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Introduction to Behavioral Research Methods 7th Edition Test Bank

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    TB_Leary_Chapter 1 Key: Answer, Type, Learning Objective, Level Type A=Applied C=Conceptual F=Factual Level (1)=Easy; (2)=Moderate; (3)=Difficult TB_Leary_Chapter 1 Multiple Choice Single Select M/C Question 1 Wilhelm Wundt a) was the first clinical psychologist. b) conducted the first scientific studies of children. c) was the father of modern statistics. d) founded one of the first psychological laboratories. ANS: d M/C Question 2 The first psychological laboratory in the United States was established by a) James McKeen Cattell. b) G. Stanley Hall. c) John Watson. d) William James. ANS: d M/C Question 3 Research that is conducted to enhance our understanding of behavior without regard for the immediate application of this knowledge is a) descriptive research. b) applied research. c) basic research. d) empirical research. ANS: c M/C Question 4 Research that is designed to find solutions to particular problems is called a) applied research. b) post hoc research. c) deductive research. d) action research. ANS: a

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    M/C Question 5 Research that uses behavioral research methods to investigate the effects of social and educational programs is called a) evaluation research. b) prediction research. c) intervention research. d) pseudoscientific research. ANS: a M/C Question 6 Whether a particular investigation is considered to be scientific depends on whether a) it analyzes the data with statistics. b) the topics it studies are scientific. c) its findings are accurate. d) its methods are empirical, verifiable, and deal with solvable questions. ANS: d M/C Question 7 How does the scientific observation of events differ from everyday observation? a) Scientific observations are always correct. b) Scientific observations are structured in a systematic fashion. c) Scientific observations use highly specialized equipment. d) Scientific observations may be interpreted in only one way. ANS: b M/C Question 8 Empiricism refers to the practice of relying on ________ to draw conclusions. a) statistics b) experts c) observation d) deduction ANS: c M/C Question 9 How does pseudoscience differ from true science? a) Pseudoscientific ideas are wrong. b) Pseudoscience is conducted by people without scientific degrees. c) Pseudoscience violates the central criteria of true science. d) Pseudoscience is not empirical. ANS: c M/C Question 10 Concluding that aliens have visited Earth on the basis of one person’s report that he saw a UFO fails to support which criterion of science? a) Empiricism b) Public verifiability c) Solvability d) Statistical analysis ANS: b

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    M/C Question 11 A set of propositions that attempts to specify the interrelationships among constructs is a(n) a) theory. b) pseudoscientific proposition. c) post hoc explanation. d) operational definition. ANS: a M/C Question 12 When researchers derive research hypotheses from a theory, they use a) induction. b) operational definitions. c) empiricism. d) deduction. ANS: d M/C Question 13 A theory differs from a model in that a theory a) can be tested by research. b) is developed after data are collected. c) explains both how and why concepts are related to each other. d) is more strongly supported by empirical evidence. ANS: c M/C Question 14 A specific proposition that logically follows from a theory is a(n) a) induction. b) hypothesis. c) empirical generalization. d) post hoc explanation. ANS: b M/C Question 15 Deriving a general explanation from specific facts involves a) induction. b) a priori reasoning. c) post hoc analysis. d) deduction. ANS: a M/C Question 16 Empirical generalizations are a) derived from observed results. b) deduced from theories. c) inferred from models. d) generalized from assumptions. ANS: a M/C Question 17 A scientific hypothesis must be stated in such a way that it is a) deduced.

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    b) proven. c) logical. d) falsifiable. ANS: d M/C Question 18 Some philosophers of science have suggested that the defining characteristic of science is its emphasis on a) statistics. b) falsifiability. c) deduction. d) experimentation. ANS: b M/C Question 19 An explanation that is developed after obtaining a particular result is called a) operational. b) deductive. c) post hoc. d) a priori. ANS: c M/C Question 20 An a priori hypothesis is a) scientifically valid. b) not falsifiable. c) pseudoscientific. d) made before collecting data. ANS: d M/C Question 21 Operational definitions differ from conceptual definitions in that operational definitions are a) more general. b) specific to a particular research context. c) similar to dictionary definitions. d) not used in scientific research. ANS: b M/C Question 22 In a study of embarrassment, which of the following would be an operational definition of “blushing”? a) A participant’s rating of how much he or she blushed on a 1 to 7 scale b) A researcher’s rating of whether a participant blushed on a 1 to 5 scale c) A physiological measure of blushing d) All of these answers are operational definitions of blushing. ANS: d M/C Question 23 Although theories can never be ______, they can be _______ by the results of a particular research study. a) proved; disproved b) disproved; proved c) proved; supported d) falsified; proved

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    ANS: c M/C Question 24 Given that theories cannot be proved nor disproved by the results of a research study, how does scientific knowledge progress? a) On the basis of null findings b) By considering the results of many related studies c) Through experimentation d) Knowledge does not progress. ANS: b M/C Question 25 A researcher who was applying the strategy of strong inference would design a study that a) proved a theory. b) generated null findings. c) used many different research methods. d) tested hypotheses derived from competing theories. ANS: d M/C Question 26 The practice of using many different methods and designs to test theories is called a) strong inference. b) methodological pluralism. c) operationism. d) deductive research. ANS: b M/C Question 27 Null findings are results of a study that a) disconfirm the researcher’s hypothesis. b) confirm a common sense hypothesis. c) reveal no relationships among the variables being studied. d) are dismissed as invalid by the scientific community. ANS: c M/C Question 28 Null findings are often uninformative regarding the hypothesis being tested because they a) indicate that the study is flawed. b) are not based on empirical observation. c) may be the result of a poor research design. d) are not verifiable. ANS: c M/C Question 29 A researcher measured the public’s attitudes toward nuclear power after a nuclear accident. This is an example of ______ research. a) correlational b) post hoc c) experimental d) descriptive ANS: d

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    M/C Question 30 A researcher was interested in the effects of loud music on physiological arousal. After playing music to participants through headphones at one of five decibel levels (from very quiet to very loud), she measured their level of arousal. This is an example of ______ research. a) correlational b) post hoc c) experimental d) descriptive ANS: c M/C Question 31 A researcher was interested in whether extraversion is related to drug use. He administered a measure of extraversion, along with a questionnaire regarding drug use, to 200 respondents, then looked at the relationship between the scores on the two measures. This is an example of ________ research. a) correlational b) post hoc c) experimental d) descriptive ANS: a M/C Question 32 In an experiment, the variable that is manipulated by the researcher is the _______ variable. a) independent b) control c) operational d) dependent ANS: a M/C Question 33 In an experiment, the variable that is measured is the ______ variable. a) independent b) control c) empirical d) dependent ANS: d M/C Question 34 When researchers are interested in studying the effects of a variable that they cannot control, they use _______ designs. a) experimental b) pseudoscientific c) quasi - experimental d) descriptive ANS: c M/C Question 35 Research that involves the study of thinking and memory is most likely to be conducted within a) cognitive psychology. b) educational psychology. c) school psychology.

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    d) social psychology. ANS: a M/C Question 36 A researcher who studies the relationship between processes occurring in the nervous system and behavior is most likely to be a(n) a) cognitive psychologist. b) personality psychologist. c) clinical psychologist. d) physiological psychologist. ANS: d Essay Essay Question 37 In what sense is psychology both a science and a profession? Essay Question 38 Describe the difference between basic and applied research. Essay Question 39 Explain why systematic empiricism, public verification, and solvability are each essential to the scientific method. Essay Question 40 Describe how researchers use induction and deduction to generate hypotheses for research. Essay Question 41 Why are scientists skeptical of post hoc explanations? Essay Question 42 Suggest three operational definitions of (a) selfishness and (b) fear of snakes. Essay Question 43 What are null findings, and why have journals historically been reluctant to publish them? Essay Question 44 When do researchers conduct correlational research? Essay Question 45 In what was is a quasi - experiment different from a true experiment? Essay Question 46 Distinguish between an independent variable and a dependent variable.

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    TB_Leary_Chapter 2 Key: Answer, Type, Learning Objective, Level Type A=Applied C=Conceptual F=Factual Level (1)=Easy; (2)=Moderate; (3)=Difficult TB_Leary_Chapter 2 Multiple Choice Single Select M/C Question 1 Psychologists study behavioral variability a) among individuals. b) across situations. c) over time. d) All of these answers are correct ANS: d M/C Question 2 Behavioral research should be designed so that a) variability in the dependent variable is eliminated. b) factors that are related to variability in behavior can be identified. c) behavior varies randomly. d) participants’ behavior does not vary across conditions. ANS: b M/C Question 3 When measuring behavior, researchers want the variability in participants’ scores on the variable being measured to a) be as large as possible. b) be unaffected by their manipulation of the independent variable. c) correspond to the variability in participants’ actual behavior. d) be random. ANS: c M/C Question 4 Statistics that are used to draw conclusions about the reliability and generalizability of one’s findings are called a) the range and variance. b) descriptive statistics. c) effect sizes. d) inferential statistics. ANS: d

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    M/C Question 5 The variance expresses a) the degree to which participants’ scores vary from the mean of the scores. b) the degree to which the data are skewed. c) the range of the scores. d) the mean of the scores. ANS: a M/C Question 6 What is the range of these scores: 2, 4, 9, 4, 7, 6, 11, 3, 5, 9? a) 7 b) 9 c) 10 d) Cannot determine from the information given ANS: b M/C Question 7 What is the mean of these scores: 2, 2, 4, 6, 6? a) 4 b) 5 c) 6 d) 20 ANS: a M/C Question 8 Which of the following is the statistical formula for the mean? a) y i - ӯ b) ∑(y i - ӯ) 2 c) ∑y i / n d) ∑(y i - ӯ) 2 / n - l ANS: c M/C Question 9 If we calculate the deviation scores (y i - ӯ) for all of the observations in a set of data and add them, what will the sum be? a) The mean b) Zero c) The sum of squares d) 1 ANS: b M/C Question 10 The total sum of squares is the a) sum of the squared deviations of participants’ scores from the mean. b) standard deviation. c) sum of the scores divided by the number of scores. d) variance divided by the mean. ANS: a

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    M/C Question 11 In statistical notation, s 2 is the symbol for the a) sample size. b) mean. c) variance. d) range. ANS: c M/C Question 12 Variance in a behavior that is related to variables that an investigator is investigating is a) systematic variance. b) standard variance. c) error variance. d) total variance. ANS: a M/C Question 13 Variance in a behavior that is not related to the variables that an investigator is investigating is a) systematic variance. b) standard variance. c) error variance. d) total variance. ANS: c M/C Question 14 In an experiment that examined the effects of room temperature on aggression, systematic variance would be caused by a) error variance. b) participants’ personalities. c) aggression. d) differences in temperature. ANS: d M/C Question 15 In an experiment, which of the following does not contribute to error variance? a) The personalities of the participants b) The independent variable c) The weather d) Random equipment malfunctions ANS: b M/C Question 16 Error variance a) reflects that researchers were not sufficiently careful in designing a study. b) equals the sum of the systematic and total variance. c) must be eliminated entirely for the results of a study to be valid. d) can obscure the effects of the variables of interest to a researcher. ANS: d M/C Question 17 When the relationship between two variables is “perfect,”

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    a) one variable causes the other. b) the effect size is zero. c) all of the variability is systematic variance. d) the hypothesis is confirmed. ANS: c M/C Question 18 Which of the following is used to integrate results across a set of individual studies? a) Meta - analysis b) Effect size analysis c) Cumulative analysis d) Descriptive analysis ANS: a M/C Question 19 Effect size indicates a) the amount of variance in a set of scores. b) the strength of the relationship between variables. c) whether one variable causes another. d) whether an obtained research finding is valid. ANS: b M/C Question 20 Compared to the effect sizes found in other sciences, including the biomedical sciences, the effect sizes in psychology are a) smaller. b) larger. c) about the same size. d) more variable. ANS: c Essay Essay Question 21 In what sense may it be said that psychology is the study of behavioral variability? Essay Question 22 What does the variance tell us about a set of data? Essay Question 23 Why is the variance preferred over the range as an index of variability? Essay Question 24 What is the formula for the variance? Essay Question 25 What is the total sum of squares?

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    Essay Question 26 Tell what each of the following statistical symbols represents: a. ӯ b.∑(y i - ӯ) 2 /n - l c.s 2 d. n e.∑ Essay Question 27 Explain the difference between systematic and error variance. Essay Question 28 Would researchers like their data to contain more systematic variance or more error variance? Explain. Essay Question 29 What are some factors that can contribute to error variance? Essay Question 30 What is a perfect relationship between two variables? Essay Question 31 What does it mean if one variable accounts for 20% of the variance in another variable? 0%? 100%? Essay Question 32 Why do researchers conduct a meta - analysis?

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    TB_Leary_Chapter 3 Key: Answer, Type, Learning Objective, Level Type A=Applied C=Conceptual F=Factual Level (1)=Easy; (2)=Moderate; (3)=Difficult TB_Leary_Chapter 3 Multiple Choice Single Select M/C Question 1 The field that is devoted to the study of psychological measurement is called a) statistics. b) evaluation. c) psychometrics. d) phrenology. ANS: c M/C Question 2 A researcher counting the number of times a rat presses a bar is using a(n) ______ measure. a) observational b) self - report c) cognitive d) physiological ANS: a M/C Question 3 Which type of measure tends to require sophisticated equipment? a) Behavioral b) Psychometric c) Archival d) Physiological ANS: d M/C Question 4 A researcher who asks people to answer questions on questionnaires is using a(n) _________ measure. a) observational b) self - report c) ratio d) affective ANS: b

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    M/C Question 5 Measuring a construct with several different kinds of measures is called a) converging operations. b) scaling. c) strong inference. d) convergent validity. ANS: a M/C Question 6 The measurement of weight is on a(n) _______ scale. a) ordinal b) nominal c) ratio d) interval ANS: c M/C Question 7 Political preference (Democrat, Republican, Independent) is measured on a(n) ___________ scale. a) ordinal b) nominal c) trichotic d) interval ANS: b M/C Question 8 High school class graduation rank is measured on a(n) _________ scale. a) interval b) nominal c) ratio d) ordinal ANS: d M/C Question 9 Intelligence is measured on a(n) __________ scale. a) ordinal b) nominal c) interval d) ratio ANS: c M/C Question 10 Which scale of measurement provides the greatest amount of information about a construct? a) Ordinal b) Nominal c) Ratio d) Interval ANS: c M/C Question 11 The relationship between measurement error and reliability is a) inverse.

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    b) direct. c) curvilinear. d) none; measurement error and reliability are not related. ANS: a M/C Question 12 A participant’s observed score consists of a) reliability and validity. b) convergent and discriminant validity. c) transient and stable variables. d) measurement error and true score. ANS: d M/C Question 13 If you wanted to reduce measurement error in a study, which would you be most likely to do? a) Use items with low item - total correlations. b) Use face valid measures. c) Measure all participants under the same conditions. d) All of these would reduce measurement error. ANS: c M/C Question 14 If all participants’ observed scores equal their true scores, a) the measure is valid. b) measurement error is high. c) reliability is higher than validity. d) measurement error is zero. ANS: d M/C Question 15 The ratio of true score variance to total variance reflects a measure’s a) reliability. b) measurement error. c) validity. d) variability. ANS: a M/C Question 16 A perfectly reliable measure a) has a reliability of .00. b) has no measurement error. c) is valid. d) has as much true score variance as error variance. ANS: b M/C Question 17 As a rule of thumb, a measure is considered sufficiently reliable if a) it is valid. b) there is no measurement error. c) at least half of the total variance is true - score variance. d) its correlation is 1.00.

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