Question 1

Participants in a memory experiment are asked to learn a list of high-imagery words and then to learn a list of low-imagery words. Using the same participants in each condition could cause it to be confounded by

Accepted Answer

A)  the use of different words types. 
B)  carryover and/or order effects. 
C)  demand characteristic. 
D)  experimenter bias.

Question 2

The omission of or alteration of the truth of information give to participants in a research study can be done to

Accepted Answer

A)  control for participant effects 
B)  control for experimenter effects 
C)  control for experimenter attributes 
D)  a and b

Question 3

The most basic and simplest matching technique is to

Accepted Answer

A)  make the extraneous variable an IV 
B)  hold the extraneous variable constant 
C)  individual matching 
D)  frequency distribution matching

Question 4

The "sensitivity" of an experiment refers to its ability to detect any differences in performance, however small, between the two groups. In one technique to improve sensitivity the experimenter uses matching of participants across groups, assuring that

Accepted Answer

A)  generalization to the population can be made. 
B)  groups of participants are equated on those selected extraneous matching variables. 
C)  the performance of a participant in one group is statistically equated with the performance of that participant's partner in another group. 
D)  groups are equated on all possible variables.

Question 5

One way in which experimenter expectancy effects can be manifested is in errors in recording data. What is the best way to control this?

Accepted Answer

A)  do not use a dependent variable that has to be measured numerically 
B)  do not use a dependent variable that has to be measured 
C)  automate the data collection as much as possible 
D)  use a panel of students to make the observations of the dependent variable

Question 6

Dr. Bassuk is conducting a pilot study for his newest research project. During this pilot study, he has the participants verbalize their thoughts as they perform the experiment. This technique is called the

Accepted Answer

A)  think-aloud technique 
B)  sacrifice technique 
C)  carry-over technique 
D)  concurrent technique

Question 7

In the context of experimental design, "double blind" refers to the situation in which

Accepted Answer

A)  neither the experimenter nor the participant knows which experimental treatment the participant is receiving. 
B)  the experimenter randomly chooses which group and treatment sequence each participant is assigned to. 
C)  neither the data analyst nor the participant knows what hypothesis is being tested. 
D)  two investigators analyze the data independently, and both are kept unaware of the identity of all participants.

Question 8

It is usually impossible to eliminate the effects of extraneous variables. However, it may be possible to eliminate

Accepted Answer

A)  the effects of the independent variable. 
B)  differential effects of extraneous variables. 
C)  the effects of the dependent variable. 
D)  differential effects of intrinsic variables.

Question 9

One way to be sure that all "groups" in an experiment are equivalent except for their experience with the independent variables) is to use the same participants in all experimental conditions. However, this approach carries the danger of confounding in that

Accepted Answer

A)  participants cannot participate in more than one condition. 
B)  random assignment of participants could not be done. 
C)  the sequence in which experimental conditions are experienced can affect performance. 
D)  with fewer different participants, results will not be statistically significant.

Question 10

Which of the control techniques has the most power to insure that unidentified, extraneous variables do not have differential effects on the different groups in the experiment?

Accepted Answer

A)  randomization 
B)  matching 
C)  counterbalancing 
D)  precision matching

Question 11

In what counterbalancing technique would you present experimental treatments to participants in one order, and then in the reverse order?

Accepted Answer

A)  intrasubject counterbalancing 
B)  extrasubject counterbalancing 
C)  intersubject counterbalancing 
D)  randomizedcounterbalancing

Question 12

If a researcher is worried about experimenter bias during the interaction between experimenter and participant, _________could totally control for this bias by removing the experimenter from interaction with the participant completely.

Accepted Answer

A)  think-aloud technique 
B)  automation 
C)  double blind 
D)  partial blind

Question 13

The only control technique that can account for both known and unknown sources of extraneous variation ise.g., within designs require fewer participants, offer better control, but also may demand too much participant time and offer clues to the researcher's hypothesis).

Accepted Answer

A)  precision control. 
B)  matching by yoked control. 
C)  random selection. 
D)  random assignment.

Question 14

What is the primary benefit of matching?

Accepted Answer

A)  it eliminates the influence of virtually all known extraneous variables 
B)  it eliminates experimenter expectancy and participant effects 
C)  it overrides the need for random assignment 
D)  the influence of the variables on which participants are matched is spread evenly across groups

Exam 7: Control Techniques in Experimental Research