Deck 2: Conducting Health Research

Question 1

​When a placebo effect is observed in a treatment, what does this most demonstrate?

A) ​Objective measures supersede subjective perceptions.
B) ​Subjective perceptions supersede objective measures.
C) ​Objective and subjective findings can be equally valid.
D) ​Subjective perceptions prove treatment effects equally.

Answer 1

​Objective and subjective findings can be equally valid.

Question 2

Patient A was raised to view medical treatments as most effective; Patient B was raised to believe in faith healing and avoid medical treatments. If both patients are given a placebo, what is most likely?

A) The strength of their respective placebo responses should not be affected by the differences in what they believe.
B) Each will have a stronger response to a placebo that seems most similar to their respective preferred treatments.
C) Each will have a stronger response to a placebo that seems most different from the treatments that each one prefers.
D) Each will have a stronger response to a placebo that seems most different from the treatments that each one prefers

Answer 2

Each will have a stronger response to a placebo that seems most similar to their respective preferred treatments.

Question 3

​Placebos can be beneficial in treating many conditions EXCEPT:

A) ​depression.
B) ​hypertension.
C) ​insomnia.
D) ​broken bones.

Answer 3

​broken bones.

Question 4

​The _______ a placebo resembles an effective treatment, the _____ the placebo effect.

A) ​more; stronger
B) ​more; weaker
C) ​less; stronger
D) ​none of these

Question 5

​To determine whether Drug Z lowers blood pressure, it is necessary to demonstrate that an experimental group, which has been given Drug Z, will have lower blood pressure than a comparison group, which has been given

A) ​a higher dose of Drug Z.
B) ​a lower dose of Drug Z.
C) ​a placebo treatment.
D) ​no treatment at all.

Question 6

​Research with placebos and nocebos finds that actual physiological changes

A) ​are unnecessary, as long as the patients feel better.
B) ​are observed from placebos, but not from nocebos.
C) ​are present from taking both placebos and nocebos.
D) ​are observed from nocebos, but not from placebos.

Question 7

​A doctor diagnoses Javier with an infection and prescribes a medication to treat it. Among factors contributing to a placebo response, which of the following is more indicative of expectancy than of conditioning?

A) ​Javier has read that this medication eradicates the infection 100% of the time.
B) ​Javier has had same medication before and recovered from a similar infection.
C) ​Javier has had good medical experiences and associates treatment with success.
D) ​Javier has learned that taking prescribed medication is better than not taking it.

Question 8

​Cynthia has contracted a rare virus while traveling. Her doctor prescribes a new antiviral drug whose efficacy is unproven as yet, but seems quite promising in early trials. Cynthia has an excellent response to the drug. What is likely in this case?

A) ​Cynthia's response is more likely due to the placebo effect than the treatment.
B) ​Cynthia's response is more likely due to the treatment than the placebo effect.
C) ​Cynthia's response is most likely due to the treatment plus the placebo effect.
D) ​Cynthia's response is most likely due to neither treatment nor placebo effect.

Question 9

​Two research teams are both experimenting with new treatments for a medical condition. In one study, the condition involved currently has no treatment; in the other, there is an accepted treatment, to which the researchers seek alternative and/or improved options. Both studies are comparing an experimental treatment to a placebo. Ethically, what is the most likely opinion?

A) ​Both studies are unethical because patient welfare is not the first priority.
B) ​The study wherein an accepted standard of care exists may be unethical.
C) ​The study wherein no treatment exists for the condition is less ethical.
D) ​Both studies are ethical because testing new treatments is necessary.

Question 10

​For which of the following symptoms would you expect a placebo to be most ineffective?

A) ​Pain
B) ​Nausea
C) ​Fracture
D) ​Depression

Question 11

​What does research find about the relative effectiveness of placebos?

A) ​Surgery has more placebo effect than injections.
B) ​Pills have more powerful effects than injections.
C) ​Treatments that cost less produce greater effects.
D) ​Taking more or fewer doses makes no difference.

Question 12

​Using placebos

A) ​makes it easier to determine the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention.
B) ​does not produce any type of unfavorable effect.
C) ​is easy to control in psychotherapeutic treatment.
D) ​hampers the evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment programs.

Question 13

​The nocebo effect occurs when

A) ​participants in a placebo study experience a negative effect.
B) ​participants in a placebo study experience a positive effect.
C) ​experimenters use a double-blind study.
D) ​experimenters use the case-control method.

Question 14

​The placebo effect is

A) ​most prominently observed in well-designed experiments.
B) ​an imaginary effect which can be applicable to everybody.
C) ​an imaginary effect occurring almost exclusively in hypochondriacs.
D) ​physiologically real and can improve organic or psychological symptoms.

Question 15

​When neither the participants nor the experimenters know which group has received the treatment and which has received a placebo, the design is called

A) ​confounding.
B) ​double-blind.
C) ​correlational.
D) ​naturalistic.

Question 16

Which of these "sugar pills" is likely to have the greatest positive effect?

A) White pills rather than colored pills
B) Very small pills rather than medium-size pills
C) Capsules rather than tablets
D) Generic pills rather than brand-name drugs

Question 17

Which of these statements is true?

A) Placebo effects can influence both psychological and physical disorders.
B) Valuable research is done by people outside the scientific community, but scientists try to discount the importance of this research.
C) Scientific breakthroughs happen every day.
D) Experimental rather than observational research is required to learn about patterns of disease.

Question 18

Placebos have been known to help

A) reduce insomnia.
B) decrease low back pain.
C) lower high blood pressure.
D) bowel movements.

Question 19

Which of these conditions is likely to produce the highest positive placebo effect?

A) A physician dressed casually in blue jeans and sneakers
B) A physician who is enthusiastic in describing the treatment
C) A physician with a reputation for medical errors
D) A physician who, when prescribing medication, says, "This may not help, but it won't hurt."

Question 20

An inactive substance or condition that has the appearance of the independent variable and that may cause participants in an experiment to improve or change behavior due to their belief is called​

A) ​a nocebo.
B) ​a placebo.
C) ​a dependent variable.
D) ​an experimental design.

Question 21

​There is a ____________ correlation between physical age and physical health, such that as age increases, physical health decreases.

A) ​positive
B) ​negative
C) ​weak
D) ​nonexistent

Question 22

​Correlational studies are a type of

A) ​experimental study.
B) ​double-blind study.
C) ​ex post facto design.
D) ​descriptive research.

Question 23

​Dr. Singh, a clinical researcher, is conducting a study wherein some patients receive a drug and others receive a placebo. If this researcher and study are typical, what does Dr. Singh want to find out from the research?

A) ​Whether the drug works better than the placebo
B) ​Whether the placebo has any effectiveness at all
C) ​Whether the placebo works better than the drug
D) ​Whether the drug and placebo work equally well

Question 24

​One of the advantages of conducting a longitudinal study is that longitudinal studies can _____________________.

A) ​be completed quickly.
B) ​help identify developmental trends and patterns.
C) ​determine causality.
D) ​be completed with relatively few researchers.

Question 25

​The major difference between longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies is that cross-sectional studies occur ___________ whereas longitudinal studies occur _______________.

A) ​once; over time
B) ​over time; once
C) ​with the same participants; with different participants
D) ​with the same participants; over time

Question 26

​A researcher discovers a high positive correlation between intelligence and good health. What does this mean?

A) ​One variable is the cause; the other variable is the effect.
B) ​Both of these variables reciprocally influence each other.
C) ​Both of these variables occur together and at similar rates.
D) ​One variable will increase as the other variable decreases.

Question 27

​Several college students who are friends have all decided to volunteer for a research study that will compare a medical treatment to a placebo. Ethical codes require that they all sign their informed consent to participate. What does this mean?

A) ​The students have been informed whether they will get the treatment or a placebo.
B) ​The students have been informed and allowed to choose the treatment or placebo.
C) ​The students have been informed they will receive something, but not which it is.
D) ​The students have been informed they will get a placebo and agree to participate.

Question 28

​Dr. Sweedey is conducting research that examines 5 year olds and their aggressive behaviors. She follows up with these same participants 10 years later to measure their reactivity to stress. She is using a ___________ design.

A) ​cross-sectional
B) ​experimental
C) ​longitudinal
D) ​ex post facto

Question 29

​Dr. Rich is conducting research that examines whether 20-year olds eat more low-fat foods than 70-year olds. This research is using a ________________ design.

A) ​cross-sectional
B) ​experimental
C) ​ex post facto
D) ​retrospective

Question 30

​Researchers want to examine whether writing about the experience of breast cancer increases feelings of hope and optimism. Breast-cancer patients were randomly assigned to one of two essay conditions: writing about their breast cancer or writing about

A) ​hope and optimism.
B) ​breast cancer diagnosis.
C) ​writing about everyday tasks.
D) ​the essay conditions.

Question 31

​If two variables increase or decrease together, they are

A) ​positively correlated.
B) ​negatively correlated.
C) ​positively skewed.
D) ​negatively skewed.

Question 32

​Most health-related evidence

A) ​is the result of a variety of research methods.
B) ​has been discovered accidentally.
C) ​is withheld from the general public to avoid widespread panic.
D) ​comes from the results of experimental designs.

Question 33

A recent research study examined whether sending text messages to overweight children would help enable them to maintain a weight-loss program. In this experiment, some children were randomly assigned to receive text messages and other children were assigned to the control condition and did not receive text messages. The dependent variable in this experiment was

A) continued enrollment in a weight-loss program.
B) text messages.
C) weight loss.
D) not receiving text messages.

Question 34

​Dr. Jonas is conducting a single-blind experimental study with human participants to investigate a medical procedure's effectiveness. What is true about this research?

A) ​Dr. Jonas can control for participant expectancy more than in a double-blind design.
B) ​Dr. Jonas cannot control for participant expectancy as well as in double-blind designs.
C) ​Dr. Jonas will need to establish the same expectancies for all the participants for control.
D) ​Dr. Jonas is using a research design that informs participants which treatment they receive.

Question 35

​A correlation of .80 would indicate a _______ and __________ relationship between two variables.

A) ​strong; positive
B) ​strong; negative
C) ​weak; positive
D) ​weak; negative

Question 36

One of the challenges of conducting health research is that it is impossible, and unethical, to manipulate certain variables, such as sexual behaviors or smoking. The research design that examines differences between groups without manipulating these groups is

A) experimental
B) ex post facto
C) random assignment
D) longitudinal

Question 37

​A research team conducts a study, and their statistical analysis yields a correlation coefficient of 0.07 between two variables. What is true about this?

A) ​This number is so small that it is not statistically significant.
B) ​This number is so small that the correlation must be random.
C) ​This number can predict one variable's score from the other's.
D) ​This number can be statistically significant in large populations.

Question 38

​Dr. Smith, a clinical health psychologist, is conducting research on whether relaxation training before a swim meet improves swimmers' race times. It is most likely Dr. Smith is using a __________ design.

A) ​correlational
B) ​single-blind
C) ​double-blind
D) ​retrospective

Question 39

​Correlational studies

A) ​cannot indicate cause and effect.
B) ​are a type of experimental design.
C) ​cannot be used in psychological research.
D) ​cannot be used in epidemiological research.

Question 40

​A positive correlation between physical health and education would indicate that as education __________, physical health ______________.

A) ​decreases, decreases
B) ​decreases, increases
C) ​increases, decreases
D) ​increases, increases

Question 41

​The branch of medicine that investigates factors contributing to the occurrence of diseases within a population is

A) ​psychoneuroimmunology.
B) ​behavioral medicine.
C) ​behavioral health.
D) ​epidemiology.

Question 42

​Acute diseases typically tend to

A) ​be greater in prevalence than in incidence.
B) ​be similar in prevalence and in incidence.
C) ​be greater in incidence than in prevalence.
D) ​differ in ratios of incidence to prevalence.

Question 43

​In an experimental design that investigates the effects of a low carbohydrate diet on weight loss, diet would be

A) the independent variable.
B) ​the dependent variable.
C) ​an extraneous variable.
D) ​a placebo.

Question 44

​In general, chronic diseases are likely to have

A) ​higher incidence than prevalence.
B) ​higher prevalence than incidence.
C) ​similar incidence and prevalence.
D) ​no usual pattern between the two.

Question 45

​Occasionally factors that predict death, or ______________, are not the same factors that predict disease, or _______________.

A) ​mortality, morbidity
B) ​morbidity, incidence
C) ​morbidity, mortality
D) ​mortality, incidence

Question 46

​Cross-sectional studies

A) ​follow disease-free participants over a long period of time.
B) ​follow participants with a disease over a long period of time.
C) ​are also frequently referred to as longitudinal studies.
D) ​compare different age groups or developmental periods.

Question 47

​In an experimental design that investigates the effects of weight loss on heart rate in middle-aged men, the dependent variable would be

A) ​stress.
B) ​heart rate.
C) ​age.
D) ​gender.

Question 48

​The cause of a disease or condition is most readily suggested by

A) ​case control studies.
B) ​experimental designs.
C) ​correlational studies.
D) ​a single-participant design.

Question 49

Prevalence of an illness refers to

A) the proportion of the population that has a disease at a specific time.
B) the number of new disease cases in a year.
C) the percentage of new disease cases in a year.
D) the percentage of total deaths caused by a disease in one year.

Question 50

​Small correlations, for example 0.08 or 0.10,

A) ​may be statistically significant.
B) ​cannot be statistically significant.
C) ​show causation in correlated variables.
D) ​both a and c

Question 51

​A study comparing smokers' and nonsmokers' scores on a personality inventory is most likely to be

A) ​an ex post facto design.
B) ​an experimental design.
C) ​a correlational study.
D) ​a retrospective study.

Question 52

A study examined two groups of people-those who were exercising and those who weren't-and examined their past history to try to understand why some people currently exercise whereas others do not. This is an example of what type of correlational design?

A) Retrospective study
B) Prospective study
C) Clinical trial study
D) All of the above

Question 53

Which of the following is part of an ex post facto study but not an experimental study?

A) Manipulation of an independent variable
B) Control of extraneous variables
C) Measurement of a dependent variable
D) Inclusion of a subject variable

Question 54

Which of these is NOT a characteristic of longitudinal studies?​

A) ​Longitudinal studies are a comparison of two separate groups.
B) ​Longitudinal studies tend to be time consuming.
C) ​Longitudinal studies frequently require a team of researchers.
D) ​Longitudinal studies are prospective designs.

Question 55

A risk factor is any characteristic or condition that

A) occurs with a lower frequency in peole with a disease than in people freee from that disease.
B) occurs with a higher frequency in people with a disease than in people free from that disease.
C) is any factor that has been demonstrated to be responsible for causing a disease.
D) is a measure of the dependent variable that is utilized in an experimental design.

Question 56

​Prospective and retrospective studies are both considered:

A) ​experimental studies.
B) ​longitudinal studies.
C) ​clinical trials.
D) ​correlational studies.

Question 57

​A study that follows the history of overweight male participants over a 30-year period would be

A) ​an experimental study.
B) ​a longitudinal study.
C) ​a cross-sectional study.
D) ​a case-control study.

Question 58

​An investigator measures blood pressure in a group of college students and then repeats these measurements every year for 20 years. This is an example of

A) ​a longitudinal study.
B) ​a cross-sectional study.
C) ​an experimental study.
D) ​a clinical trial.

Question 59

Although causality is difficult to determine, which scientific method most strongly yields evidence for cause and effect relationships?

A) Correlational study
B) Experimental design
C) Ex post facto design
D) Descriptive research

Question 60

​A study that compares cholesterol levels of 10-year-old children and 30-year-old adults would most likely be a(n) _____ study.

A) ​experimental
B) ​cross-sectional
C) ​longitudinal
D) ​ex post facto

Question 61

​A study that begins with a group of participants who already have a disease is most likely to be

A) ​a retrospective study.
B) ​a prospective study.
C) ​a correlational study.
D) ​an experimental study.

Question 62

Natural experiments in epidemiology are most similar to what kind of psychology study?

A) Experimental
B) Ex post facto
C) Correlational
D) Observational

Question 63

​Which type of epidemiological study is most similar to an experimental design in psychology?

A) ​A case-control epidemiology study
B) ​A retrospective epidemiology study
C) ​A prospective epidemiology study
D) ​A randomized and controlled trial

Question 64

​A research study found a direct, consistent association between late bedtime and childhood obesity. This is known as a _____________ relationship.

A) ​negative
B) ​dose-response
C) ​positive
D) ​causal

Question 65

​In general, what is true about prospective and retrospective research studies?

A) ​Retrospective studies obtain stronger evidence.
B) ​Prospective studies obtain stronger evidence.
C) ​Both obtain a similar strength of evidence.
D) ​Both obtain matching but weak evidence.

Question 66

The Alameda County study is an example of

A) an experimental longitudinal design.
B) a prospective design.
C) an experimental descriptive design.
D) a correlational cross-sectional design.

Question 67

Dr. Marcy is conducting an observational study that compares a group of people who have a specific disease to a control group of people who do not have that disease. What type of study is this?

A) Prospective
B) Case-control
C) Retrospective
D) Both B and C

Question 68

​Research has found that obesity is related to high blood pressure. This finding means that

A) ​obesity is a risk factor for high blood pressure.
B) ​obesity is an independent risk factor for high blood pressure.
C) ​most overweight people die of high blood pressure.
D) ​thin people are protected against high blood pressure.

Question 69

Observational methods in epidemiology are most closely related to which psychology method?

A) Correlational studies
B) Experimental designs
C) Ex post facto designs
D) Case history method

Question 70

Psychologists and epidemiologists would agree that which type of study is the most desirable design, the "gold standard" of scientific research?

A) Case-control study
B) Randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial
C) Natural experiment
D) Correlational study

Question 71

Which type of study begins with a group of people who already have a disease and then looks into factors that are associated with that disease?

A) Experimental
B) Placebo
C) Prospective
D) Retrospective

Question 72

​In randomized controlled trials, researchers assign participants to treatment or control groups randomly. What is the best definition of "random" as it applies to this?

A) ​Group assignment is haphazard and not systematic.
B) ​Participants are unaware of their group assignment.
C) ​Researchers are unaware of the group assignments
D) ​Everyone has an equal chance in group assignment.

Question 73

The ratio of the incidence or prevalence of a disease in an exposed group to the incidence or prevalence of that disease in the unexposed group is called

A) a risk factor.
B) dose-response relationship.
C) a relative risk.
D) causation.

Question 74

The results of a meta-analysis allow researchers to determine one type of information that other statistical analyses do not, which is

A) the statistical significance of the effect.
B) the correlation between the variables.
C) the estimated overall size of the effect.
D) the main effects and interactions of variables.

Question 75

​Mortality is to death as morbidity is to

A) ​mortality.
B) ​disease.
C) ​trauma.
D) ​gruesome.

Question 76

​Prospective epidemiological studies are also

A) ​cross-sectional.
B) ​longitudinal.
C) ​experimental.
D) ​clinical trials.

Question 77

​Based on the follow-up findings of the Alameda County study, which of the following people would be most likely to die sooner?

A) ​Ed, who smokes cigarettes and drinks alcohol to excess
B) ​Flora, who is obese and sleeps thirteen hours every day
C) ​Gil, who skips breakfast, eats snacks, and has insomnia
D) ​Hana, who lives alone, rarely goes out, has three friends

Question 78

​The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines are designed to keep researchers from:

A) ​falsifying trial results to support a given treatment.
B) ​suppressing trial results not supporting a treatment.
C) ​publicizing trial results that support their treatment.
D) ​publicizing trial results which discredit a treatment.

Question 79

Which of the following situations would most seriously complicate the interpretation of causation in a research design?

A) A study in which participants are unaware they are part of an experiment
B) A study in which participants are aware they are part of an experiment
C) A design in which the participants are allowed to self-select
D) A design in which participants are not allowed to self-select

Question 80

A statistical technique for combining the results of several studies is

A) meta-analysis.
B) transactional analysis.
C) hypothesis testing.
D) scientific myopia.