Statistics and Research Design – Flashcards
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Which of the following is an example of being a producer of research?
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Administering an anxiety questionnaire
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Michael is a psychology student. Why is it important for him to know how to be a producer of research?
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Because he might have to write an APA-style paper Because he might need to conduct a study as part of a class Because he may work in a professor's research lab Because he may apply to graduate school in a research area
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For which of the following people is it important to learn how to be a consumer of research?
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Teachers Advertising executives Human resource managers Sales representatives
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According to the text, which of the scientific cycles is the most important cycle in science?
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Theory-data cycle
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Occam's razor states that the simplest solution is the best, all things being equal. This speaks to a theory's:
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Parsimony
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Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage. He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse. This is known as:
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A Theory
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Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage. He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse. He conducts a study to test his ideas. Assuming that his data match his theory, which of the following statements should he make?
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"The data provide support for my theory"
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Which of the following is an example of applied research?
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An educational psychologist who looks for a way to increase math skills in 8-year-olds
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Which of the following is true of the difference between basic and applied research?
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There is a give-and-take relationship between these two types of research.
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According to the text, the bridge between basic and applied research is known as:
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Translational research
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Nadia submits her article to a scientific journal for publication. Who makes the final decision on whether an article is published in that scientific journal?
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The Editor
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Dr. Gonzalez is a peer reviewer for a manuscript submitted to a journal. He is likely to provide comments on:
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The novelty of the research How interesting the research is How well the research was conducted How important the results are.
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A psychiatrist is testing a drug that treats depression. He has given the drug to all his patients and all of them have experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms. Although this is interesting, his experience is limited because he does not have a:
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Comparison group that did not receive the drug
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An alternative explanation for an outcome is known as a/an:
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Confound
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Controlled studies are superior to personal experience because:
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They include at least one comparison group; They avoid confounds
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The two biases of intuition discussed in the text are:
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Thinking the easy way and thinking what we want to think
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James is asked about what is the best way to study for an exam. He responds that the best way to study is by making flash cards. He easily thinks of all the times he used flash cards and he made A's. However, he fails to take into consideration all the times he made A's and did not use flash cards and the times he used flash cards and did not do well. His faulty thinking is an example of:
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Present/Present bias
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Edward believes that there are a lot of differences between men and women on a variety of different dimensions. He believes this because when he thinks about books that have been written on men and women, he can recall only books that say men and women are different (e.g., Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus) and cannot recall any that say men and women are the same. His reliance on what comes to mind is an example of which of the following?
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The pop-up principle
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The problem with the pop-up principle is...
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We do not examine all of the evidence, only what we can quickly think of.
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Dr. Gonzalez is a peer reviewer for a manuscript submitted to a journal. He is UNLIKELY to provide comments on
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The prestige/reputation of the author
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Asking questions to get the answers we want is known as:
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Confirmatory hypothesis testing
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This is NOT an example of "thinking what we want"?
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Availability heuristic
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Sasha believes that she is a nice person. To confirm this, she asks all her friends whether she is a nice person and they all agree that she is. Sasha concludes that she is a nice person and says she has evidence of it. However, she does not ask any of her enemies whether they think she is a nice person. This is an example of ...
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Cherry-picking evidence
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Sasha believes that she is a nice person. To confirm this, she asks all her friends whether she is a nice person and they all agree that she is. Sasha concludes that she is a nice person and says she has evidence of it. However, she does not ask any of her enemies whether they think she is a nice person. Sasha would likely draw a different conclusion if she...
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Asked her enemies if she was a nice person
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Where do psychological scientists commonly publish their work?
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Edited books and Scientific journals
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Matthew is reading an empirical journal article and wants to know whether the authors used the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) or the NEO-PI to measure extraversion. In which section would he find this information?
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Method
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Lana is writing her first empirical journal article. Although she thinks she knows why she found the results she did, she also wants to mention some alternative explanations for her findings. In which section will she mention these alternative explanations?
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Discussion
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Which of the following has the sections of an empirical journal article in the correct order?
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Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References
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Javier wants his lab partner to tell him if he thinks the article he found for their project is appropriate. Rather than read the entire article, which two parts of the paper could they to get a summary of the article? That is, which two sections would yield the most succinct set of conclusions and overview of theory + results + interpretation?
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The abstract and the first paragraph of the Discussion
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When reading an empirical journal article "with purpose," which section should you read first?
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Abstract
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Looking for which of the following in a trade book will give you a hint as to its scientific rigor?
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The number of references
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Which of the following is a downside to using a wiki to conduct psychological research?
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Their coverage of a topic is not necessarily comprehensive. The page may not include references. The page may include incorrect information. A page may not have content that is specific to psychology.
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Variables
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Their coverage of a topic is not necessarily comprehensive. The page may not include references. The page may include incorrect information. A page may not have content that is specific to psychology.
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Which of the following is true of operational definitions?
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Some psychological concepts are more difficult to operationally define than others.
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Which of the following is the difference between anecdotal claims and frequency claims?
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Anecdotal claims are not based on scientific studies, but frequency claims are.
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Which of the following is an association claim?
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"Owning a dog related to higher life satisfaction"
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Dr. Ellison finds a relation between the amount of sleep and problem solving. Specifically, having a higher amount of sleep the night before an exam is associated with higher scores on two measures of problem solving. This is an example of which type of association?
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Positive association
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Dr. Hoda measures job satisfaction and number of years of education. She graphs one variable on an x-axis, and the other variable on the accompanying y-axis. Thus she produced a scatterplot. In examining her scatterplot, she sees that the cloud of points has no slope. That is, the points are scattered to some degree, but the best "average" of all these points would be a flat line. This indicates which type of relationship?
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Zero association
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Which of the following allow us to make better predictions using association claims?
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Strong positive associations Strong negative associations
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Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse." Which type of claim is Dr. Ramon making?
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Causal claim
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Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse." Which type of claim is Dr. LaSalle making?
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Association claim
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Which of the following phrases would indicate that a researcher is making a causal claim?
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Curbs Seems to decrease Suggests a change Enhances
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To evaluate how well a study supports a frequency claim, you need to focus on evaluating which of the following validities?
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Construct validity and external validity
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A common finding in the study of aggression is that: exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children. You know this relationship may not be causal because you are not sure which occurs first—watching television or being aggressive. You are questioning which of the following rules of causation?
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The rule of temporal precedence
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Stefan wants to make a causal claim in his dissertation. He has two main variables. Which of the following is most necessary?
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He must conduct an experiment.
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An independent variable is one that:
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Is manipulated
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A dependent variable is one that:
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Is measured
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Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B. Which of the following is the independent variable in Dr. Kang's study?
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The word list being either an emotional or a neutral word list
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Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B. Which of the following is the dependent variable in Dr. Kang's study?
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The number of words remembered
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Dr. Kang's decision to assign participants randomly to Group A and Group B increases which of the following?
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The internal validity of the study
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Dr. Kang can make a causal claim that "emotion enhances memory" because:
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There is a numeric difference between Groups A and B Reading the words occurred before recalling the words Dr. Kang treated Groups A and B identically except for the emotional word content
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Dr. Hadden wants to conduct a study that will allow him to make claims that apply to all college students. Which of the following validities is he prioritizing?
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The external validity of the study
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In considering whether research is ethical, which of the following are balanced against each other?
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Risk to participants versus value of the knowledge gained
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Dr. Kline is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kline is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering R.E.M. (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter R.E.M. sleep and then he will wake them. After 1 minute of being awake, he plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter R.E.M. sleep again, he wakes them up again and follows the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire 8-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test. Refer to Research Study 4.1 above to answer the following question. Dr. Kline asks his participants to provide informed consent. Doing this is adhering to which principle of the Belmont Report?
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The Principle of Respect for Persons
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Refer to Research Study 4.1 above to answer the following question. Imagine that Dr. Kline is a clinical psychologist who volunteers his time at a local prison counseling several inmates. Because of his connections there, he is considering using prisoners as his participants. Why is this choice potentially problematic?
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According to the Belmont Report, prisoners are entitled to special protection. Since he works at the prison, participants may feel there will be negative consequences if they do not participate.
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Dr. Kline's decision about the type of participants to recruit should be informed by which of the following principles of the Belmont Report?
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The Principle of Justice
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Refer to Research Study 4.1 above to answer the following question. As a psychologist who primarily does research, Dr. Kline is most concerned with which APA standard of ethics?
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8
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Refer to Research Study 4.1 above to answer the following question. Dr. Kline plans to tell his participants that the reason he is waking them up during the night is "to recalibrate the EEG machine." This would be an example of which of the following?
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Deception through commission
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Refer to Research Study 4.1 above to answer the following question. Dr. Kline is deciding whether he needs to give participants a reason for waking them up several times during the night. He knows that he cannot tell them the real reason, but he is unsure whether he should deceive them (give them a false reason why he is waking them up) or provide them with no cover story at all. Which of the following issues should be considered most heavily when deciding whether or not to use deception?
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Whether he can conduct the study just as well without deception
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Refer to Research Study 4.1 above to answer the following question. Dr. Kline plans to use deception in his study and is thinking about a debriefing session. Which of the following is true of the debriefing?
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Participants must be told the reasons for the deception.
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According to the Belmont Report, which of the following groups of people are NOT entitled to special protection?
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College students Members of minority racial groups Parents Immigrants
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In addition to the three principles derived from the Belmont Report, which of the following two principles were added to the principle put forth by the American Psychological Association?
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The Principle of Integrity and Fidelity/Responsibility
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All of the following are true of IRBs in the United States
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They can be found in settings other than colleges and universities They are mandated by federal law They must have at least five members They tend to have detailed applications for researchers to complete
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Written informed consent NOT necessarily be required in these situations
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An observational study that measures walking speed of people entering and exiting buildings An anonymous study that measures the relationship between time spent grocery shopping and money spent on groceries
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What is the difference between data that is collected anonymously and data that is collected confidentially?
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Confidential research collects participants' names but separates them from the data; anonymous research does not collect participants' names.
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What is the primary goal of debriefing?
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To give participants insight into the nature of psychological science To inform participants about the presence and purpose of deception in a study
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This has NOT been used as a defense of animal research by animal researchers
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Animal research requires less research funding than human research.
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Arguments for animal research used by animal researchers
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Animal research has resulted in many benefits to both animals and humans. Animal researchers are in favor of protecting and even enhancing animal welfare. Animal researchers continue to reduce the number of animals needed for animal research.
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In addition to being an ethical violation, why are data falsification and fabrication problematic?
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They impede scientific progress.
