Question 1

Operational Definitions ____ operational definitions explain the meaning of independent variables.

Accepted Answer

A) Experimental 
B) Hypothetical 
C) Independent 
D) Measured

Question 2

Independent and Dependent Variables ____ are participant characteristics that an experimenter cannot manipulate.

Accepted Answer

A) Context variables 
B) Environmental variables 
C) Subject variables 
D) Task variables

Question 3

Independent and Dependent Variables In a true experiment, an experimenter ____ the independent variable and ____ the dependent variable.

Accepted Answer

A) manipulates; measures 
B) measures; manipulates 
C) selects; manipulates 
D) selects; measures

Question 4

Independent and Dependent Variables Whether a variable is an independent or dependent variable in an experiment depends on

Accepted Answer

A) how the experimenter operationalizes these constructs. 
B) the experimental hypothesis. 
C) the extraneous variables that are present. 
D) the scale of measurement used.

Question 5

Independent and Dependent Variables Which of the following could serve as a task variable in an experiment?

Accepted Answer

A) drug dosage 
B) level of illumination 
C) problem difficulty 
D) subject gender

Question 6

Operational Definitions Which of the following specifies the exact steps used to create each value of the independent variable?

Accepted Answer

A) experimental operational definition 
B) hypothetical operational definition 
C) independent operational definition 
D) measured operational definition

Question 7

Evaluating Operational Definitions Heath participated in a study of the effect of meditation on blood pressure.Since he had never used a self-inflating cuff, he was afraid that the cuff would keep inflating and cut off blood to his arm.This fear caused his blood pressure to rise when he was measured during the pretest phase of the experiment.The experimenter also measured Heath's blood pressure after meditation training during the posttest phase.Since he was now used to the self-inflating cuff, his blood pressure was lower due to lack of panic.Based on Heath's experience, a ____ threat may have confounded this experiment.

Accepted Answer

A) history 
B) maturation 
C) selection 
D) testing

Question 8

Introduction In order to conduct a psychology experiment, a researcher must create at least ___ treatment condition(s).

Accepted Answer

A) 1 
B) 2 
C) 3 
D) 4

Question 9

Introduction An experimenter ____ values of the independent variable in an experiment.

Accepted Answer

A) manipulates 
B) measures 
C) observes 
D) selects already existing

Question 10

Independent and Dependent Variables Which of the following could function as an environmental variable in an experiment?

Accepted Answer

A) drug dosage 
B) level of illumination 
C) problem difficulty 
D) subject gender

Question 11

Independent and Dependent Variables ____ are aspects of the experimental procedure that the researcher directly controls.

Accepted Answer

A) Dependent variables 
B) Environmental variables 
C) Subject variables 
D) Task variables

Question 12

Operational Definitions A panel of beer drinkers participated in a blind taste test in which each participant ranked craft brews from first to fifth place.Which scale of measure did the contestants use?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 13

Operational Definitions Schachter (1959) scored his subjects' desire to affiliate by instructing them to check off their preferences on a questionnaire, which he described in detail in his report.These instructions and his description of the questionnaire comprised the ____ for his experiment.

Accepted Answer

A) experimental operational definition 
B) hypothetical operational definition 
C) independent operational definition 
D) measured operational definition

Question 14

Operational Definitions _____exactly describe the procedures used to assess the impact of different treatment conditions.

Accepted Answer

A) Experimental operational definitions 
B) Hypothetical operational definitions 
C) Independent operational definitions 
D) Measured operational definitions

Question 15

Independent and Dependent Variables The ____ is the specific behavior we expect to change due to our experimental intervention.

Accepted Answer

A) dependent variable 
B) extraneous variable 
C) independent variable 
D) subject variable

Question 16

Evaluating Operational Definitions A longitudinal study that observes first-born children's behavior before and after the birth of a sibling is particularly vulnerable to a ____ threat since rapid cognitive and physical change normally occur at this age.

Accepted Answer

A) history 
B) maturation 
C) selection 
D) testing

Question 17

Independent and Dependent Variables Investigation of ____ would require that an experimenter use an ex post facto design.

Accepted Answer

A) coping styles 
B) drug dosage 
C) exercise intensity 
D) noise level

Question 18

Operational Definitions Mack claims to have a revolutionary way to measure intelligence.He places a cloth tape around a subject's forehead and calculates the circumference.This procedure is a(n) ____ operational definition of intelligence.

Accepted Answer

A) accurate 
B) inconsistent 
C) reliable 
D) valid

Question 19

Operational Definitions Variables like anxiety cannot be directly observed and must be inferred from
Observable behaviors.These variables are called

Accepted Answer

A) hidden variables. 
B) hypothetical constructs. 
C) nonconstruct variables. 
D) sham variables.

Question 20

Evaluating Operational Definitions Jay's experiment was a disaster.He assigned the most attractive female subjects to the experimental condition and then lost several of them due to his shameless flirting.In contrast, he lost none of the control subjects.Jay endangered his experiment with a ____ threat.

Accepted Answer

A) maturation 
B) selection 
C) selection interaction 
D) subject mortality

Exam 7: The Basics of Experimentation