Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of the three most common threats to internal validity?

Accepted Answer

floor effects

Question 2

Emma is planning an experiment to examine whether reading to children increases their vocabulary size. She plans to measure the vocabulary size of a group of 18-month-olds, read to them three times a week for three months, then measure their vocabulary size again. How could Emma change the design of the study to remove a major threat to internal validity?

Accepted Answer

She could add a comparison group.

Question 3

A city in California has asked Professor Rodriguez to conduct an experiment on earthquake preparedness. Professor Rodriguez will assess the preparedness of a random sample of residents in the city and the city will mail out their annual brochure on earthquake safety. Then, two weeks later, he will again assess the preparedness of those residents. Right after the brochures are mailed, a large earthquake is reported in Japan. What threat to internal validity does this pose?

Accepted Answer

history

Question 4

Which threat to internal validity occurs when there is a greater systematic loss of participants in one condition than the other condition?

Accepted Answer

attrition

Question 5

As part of an experiment on the effects of behavior modeling, a set of raters are evaluating the prosocial behavior in a series of videotapes of a class of preschoolers. Initially, the raters were quite strict in their ratings, but after three hours of rating, their criteria had changed. What type of threat to internal validity has occurred?

Accepted Answer

instrumentation

Question 6

Some internal validity threats can be addressed simply by including a comparison group, while other internal validity threats can occur even in studies with a comparison group. Which of the following threats to internal validity would be improved with the inclusion of a comparison group?

Accepted Answer

maturation threats

Question 7

Dr. Harrison wants to test the effectiveness of the support group he runs for undergraduates who have drinking problems. He recruits a group of students who have been referred to the counseling center. He randomizes them to two groups â a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group attends 10 structured support group sessions at 8:00 a.m. on Fridays that are facilitated by Dr. Harrison. The control group attends 10 unstructured meetings at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays that are facilitated by members of the group. Several of the participants in the treatment group stop attending the group after just a couple of sessions. All of the control group members attend their group regularly. At the end of the 10 weeks of groups, Dr. Harrison measures drinking behavior of the people who are still attending the groups. He finds that the drinking behavior of people who attended all 10 of the structured group sessions is less than the drinking behavior of people who attended all 10 of the unstructured group sessions. What kind of threat to internal validity should Dr. Harrison be concerned about?

Accepted Answer

selection-attrition threat

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a problem that may contribute to a null effect in a study?

Accepted Answer

large sample size

Question 9

The students in a 50-student Introductory Psychology class were randomly assigned to one of two review sessions, each being taught with a different technique. The next day, every student got all 10 of the test questions correct. What problem does Professor Zhao have in determining the better teaching technique for review sessions?

Accepted Answer

ceiling effect

Question 10

Which of the following does NOT contribute to within-groups variability?

Accepted Answer

ceiling effect

Question 11

Individual differences can contribute to too much within-group variability. Which of the following is NOT a possible solution to individual differences?

Accepted Answer

Use a double-blind study.

Question 12

In an experiment on improving children\'s handwriting, two different techniques of improving handwriting and a control condition are used. Using a pretest/posttest design, both groups who received the treatment showed more improvement than the control group. However, the two groups didn\'t show any difference from each other. The researcher believes that there is a difference, but that the 5-point assessment scale of handwriting cannot detect it. What measurement problem is the researcher concerned with?

Accepted Answer

insensitive measures

Question 13

Jared is conducting an experiment with ESP (extrasensory perception) training. He begins with a pretest of his 40 participants and divides them into two groups based on their scores. The participants with the 10 lowest scores are given extensive training on how to detect the signals. The participants with the 30 highest scores are given no training. Both groups are retested and the average score of the participants with the training improved, while the average score of the participants without the training actually fell. What threat to internal validity should Jared consider?

Accepted Answer

regression

Question 14

Lucia is interested in studying discrimination in hiring. She designs an experiment in which the participant takes the role of an employer looking at job candidates for a specific position. Each participant is given two very similar resumÃ©sâone of a candidate with a female name and one of a candidate with a male nameâand is then asked to rate the suitability of each candidate for a job. Lucia finds no difference in participants\' ratings of male and female candidates. What threat to internal validity should she be concerned about?

Accepted Answer

demand characteristics

Question 15

What two types of validity in an experiment can observer bias threaten?

Accepted Answer

internal validity and construct validity

Question 16

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects. Which is NOT a possible explanation?

Accepted Answer

attrition

Question 17

Emma is planning an experiment to examine whether reading to children increases their vocabulary size. She plans to measure the vocabulary size of a group of 18-month-olds, read to them three times a week for three months, then measure their vocabulary size again. What threat to internal validity should she be most concerned about?

Accepted Answer

maturation

Question 18

Dr. Robinson designs an intervention that is meant to reduce college students\' risky sexual decisions. She hypothesizes that shaming college students about their risky sexual decisions will improve their decision making. She recruits participants and randomizes them to two conditionsâthe intervention group and the control group. The sexual behavior of all participants is measured in an interview with Dr. Robinson. After the pretesting, participants who are randomized to the intervention group are scheduled for an individual shaming session with Dr. Robinson. The control group does not participate in the shaming session. One week after the intervention, both groups are interviewed with Dr. Robinson about their sexual behavior over the past week. She finds that the intervention group reported less risky sexual decisions during the posttest interview. How could Dr. Robinson improve the internal validity of her study?

Accepted Answer

She could make it a masked design.

Question 19

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects, and almost all of the participants remembered all of the words on both lists. What is a likely solution?

Accepted Answer

change the design to be within-groups

Question 20

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects, and large variability within the groups. What is a likely solution?

Accepted Answer

add more participants

Question 21

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. What is the formal name for this type of design?

Accepted Answer

one-group, pretest/posttest

Question 22

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. Professor Mitchell points out that in her classes, students always do better on the second exam because they are more used to her tests. What threat to validity is she suggesting?

Accepted Answer

maturation

Question 23

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. When Professor Mutola rechecks her data, she finds that the five students with the lowest scores on the first exam have dropped the class. What threat to internal validity is this?

Accepted Answer

attrition

Question 24

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. Professor Mutola looks back over the second exam and begins to wonder if it was just an easier exam. What threat to internal validity is she considering?

Accepted Answer

instrumentation

Question 25

An instructor hypothesizes that doing jumping jacks will improve his students\' quiz performance. On Monday, he has his class sit in their chairs for five minutes before completing a multiple-choice quiz on their reading assignment. On Wednesday, he has his class do two minutes of jumping jacks before completing the same quiz that they took on Monday. The students performed better on the quiz on Wednesday. What is a possible threat to internal validity in this study?

Accepted Answer

testing threat

Question 26

In a repeated-measures design or quasi-experiment, a threat to internal validity that occurs when a systematic type of participant drops out of a study before it ends.

Accepted Answer

Attrition Threat

Question 27

An experimental design problem in which independent variable groups score almost the same on a dependent variable, such that all scores fall at the high end of their possible distribution.

Accepted Answer

Ceiling Effect

Question 28

A threat to internal validity that occurs when some cue leads participants to guess a study\'s hypotheses or goals. Also called experimental demand.

Accepted Answer

Demand Characteristic

Question 29

A study that uses a treatment group and a placebo group and in which neither the research staff nor the participants know who is in which group.

Accepted Answer

Double-Blind Placebo Control Study

Question 30

A study in which neither the participants nor the researchers who evaluate them know who is in the treatment group and who is in the comparison group.

Accepted Answer

Double-Blind Study

Question 31

An experimental design problem in which independent variable groups score almost the same on a dependent variable, such that all scores fall at the low end of their possible distribution. See also ceiling effect.

Accepted Answer

Floor Effect

Question 32

A threat to internal validity that occurs when it is unclear whether a change in the treatment group is caused by the treatment or by a historical factor or event that affects everyone or almost everyone in the group

Accepted Answer

History Threat

Question 33

A threat to internal validity that occurs when a measuring instrument changes over time from having been used before. Also called instrument decay.

Accepted Answer

Instrumentation Threat

Question 34

In an experiment, an extra dependent variable researchers can include to determine how well an experimental manipulation worked.

Accepted Answer

Manipulation Check

Question 35

A study design in which the observers are unaware of the experimental conditions to which participants have been assigned. Also called blind design.

Accepted Answer

Masked Design

Question 36

A threat to internal validity that occurs when an observed change in an experimental group could have emerged more or less spontaneously over time.

Accepted Answer

Maturation Threat

Question 37

The degree to which the recorded measure for a participant on some variable differs from the true value of the variable for that participant. Measurement errors may be random, if over a sample they both inflate or deflate true scores, or they may be systematic, in which case they may result in biased measurement.

Accepted Answer

Measurement Error

Question 38

The unsystematic variability among the members of a group in an experiment. Also called error variance, unsystematic variance.

Accepted Answer

Noise

Question 39

A finding that an independent variable did not make a difference in the dependent variable; there is no significant covariance between the two. Also called null result.

Accepted Answer

Null Effect

Question 40

A bias that occurs when observers\' expectations influence their interpretation of the participants\' behaviors or the outcome of the study.

Accepted Answer

Observer Bias

Question 41

An experiment in which a researcher recruits one group of participants; measures them on a pretest; exposes them to a treatment, intervention, or change; and then measures them on a posttest.

Accepted Answer

One-Group, Pretest/posttest Design

Question 42

A response or effect that occurs when people receiving an experimental treatment experience a change only because they believe they are receiving a valid treatment.

Accepted Answer

Placebo Effect

Question 43

The likelihood that a study will show a statistically significant result when some effect is truly present in the population; the probability of not making a Type II error when the null hypothesis is false.

Accepted Answer

Power

Question 44

A threat to internal validity related to regression to the mean, a phenomenon in which any extreme finding is likely to be closer to its own typical, or mean, level the next time it is measured (with or without the experimental treatment or intervention).

Accepted Answer

Regression Threat

Question 45

A threat to internal validity in which members are likely to drop out of either the treatment group or the comparison group, not both.

Accepted Answer

Selection-Attrition Threat

Question 46

A threat to internal validity in which a historical or seasonal event systematically affects only the subjects in the treatment group or only those in the comparison group, not both.

Accepted Answer

Selection-History Threat

Question 47

Unrelated events, sounds, or distractions in the external environment that create unsystematic variability within groups in an experiment.

Accepted Answer

Situation Noise

Question 48

In a repeated-measures experiment or quasi-experiment, a kind of order effect in which scores change over time just because participants have taken the test more than once; includes practice effects and fatigue effects.

Accepted Answer

Testing Threat

Question 49

Demand Characteristics      -She should be concerned that the participants guessed the manipulation in the study and gave what they thought was the more socially acceptable answer

Accepted Answer

Lucia is interested in studying discrimination in hiring. She designs an experiment in which the participant takes the role of an employer looking at job candidates for a specific position. Each participant is given two very similar resumÃ©sâone of a candidate with a female name and one of a candidate with a male nameâand is then asked to rate the suitability of each candidate for a job. Lucia finds no difference in participants\' ratings of male and female candidates. What threat to internal validity should she be concerned about?

Question 50

Floor Effects    -Floor effects are a special case of weak manipulations and insensitive measures, not one of the three most common threats

Accepted Answer

Which of the following is NOT one of the three most common threats to internal validity?

Question 51

Change the design to eliminate ceiling effects      -If all of the participants are getting all of the items correct then Frances should make the task more difficult to eliminate the ceiling effect

Accepted Answer

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects, and almost all of the participants remembered all of the words on both lists. What is a likely solution?

Question 52

Attrition    -Attrition is not a threat if it occurs uniformly across both groups, but if it is systematic it becomes a threat

Accepted Answer

Which threat to internal validity occurs when there is a greater systematic loss of participants in one condition than the other condition?

Question 53

Attrition       -In a study that only lasts a few minutes, attrition isn\'t usually an issue. There was no mention of participant loss.

Accepted Answer

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects. Which is NOT a possible explanation?

Question 54

Instrumentation     -The raters, who are the measuring instrument, are changing over time

Accepted Answer

As part of an experiment on the effects of behavior modeling, a set of raters are evaluating the prosocial behavior in a series of videotapes of a class of preschoolers. Initially, the raters were quite strict in their ratings, but after three hours of rating, their criteria had changed. What type of threat to internal validity has occurred?

Question 55

One-Group, Pretest/Posttest    -She is using the first exam as the pretest and the second as the posttest

Accepted Answer

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. What is the formal name for this type of design?

Question 56

History    -The earthquake is an external or \"historical\" event that occurs to everyone in the study, therefore the effect of the brochure cannot be assessed

Accepted Answer

A city in California has asked Professor Rodriguez to conduct an experiment on earthquake preparedness. Professor Rodriguez will assess the preparedness of a random sample of residents in the city and the city will mail out their annual brochure on earthquake safety. Then, two weeks later, he will again assess the preparedness of those residents. Right after the brochures are mailed, a large earthquake is reported in Japan. What threat to internal validity does this pose?

Question 57

Ceiling Effect    -Because all the scores are squeezed together at the high end, the effect of the independent variable couldn\'t be measured

Accepted Answer

The students in a 50-student Introductory Psychology class were randomly assigned to one of two review sessions, each being taught with a different technique. The next day, every student got all 10 of the test questions correct. What problem does Professor Zhao have in determining the better teaching technique for review sessions?

Question 58

Regression    -The group that was given training had an unusually bad performance on the pretest, so was likely to regress upward in performance on the posttest, even without training.

Accepted Answer

Jared is conducting an experiment with ESP (extrasensory perception) training. He begins with a pretest of his 40 participants and divides them into two groups based on their scores. The participants with the 10 lowest scores are given extensive training on how to detect the signals. The participants with the 30 highest scores are given no training. Both groups are retested and the average score of the participants with the training improved, while the average score of the participants without the training actually fell. What threat to internal validity should Jared consider?

Question 59

Instrumentation    -Instrumentation threat occurs when the pretest and posttest are not sufficiently equivalent

Accepted Answer

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. Professor Mutola looks back over the second exam and begins to wonder if it was just an easier exam. What threat to internal validity is she considering?

Question 60

Adding more participants    -Adding more participants to a study reduces the impact of individual differences within groups and will increase the chance of finding differences between groups

Accepted Answer

Frances did a study to investigate the effect of concreteness on memory. She created a list of 12 items that are very concrete (such as pencil and table) and a list of 12 items that are very abstract (such as justice and freedom). Each item was viewed for one second, then participants recalled them in order. Ten participants were tested in each condition. The study showed null effects, and large variability within the groups. What is a likely solution?

Question 61

Use a double-blind study    -Double-blind studies can control for observer effects and demand characteristics, but this wouldn\'t help with the contribution of individual differences to within-group variability

Accepted Answer

Individual differences can contribute to too much within-group variability. Which of the following is NOT a possible solution to individual differences?

Question 62

She could make it a masked design      -While in this case it is not possible for the participants to be blind to their condition, it is possible to make the person assessing the dependent variable blind to group membership, which should make the students more likely to be honest

Accepted Answer

Dr. Robinson designs an intervention that is meant to reduce college students\' risky sexual decisions. She hypothesizes that shaming college students about their risky sexual decisions will improve their decision making. She recruits participants and randomizes them to two conditionsâthe intervention group and the control group. The sexual behavior of all participants is measured in an interview with Dr. Robinson. After the pretesting, participants who are randomized to the intervention group are scheduled for an individual shaming session with Dr. Robinson. The control group does not participate in the shaming session. One week after the intervention, both groups are interviewed with Dr. Robinson about their sexual behavior over the past week. She finds that the intervention group reported less risky sexual decisions during the posttest interview. How could Dr. Robinson improve the internal validity of her study?

Question 63

Attrition    -The rise in scores on the second test may be due to the loss of these extreme scores, which is attrition

Accepted Answer

On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and cell phones from her class between the first and the second exam. When she compares the scores on the two exams, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. When Professor Mutola rechecks her data, she finds that the five students with the lowest scores on the first exam have dropped the class. What threat to internal validity is this?

Question 64

She could add a comparison group    -Adding a comparison group would allow her to show that her intervention had an effect above and beyond the normal effects of maturation

Accepted Answer

Emma is planning an experiment to examine whether reading to children increases their vocabulary size. She plans to measure the vocabulary size of a group of 18-month-olds, read to them three times a week for three months, then measure their vocabulary size again. How could Emma change the design of the study to remove a major threat to internal validity?

Ch. 11 – PSY 350

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