)Environmental stability

Question 33

In the context of psychological research, the variable that is considered to be the effect is called the _____ variable.

A)operational
B)dependent
C)hypothetical
D)mediating

Question 34

In the context of study of relationships between variables, _____ method involves direct manipulation and control of variables.

A)confounded
B)operational
C)experimental
D)curvilinear

Question 35

A study has high _____ validity when strong inferences can be made that one variable caused changes in the other variable.

A)inferential
B)construct
C)internal
D)reliable

Question 36

A numerical index of the strength of relationship between variables is called a _____ coefficient.

A)random
B)correlation
C)linear
D)biaxial

Question 37

A researcher desires to study the relationship between stress and an employee's ability to perform at work. However, he finds that there is no direct relationship between the two. He also notices that presence of a supervisor in the environment is establishing a relationship between stress and employee's ability to perform. In this context, supervisor's presence is acting as a _____ variable.

A)dependent
B)participant
C)confounding
D)situational

Question 38

Using the nonexperimental method, a researcher collects data on exercise and anxiety from a number of people and finds that exercise is negatively related to anxiety-that is, the people who exercise more tend to have lower levels of anxiety. What does this scenario demonstrate?

A)Temporal precedence
B)Covariation between variables
C)Elimination of possible causes
D)Non-sufficient element of inference of cause

Question 39

The term _____ implies that there is randomness in events.

A)constancy
B)uniformity
C)reliability
D)uncertainty

Question 40

Random variability exists because relationships between variables:

A)can only be positive or negative.
B)are curvilinear.
C)are rarely perfect.
D)can only be monotonic.

Question 41

Personal attributes such as gender, nationality, and age are also called _____ variables.

A)internal
B)participant
C)confounding
D)situational

Question 42

When a researcher presents a graph indicating the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable, the _____ variable should appear on the vertical axis.

A)correlation
B)independent
C)dependent
D)confounding

Question 43

A researcher desires to understand the effect of child abuse on an individual's personality and attitude. He forms two groups of participants for the study. The first group contains people who were abused during their childhood and the second group contains people who had normal childhood. This type of division of people based on actual differences rather than through random assignment is called _____ design.

A)ad lib
B)ex post facto
C)variable
D)randomized

Question 44

Participant variables are also called _____ variables.

A)subject
B)construct
C)external
D)situational

Question 45

In the context of different methods of study, identify the primary advantage of field experiments over laboratory experiments.

A)Variables are investigated in a natural context.
B)The third variable problem is eliminated.
C)Randomization procedures are simpler.
D)It has a high degree of control.

Question 46

A psychologist had one group of participants eat ice cream that was packaged in a red carton, whereas another group of participants ate the same flavored ice cream packaged in a green carton. Participants then indicated how much they liked the ice cream on a 1-5 rating scale. The independent variable in this experiment is the _____.

A)participants' ratings
B)gender of the participants
C)color of the carton
D)flavor of the ice cream

Question 47

A researcher interested in establishing that there is a causal relationship between variables is most interested in _____ validity.

A)artificial
B)linear
C)internal
D)construct

Question 48

A researcher investigated the relationship between length of test and grades in a western civilization course. After randomly assigning students to groups, she found that students who took longer exams received better grades than students who took shorter exams. In this scenario, the independent variable is:

A)test grades.
B)gender of the students.
C)class size.
D)length of test.

Question 49

When the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable is plotted in a graph, the independent variable is always placed on the _____ axis.

A)horizontal
B)central
C)neutral
D)vertical

Question 50

Ron, a researcher at Texo Labs, desires to conduct his study in a shopping mall to understand the factors influencing the shopping preferences of customers. In the context of methods of study, Ron is conducting a(n) _____ experiment.

A)artificial
B)field
C)laboratory
D)construct

Question 51

_____ validity is the extent to which results of a study can be generalized to other populations and settings.

A)Linear
B)External
C)Construct
D)Internal

Question 52

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using field experiments?

A)The independent variable is studied in an artificial environment.
B)The researcher loses the ability to directly control many aspects of the situation.
C)Randomization of confounding variables becomes complex.
D)It is difficult to establish operational definitions.

Question 53

Margaret, a researcher, desires to conduct a field experiment to determine the effects of a shopping mall's ambience on consumer purchase behavior. However, she has to deal with other influencing factors such as noise, crowd, and space distribution. She desires to avoid them by using randomization. In this context, noise, crowd, and space are _____ variables.

A)internal
B)construct
C)extraneous
D)linear

Question 54

A researcher investigated the relationship between alcohol intake and reaction time using a driving simulation task. Participants drank either one ounce or three ounces of alcohol. Their reaction time was measured in terms of the speed with which they braked on seeing a red light during the simulated driving task. In this case, the dependent variable in the experiment is the _____.

A)amount of alcohol
B)braking speed
C)red light
D)degree of intoxication

Question 55

What is the difference between internal validity and external validity?

A)Internal validity deals with accuracy of methods of studying variables, whereas external validity deals with randomization of variables present in the study.
B)Internal validity deals with creation of operational definitions for procedure, whereas external validity deals with establishing curvilinear relationships between variables.
C)Internal validity deals with accuracy of conclusions about cause and effect, whereas external validity deals with generalization of findings of a study to other settings.
D)Internal validity deals with establishing positive linear relationships between variables, whereas external validity deals with establishing negative linear relationships between variables.

Question 56

Identify a limitation of laboratory experiments.

A)It is difficult to create an independent variable to study dependent variable in a laboratory experiment.
B)Randomization is difficult in laboratory experiments.
C)Laboratory experiments have a high degree of control and may create an artificial atmosphere.
D)Laboratory experiments use high degree of observational data resulting in redundancy of information.

Question 57

In the context of validity, when examining a single study, we find internal validity to be generally in conflict with _____ validity.

A)subject
B)construct
C)external
D)situational

Question 58

In the context of research, _____ refers to "truth" and the accurate representation of information.

A)validity
B)reliability
C)dexterity
D)ingenuity

Question 59

_____ validity refers to one's ability to accurately draw conclusions about causal relationships.

A)Linear
B)External
C)Construct
D)Internal

Question 60

A limitation of using laboratory experiments to study relationships among variables is that they have:

A)very limited internal validity.
B)strong external validity but limited construct validity.
C)strong internal validity but limited external validity.
D)very limited randomization of variables.