Deck 3: Moving From Fact to Truth: Validity, Reliability, and Measurement

Question 1

Because high levels of cloudiness usually go hand in hand with (i.e. ,are correlated with)high levels of rainfall,Rogelio concludes that rain causes cloudiness.Rogelio has failed to take into account information regarding:

A)temporal sequence
B)the elimination of noise
C)covariation
D)the problem of induction

Answer 1

temporal sequence

Question 2

The relative accuracy or correctness of a psychological statement is its:

A)reliability
B)validity
C)efficacy
D)confirmability

Answer 2

validity

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT one of John Stuart Mill's requirements for establishing a causal relation between two variables?

A)temporal sequence
B)eliminating confounds
C)covariation
D)external validity

Answer 3

external validity

Question 4

To say that one is worried about confounds is to say that one is worried about the:

A)problem of deduction
B)trade-off between internal and external validity
C)third variable problem
D)problem of covariation

Question 5

The quality of a researcher's operational definitions is closely associated with:

A)restrictive validity
B)construct validity
C)external validity
D)internal validity

Question 6

Psychology has been criticized by many people because its research generally uses white college students as participants.Critics would argue that focusing on such a limited group is a threat to:

A)construct validity
B)external validity
C)reliability
D)sequential reasoning

Question 7

If we wanted to formally assess the reliability of a set of judgments (scores)made by a group of boxing or figure skating judges,which form of reliability would we need to assess?

A)consensual agreement
B)internal consistency
C)temporal consistency
D)interobserver agreement

Question 8

The central point behind the three strange stories that begin Chapter 3 (e.g. ,the story about the beginner's golf shot)is that:

A)most laypeople have no appreciation of concepts like reliability and validity
B)single observations cannot be studied scientifically
C)almost all individual measurements include components of error or luck
D)reliability and validity are not the same thing

Question 9

The three basic forms of reliability emphasized in the text are:

A)internal reliability,external reliability,and restrictive reliability
B)interobserver reliability,interrater reliability,and test-retest reliability
C)interobserver agreement,internal consistency,and temporal consistency
D)interrater agreement,internal agreement,and temporal agreement

Question 10

Maura and Link each developed multiple-item survey measures of self-perceived creativity.You read all of the items in both surveys,and as far as you can tell,the items all seem clear and valid.However,Maura developed a 10-item measure,and Link developed a 16-item measure.Whose measure should you probably prefer?

A)Maura's measure because it is more parsimonious
B)Maura's measure because participants are less likely to be bored by it
C)Link's measure because it likely to be higher in internal validity
D)Link's measure because it is likely to be higher in internal consistency

Question 11

High levels of empathy usually go hand in hand with high levels of helping behavior.That is,people who are very high in empathy are usually more likely to help others.This is an example of:

A)generalizability
B)covariation
C)conceptual validity
D)construct validity

Question 12

The best synonym for external validity is:

A)generalizability
B)specificity
C)coherence
D)suitability

Question 13

Studies that provide good information about causal relations between variables are high in:

A)restrictive validity
B)construct validity
C)external validity
D)internal validity

Question 14

For typical studies,what is an ideal time frame to wait before re-testing participants on a measure?

A)1 day
B)2-4 weeks
C)6 months
D)2-4 years

Question 15

The degree to which a hypothesis successfully maps onto the broader theory that it was designed to test is known as:

A)conceptual validity
B)construct validity
C)hypothesis validity
D)internal validity

Question 16

According to the text,ruling out other probable causes of an event before concluding that one thing (e.g. ,testosterone)is the cause of another (e.g. ,aggression)is known as:

A)competitive elimination
B)eliminating confounds
C)construct validity
D)temporal consistency

Question 17

Test-retest reliability can only be assessed:

A)when a survey contains two or more different items
B)when two different forms of a measure are administered at the same time
C)when participants fill out the same measure on more than one occasion
D)when multiple judges independently assess the same behavior or performance

Question 18

According to the text,one way to think abo___________ is that it represents test-retest reliability as assessed over an extreme_____ waiting period.

A)inter-item validity;long
B)internal consistency;short
C)interrater agreement;short
D)interrater agreement;long

Question 19

Most researchers would argue th____ studies tend to be high in external validity.

A)experimental
B)quasi-experimental
C)passive observational
D)within-subjects

Question 20

Which is the easiest to assess statistically?

A)construct validity
B)test-retest reliability
C)conceptual validity
D)interval / ratio

Question 21

Your social security number is best thought of as a(n):

A)nominal score
B)ordinal score
C)interval score
D)ratio score

Question 22

The difference between the Celsius and the Kelvin scales for measuring temperature is that only the Kelvin scale has a true zero point.Thus,the Celsius scale is a_______ measurement scale whereas the Kelvin scale is a_______ measurement scale.

A)nominal / ordinal
B)ratio / ordinal
C)ordinal / interval
D)interval / ratio

Question 23

Most common psychological scores (e.g. ,an IQ score,a self-esteem score,a score on a 7-point Likert scale)are:

A)nominal scores
B)ordinal scores
C)interval scores
D)ratio scores