Q&A Hero

Q: When a researcher plays an active and significant role in the situation in which behavior is being recorded and when the researcher conceals the fact that observations are being made, the study represents A. a disguised structured observation. B. a disguised participant observation. C. an undisguised naturalistic observation. D. an unobtrusive field experiment.

Q: When people change their usual behavior because they know they are being observed, the problem of ______________ has occurred. A. selective deposit B. spurious relationship C. reactivity D. demand characteristics

Q: Time sampling and situation sampling are used to increase which of the following characteristics of observational findings? A. efficiency B. external validity C. interobserver reliability D. internal validity

Q: Researchers use time sampling to obtain A. a representative sample of behavior. B. an internally valid set of observations. C. as many observation intervals as possible. D. the highest possible interobserver reliability.

Q: In using time sampling to gain a representative sample of behavior, the intervals in which the observations are to be made should be selected A. economically. B. only randomly. C. only systematically. D. either randomly or systematically, or both.

Q: Time sampling is not an effective method for sampling behavior that occurs infrequently. To observe behaviors in situations that occur infrequently, researchers choose A. event sampling. B. defined sampling. C. random sampling. D. field sampling.

Q: Researchers who studied beer drinking among college students made their observations in five town bars, a student center, and a fraternity party. They were better able to generalize their findings because they used A. condition sampling. B. situation sampling. C. participant observation. D. structured observation.

Q: A researcher seeks to describe behavior at an airport security screening area during a busy holiday travel time. Because there are far too many people for the researcher to observe effectively, she should use A. naturalistic observation. B. situation sampling. C. running records. D. subject sampling.

Q: Define observer bias and describe the best way to reduce this problem in a research study.

Q: Two observers observe a child in the classroom every 30 minutes to record whether he is behaving aggressively. They use two categories for their observations: yes (aggressive) or no (not aggressive). Using the data presented below, answer the following question. Do you think the observers demonstrated acceptable interobserver reliability? Why or why not?

Q: Read this description of a study and answer the question that follow. A reporter at a university newspaper sought to gather evidence about the quality of teaching at the university. For one week at the beginning of the semester she attended 5 different, large-lecture classes each day, each with a different instructor. She asked 4 other reporters to do this too (they all attended different classes), and she trained them regarding the ratings they would make. The reporters pretended to be students, but sat in the back of class so the instructor wouldn't notice their observations. Using 10-point rating scales, they rated each instructor on five dimensions: interesting, organized, informative, friendly, and respectful. They summarized their findings and reported that, in general, the quality of teaching at the university is very good. Based on this reporter's procedures, are you confident that the quality of teaching at the university is "very good." Why or why not?

Q: Which one of the following statements does not characterize scientific observation? A. The observations are made in a systematic manner with careful record keeping. B. Observations are made under precisely defined conditions. C. Researchers rely heavily on their memory when recording their observations. D. Every effort is made to observe behavior objectively by avoiding personal and situational biases.

Q: In psychological research, investigators sample individuals' behavior at different times or in different situations. The goal of sampling behavior is to A. obtain as many observations as possible. B. infer causes of people's behavior. C. insure the highest possible interobserver reliability. D. obtain a representative sample of behavior.

Q: The extent to which findings from a study can be used to describe different populations, settings, and conditions is referred to as A. sampling. B. internal validity. C. external validity. D. the multimethod approach.

Q: Identify the four measurement scales and provide an example of each measurement scale.

Q: Identify one factor that decreases interobserver reliability and one factor that increases interobserver reliability.

Q: Students conducted a research project in which they hypothesized that women, more than men, would stop studying and look at each person who enters a library study room. Results indicated that women did make more head movements than men when people entered the library. To be confident about these results, we would want to make sure their results are not affected by A. unobtrusive measures. B. desensitization. C. demand characteristics. D. expectancy effects.

Q: Probably the most important control over observer bias is A. the use of a detailed checklist. B. informing observers about the purpose of the study. C. restricting observations to the public domain. D. the awareness that observer bias might be present.

Q: In order to minimize observer bias, researchers should A. fully explain the research hypothesis to observers so there is no confusion. B. limit the amount of information observers have about the hypothesis. C. ask observers to code which of their observations are biased and which are not. D. make sure that observers read all of the previously published research on the behavior they're observing.

Q: To avoid observer bias, researchers may not tell the observers why observations are being made or the goals of the study. In this situation the observers are said to be A. blind. B. habituated. C. desensitized. D. nave.

Q: Define and explain the reason for using time sampling and situation sampling in naturalistic observation.

Q: (p. 99-100, 101, 103, 105) Describe the primary goals of naturalistic observation, participant observation, structured observation, and field experiments.

Q: (p. 106-108, 110) Describe the two main methods for indirect (unobtrusive) observation and the important advantage these methods have over direct observation.

Q: Describe three problems and limitations that can occur when archival records are used in research, and how these problems affect researchers' conclusions about evidence from archival records.

Q: Researchers planned a long-term study of children's relationships with their parent using observations in the homes of the families. Before beginning to collect data, the observers visited each home a few times and set up their recording equipment and recorded behavior just as they would do in the data collection phase of their study. These early visits to the home were done so that families would get used to the presence of observers. Which of the following techniques did these researchers use? A. disguised observation B. accommodation C. habituation D. interobserver reliability

Q: Ethologists such as Diane Fossey (who studied mountain gorillas) use a technique to adapt animal subjects to the presence of an observer by gradually increasing the time they spend in the animals' environment. This technique is called A. implosion. B. desensitization. C. counterconditioning. D. progressive relaxation.

Q: Two ethical issues researchers face when observing naturally occurring behavior (e.g., messages) during online discussions are A. confidentiality and privacy. B. minimal risk and limited benefit. C. plagiarism and IACUC. D. none of these

Q: When researchers' expectations about behavior lead to systematic errors in identifying and recording behavior, _________________ is a problem. A. reactivity B. selective deposit C. observer bias D. data reduction

Q: The cues and other information used by participants to guide their behavior in a psychological study are called A. sensitization factors. B. intra-experimental cues. C. demand characteristics. D. experimenter expectancies.

Q: In order to avoid the problem of ______, it is sometimes necessary to use ______. A. reactivity; unobtrusive observation B. observer bias; "blind" subjects C. demand characteristics; "blind" observers D. all of these

Q: Two student researchers wish to determine the degree of interobserver reliability they achieved in their study. They observed individual students who were approaching another person on a campus path. The two observers both independently recorded whether or not each observed student greeted the other person. Which of the following measures should the student researchers use to assess interobserver reliability? B. Spearman's rank-order correlation C. interobserver coding measure percentage agreement measure

Q: Although there is no hard-and-fast percentage of agreement that defines low interobserver reliability, in published research studies, researchers generally report interobserver reliabilities that are at least as high as A. 25 percent. B. 50 percent. C. 60 percent. D. 85 percent.

Q: A. the behavioral data have been measured on at least an interval scale. B. the behavioral data have been measured on a nominal or ordinal scale. C. only one observer recorded observations. D. agreement between observers is expected to be low.

Q: The two pieces of information obtained from a correlation coefficient are A. the extent of external validity and internal validity of a study. B. interobserver reliability and percent agreement between two observers. C. the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables. D. the predictive relationship and the causal inference between two variables.

Q: Which of the following correlations represents the greatest predictive relationship between two variables? A. -.80 B. -.40 C. .00 D. .40

Q: Reactivity is a research problem because when it occurs, A. observers may record only the observations that are consistent with their expectations. B. people's behavior may not represent their typical behavior. C. relevant information may be lost from archival records. D. there will be a spurious relationship between variables.

Q: Students conducted a naturalistic observation to study whether people arriving at the library alone would be more likely to hold the door open for a person coming in immediately after them than would people who arrived in pairs. The students made their observations looking through the window of a classroom building across from the library. They chose this position for observation to avoid the potential problem of A. demand characteristics. B. observer bias. C. nonrepresentative sampling. D. reactivity.

Q: Some researchers argue that hypnosis is a special state of consciousness; other researchers disagree. They argue that when the hypnosis procedure is used, individuals simply respond to the cues and instructions made by the hypnotist in order to know how to respond. These cues are called A. dependent variables. B. demand characteristics. C. reactive cues. D. selective traces.

Q: The process of making an ethical decision involves A. identifying the ethical guidelines that are relevant in a situation and what is at stake for all parties involved. B. deciding that an ethical decision is good if it makes everyone happy. C. applying a clear and definitive set of guidelines for ethical research. D. maintaining the anonymity of the researchers who are conducting the research.

Q: To ensure the welfare of participants in studies based on the Milgram experiment, recent modifications of the obedience procedure included A. telling participants prior to the experiment that the shock they would administer was not real. B. showing participants photos from the original obedience studies from the 1960s. C. withholding payment for participation until all participants completed the study. D. stopping the experiment once participants administered 150 volts, rather than 450.

Q: When completing the steps for ethical decision making, the "correctness" of an ethical decision should be judged according to whether A. everyone is happy with the decision. B. a fair and ethical process was followed for making the decision. C. the rights of the researcher were given prominence. D. the financial support for the research is not jeopardized by the decision.

Q: A final step when researchers submit a manuscript for publication in an APA-sponsored journal is to A. release all informed consent forms completed by participants. B. submit a review of the research to their university IRB. C. complete an Ethical Compliance Checklist. D. seek the permission of individual research participants.

Q: When events are classified into mutually exclusive categories on a nominal scale (e.g., whether a behavior is present or absent), the most common descriptive statistic is A. relative duration. B. an average (arithmetic mean). C. relative rank. D. relative frequency.

Q: A researcher studying interpersonal communication measured the time that couples made eye contact during a conversation. Which descriptive statistics would most commonly be used describe the researcher's duration measurements? A. mean and standard deviation B. median and difference scores C. mode and correlation D. proportion and percentage

Q: Low interobserver reliability is likely to result because of A. extensive training of observers. B. specific feedback to observers regarding discrepancies between their observations. C. lack of clear definitions of events to be recorded. D. all of these

Q: Which of the following statements about interobserver reliability is true? A. High interobserver reliability of observations assures observations are valid (accurate). B. Interobserver reliability is generally increased by clearly defining the events that are to be observed. C. Interobserver reliability is best when observers are allowed to make their own subjective judgments when making observations. D. all of these

Q: When the exact words from a source are used in a manuscript, which of the following is required? A. the source must be properly identified B. the location of the source C. quotation marks D. all of these

Q: When making reference in your paper to an original source that you have not read but learned about in a secondary source (such as a textbook), you should A. not mention any source at all so as not to confuse the reader. B. omit the information entirely until you read the original source. C. cite the original source of the information, not the source you read. D. cite the secondary source in which you found the original source, and write, "as cited in "

Q: When writing a report describing a class research project, a student paraphrased some material from a psychology journal article. In order to avoid a charge of plagiarism, the student should A. list the article in the references section at the end of the report, but not identify it in the text of the report. B. identify the author and publication year of the journal article in the same sentence as the paraphrased material. C. include quotation marks around the paraphrased material. D. identify the author of the journal article at the end of the paragraph in which the material was cited.

Q: The primary goal of debriefing participants at the end of a research session is to A. make sure participants have completed the entire study. B. learn about any errors in the research procedure. C. ask participants for their ideas regarding future research. D. make sure individuals feel good about their participation.

Q: A student researcher learns during a debriefing procedure that participants misunderstood the instructions for the research task. This clearly demonstrates that A. the research project should have used deception. B. researchers also can benefit from the debriefing procedure. C. the study likely involved more than minimal risk. D. the order of publication credit should be revised.

Q: The overriding goal of regulations that guide research with animals is A. making sure that animal rights groups do not sabotage research projects. B. making sure the research has direct application to humans. C. protecting the welfare of the animals. D. helping people to understand humans' dominion over animals.

Q: Which of the following statements concerning the use of animals in research is true? A. Animals may never be subjected to pain or discomfort in research. B. Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort only when an alternative procedure is not available. C. Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort only when the scientific goals justify such procedures. D. Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort only when an alternative procedure is not available and the scientific goals justify such procedures.

Q: Which of the following is not one of the areas that Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC) are charged to review? A. budget for the proposed research B. procedures for controlling pain C. adequacy of housing for the animals D. procedures for training personnel who will work with the animals

Q: The suggestion that animals be used in research only when the results of the research have direct, apparent application to humans is most threatening to A. research animals. B. funding programs for applied research. C. basic research. D. all of these

Q: With respect to animal research, the philosophical position of utilitarianism suggests that A. the moral status of humans is greater than that of animals. B. the best choice among alternatives is one that produces the best overall consequences for all. C. humans should appeal to religious viewpoints when making ethical decisions. D. human welfare should always be considered ahead of the suffering of animals.

Q: The primary goal of publishing research in a psychology journal is A. to communicate the results to the scientific community and society. B. to increase chances for continued funding of the research program. C. to provide a method for debriefing research participants. D. all of these

Q: There is a general consensus among research psychologists that authorship of a scientific paper should be based mainly on the A. time a person has spent on the project. B. number of previous publications on the same topic a person has. C. scholarly importance of the person's contribution. D. person's status in terms of advanced degrees and academic position.

Q: A faculty member adds a student's name to the list of authors for a research manuscript in order to help that student get into graduate school. The student's contribution to the research project was to enter responses to survey questions into the computer. This is an example of A. plagiarism. B. ethical recognition of the student's contribution to the research project. C. unethical assignment of authorship credit. D. failure to credit a secondary source.

Q: Presenting substantial portions of another person's work as your own is called A. secondary source. B. plagiarism. C. paraphrasing. D. authorship credit.

Q: When citing another person's thinking or ideas, a "substantial element" refers to A. any key idea or concept, even a single word. B. phrases that are at least 10 or more words. C. anything that requires quotation marks in the citation. D. concepts that are cited in a secondary source.

Q: Debriefing following the use of deception should include all of the following except A. descriptions of people who were tricked by the deception and those who figured it out. B. an explanation for the use of deception. C. an attempt to address any misconceptions participants may have about the research. D. an effort to remove any harmful effects resulting from the deception.

Q: Which of the following has been used as an argument for the use of deception in psychological research? A. Deception is used so infrequently in psychological research that it should be banned. B. Deception causes people to not trust experts. C. General moral principles are sometimes suspended in other areas of life, such as in legal and medical practice. D. Deception contradicts the principle of informed consent in research.

Q: In the Milgram obedience studies, deception took place because A. participants were told the study was about obedience to authority figures. B. all the participants were male. C. psychological researchers don't usually wear white lab coats. D. participants believed they were shocking another person.

Q: Which of the following uses of deception is always unethical? A. deceiving participants to get them to take part in research that involves more than minimal risk B. deceiving participants to gain access to a particular group or setting C. deceiving participants to be able to implement a specific independent variable D. deceiving participants to get them to adopt certain attitudes or behaviors

Q: Which of the following is not an important consideration for a researcher who is designing an experiment that will involve deception? A. the availability of alternative, deception-free methods for carrying out the research B. how many people will participate in the research C. the importance of the study to scientific knowledge D. the degree of deception involved and the possibility of risk to the participants

Q: Debriefing individuals following their participation in research follows directly from the moral principles of A. confidentiality and privacy. B. malfeasance and dignity. C. human interest and gratitude. D. beneficence and respect.

Q: Which of the following procedures is essential after an experiment involving the use of deception? A. informed consent B. debriefing C. research evaluation form D. legal disclaimer statement

Q: Whenever deception is used, the researcher has the ethical responsibility to A. tell the participant about the deception as part of the informed consent procedure. B. withhold information from the participant concerning the reasons for using deception. C. debrief the participant about the deception. D. maintain confidentiality regarding the use of deception.

Q: Final responsibility for conducting research in an ethical manner rests with the A. investigator. B. United States Department of Research. C. Institutional Review Board (IRB). D. department chairperson.

Q: In which of the following situations could individuals be vulnerable to excessive inducement or pressure to participate in research? A. requiring prisoners to participate in a psychology experiment B. asking college students to participate in research to fulfill a class requirement and giving them an alternative method to meet the requirement C. paying college students $2 an hour to be in a psychology experiment D. all of these

Q: Researchers may not be required to obtain informed consent in which of the following situations? A. when doing research with children B. when doing research that involves more than minimal risk C. when observing behavior in public settings with no intervention D. when asking participants to complete questionnaires on the Internet

Q: The right of individuals to decide how information about them is to be communicated to others is referred to as A. confidentiality. B. anonymity. C. self-determination. D. privacy.

Q: Which of the following is typically not one of the dimensions a researcher should consider when deciding what information is private and what safeguards should be employed? A. sensitivity of the information B. source of the information C. how the information will be disseminated D. setting in which behavior is observed

Q: For a class research project, students conceal themselves in bathroom stalls in order to observe conversational behavior of individuals at sinks in the washroom. They count the number of words spoken by women and men in their respective washrooms. The most important ethical issue in this research is A. debriefing. B. informed consent. C. privacy. D. deception.

Q: Which of the following terms describes the ethical issue that arises when information is withheld from research participants or when they are given misinformation? A. minimal risk B. deception C. distortion D. plagiarism

Q: Which of the following ethical principles is contradicted when deception is used in research? A. informed consent B. risk/benefit ratio C. minimal risk D. privacy

Q: Which of the following is one of the arguments against the use of deception in psychological research? A. Deception is similar to "technical illusions" frequently used in society. B. Deception is sometimes required to cause participants to adopt certain attitudes or behaviors. C. General moral principles are occasionally suspended in other areas of life, such as in legal situations. D. Deception causes people to believe psychologists are "tricksters" or liars.

Q: Which of the following is not required of researchers in an informed consent procedure? A. description of the nature of the research B. reasons for why deception is used in the research C. information that might influence participants' willingness to participate D. all of these are required

Q: According to the APA Ethical Standards, psychologists must inform participants of the nature of the research, that participants are free to participate or to decline to participate, and that they may withdraw from the research. These requirements (among others) are necessary to ensure the participants' A. anonymity and confidentiality. B. risk level. C. informed consent. D. debriefing.