Question 1

In a within-subjects design,

Accepted Answer

A) changes within individual participants are studied. 
B) each participant serves in every experimental condition. 
C) participants are split into groups before being randomly assigned to conditions. 
D) the dependent variable is measured only once.

Question 2

Demand characteristics are

Accepted Answer

A) the experimenter's expectancies about what will happen in a study. 
B) placebo effects that occur in some experimental conditions but not others. 
C) cues that indicate to participants how they should behave. 
D) instructions that tell participants what to do in a study.

Question 3

Which of the following is not a way to decrease error variance?

Accepted Answer

A) Hold all laboratory conditions constant 
B) Use a homogeneous sample 
C) Use reliable measures 
D) Use a double-blind procedure

Question 4

What are the three essential properties of a well-designed experiment?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the three essential properties of...

Question 5

Which of the following statements regarding independent variables is true?

Accepted Answer

A) They must involve qualitative variables. 
B) They must have two or more levels. 
C) They must be reliably measured. 
D) They must be held constant.

Question 6

When researchers use simple random assignment,

Accepted Answer

A) each participant has an equal probability of being placed in any experimental condition. 
B) participants are assigned to conditions on the basis of scores on a randomly chosen personality variable. 
C) the researcher can be certain that the groups do not differ. 
D) the same participant serves in more than one condition of the design.

Question 7

In the context of experimental research, a confederate is

Accepted Answer

A) an accomplice of the researcher who poses as another participant. 
B) an independent variable that is measured rather than manipulated. 
C) a cue that indicates to participants how they should respond. 
D) a confounding variable that differs between experimental conditions.

Question 8

Independent variable is to subject variable as __________ is to

Accepted Answer

A) manipulated; measured. 
B) varied; held constant. 
C) randomized; controlled. 
D) measured; assigned.

Question 9

Which of the following is used in a randomized groups design?

Accepted Answer

A) Random sampling 
B) Repeated measures 
C) Counterbalancing 
D) Random assignment

Question 10

Contrast simple random assignment with matched random assignment as ways of assigning participants to experimental conditions.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Contrast simple random assignment with matched random...

Question 11

Treatment variance

Accepted Answer

A) cannot be distinguished from confound variance. 
B) threatens the internal validity of an experiment. 
C) should be eliminated. 
D) reflects unsystematic differences among participants.

Question 12

Why must confounding be eliminated in all experiments?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why must confounding be eliminated in all...

Question 13

When measuring the dependent variable prior to the independent variable causes participants to respond differently to the independent variable than they would have otherwise, _______ has occurred.

Accepted Answer

A) differential attrition 
B) pretest sensitization 
C) a carryover effect 
D) a selection threat

Question 14

In an experiment, the dependent variable is

Accepted Answer

A) held constant. 
B) manipulated by the researcher. 
C) allowed to vary randomly. 
D) measured.

Question 15

Internal validity is increased by the absence of

Accepted Answer

A) randomization. 
B) treatment variance. 
C) confounding. 
D) control.

Question 16

What is an independent variable? A dependent variable?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is an independent variable? A dependent...

Question 17

In an experiment, the independent variable is

Accepted Answer

A) measured. 
B) eliminated. 
C) held constant. 
D) manipulated.

Question 18

When participants' behavior is affected by their expectations, _________ occurs.

Accepted Answer

A) a carryover effect 
B) differential attrition 
C) pretest sensitization 
D) a placebo effect

Question 19

In experimental research, researchers regard _______ as more important than

Accepted Answer

A) independent variables; dependent variables. 
B) error variance; confounding variance. 
C) internal validity; external validity. 
D) systemization; randomization.

Question 20

Distinguish among treatment, confound, and error variance.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Distinguish among treatment, confound, and error variance....

Exam 9: Basic Issues in Experimental Research