Question 1

Because high levels of cloudiness usually go hand in hand with (i.e. ,are correlated with)high levels of rainfall,Rogelio concludes that rain causes cloudiness.Rogelio has failed to take into account information regarding:
A)temporal sequence
B)the elimination of noise
C)covariation
D)the problem of induction

Accepted Answer

Rogelio has failed to consider the temporal sequence or the order in which events occur. Rainfall typically occurs after the formation of clouds, which means that cloudiness can be the cause of rainfall, not the other way around.

Question 2

The relative accuracy or correctness of a psychological statement is its:
A)reliability
B)validity
C)efficacy
D)confirmability

Accepted Answer

Validity refers to the accuracy or correctness of a psychological statement or measure. Reliability refers to the consistency of results obtained from a psychological measure. Efficacy refers to the effectiveness of a treatment or intervention. Confirmability is not a term typically used in psychological research.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT one of John Stuart Mill's requirements for establishing a causal relation between two variables?
A)temporal sequence
B)eliminating confounds
C)covariation
D)external validity

Accepted Answer

John Stuart Mill's requirements for establishing a causal relation between two variables are temporal sequence (the cause must precede the effect in time), eliminating confounds (alternative explanations for the effect must be ruled out), and covariation (changes in the cause must be accompanied by changes in the effect). However, external validity (the extent to which the findings can be generalized to other populations and settings) is not one of Mill's requirements for establishing a causal relation between two variables.

Question 4

To say that one is worried about confounds is to say that one is worried about the:
A)problem of deduction
B)trade-off between internal and external validity
C)third variable problem
D)problem of covariation

Accepted Answer

Confounds refer to variables that could potentially explain the relationship being observed between the independent and dependent variables, other than the manipulated independent variable. This is known as the third variable problem, making choice C the correct answer. The problem of deduction refers to the logical reasoning used to draw conclusions, trade-off between internal and external validity refers to the balance between experimental control and generalizability, and the problem of covariation refers to the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. None of these fully encompass what is meant by the term confounds.

Question 5

The quality of a researcher's operational definitions is closely associated with:
A)restrictive validity
B)construct validity
C)external validity
D)internal validity

Accepted Answer

Construct validity refers to the extent to which a measure assesses the construct or variable it is intended to measure. Operational definitions provide a clear and specific description of how the construct is being measured, which is essential for establishing construct validity. Therefore, the quality of a researcher's operational definitions is closely associated with construct validity. The other options, restrictive validity, external validity, and internal validity, are important concepts in research but are not as closely related to operational definitions as construct validity.

Question 6

Psychology has been criticized by many people because its research generally uses white college students as participants.Critics would argue that focusing on such a limited group is a threat to:
A)construct validity
B)external validity
C)reliability
D)sequential reasoning

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which research findings can be generalized to other populations, settings, and situations. By only using white college students as participants, the research may not accurately represent the experiences and behaviors of people from different racial, socioeconomic, or educational backgrounds. This limits the external validity of the research and undermines its usefulness in understanding human behavior more broadly.

Question 7

If we wanted to formally assess the reliability of a set of judgments (scores)made by a group of boxing or figure skating judges,which form of reliability would we need to assess?
A)consensual agreement
B)internal consistency
C)temporal consistency
D)interobserver agreement

Accepted Answer

Interobserver agreement would be the best form of reliability to assess in this scenario, as it measures the degree of agreement or consistency between different judges or observers making judgments on the same event or performance. This would be particularly relevant in sports such as boxing or figure skating, where judges are required to make subjective judgments based on their interpretation of the rules and the performance of the athlete. Consensual agreement, internal consistency, and temporal consistency would be less relevant in this context, as they respectively measure agreement among experts, consistency within a set of items or tasks, and stability of scores over time.

Question 8

The central point behind the three strange stories that begin Chapter 3 (e.g. ,the story about the beginner's golf shot)is that:
A)most laypeople have no appreciation of concepts like reliability and validity
B)single observations cannot be studied scientifically
C)almost all individual measurements include components of error or luck
D)reliability and validity are not the same thing

Accepted Answer

The stories illustrate that individual measurements can often include components of error or luck, which means that relying on a single observation can be misleading. This highlights the importance of collecting multiple data points to establish more accurate and reliable results. While A, B, and D may also be true to some extent, they are not the central point being emphasized in these stories.

Question 9

The three basic forms of reliability emphasized in the text are:
A)internal reliability,external reliability,and restrictive reliability
B)interobserver reliability,interrater reliability,and test-retest reliability
C)interobserver agreement,internal consistency,and temporal consistency
D)interrater agreement,internal agreement,and temporal agreement

Accepted Answer

The three basic forms of reliability are interobserver agreement (consistency between different observers), internal consistency (consistency within a test), and temporal consistency (consistency over time).

Question 10

Maura and Link each developed multiple-item survey measures of self-perceived creativity.You read all of the items in both surveys,and as far as you can tell,the items all seem clear and valid.However,Maura developed a 10-item measure,and Link developed a 16-item measure.Whose measure should you probably prefer?
A)Maura's measure because it is more parsimonious
B)Maura's measure because participants are less likely to be bored by it
C)Link's measure because it likely to be higher in internal validity
D)Link's measure because it is likely to be higher in internal consistency

Accepted Answer

Link's measure should be preferred because it is likely to be higher in internal consistency as it has more items. Internal consistency refers to how well the items within a measure consistently measure the same construct, and having more items increases the likelihood of internal consistency.

Question 11

High levels of empathy usually go hand in hand with high levels of helping behavior.That is,people who are very high in empathy are usually more likely to help others.This is an example of:
A)generalizability
B)covariation
C)conceptual validity
D)construct validity

Accepted Answer

Covariation refers to the relationship between two variables, where they tend to systematically vary together. In this case, empathy and helping behavior have a positive covariation, meaning that as empathy goes up, helping behavior tends to also increase. The other answer choices are not as applicable to this scenario.

Question 12

The best synonym for external validity is:
A)generalizability
B)specificity
C)coherence
D)suitability

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other populations, settings or situations. Therefore, the best synonym for external validity is generalizability.

Question 13

Studies that provide good information about causal relations between variables are high in:
A)restrictive validity
B)construct validity
C)external validity
D)internal validity

Accepted Answer

Studies that provide good information about causal relations between variables are high in internal validity. Internal validity refers to the extent to which a study can confidently claim that the relationship between two variables is causal, meaning that changes in one variable cause changes in the other. Factors that increase internal validity include random assignment, control groups, and a clear temporal ordering of events. Restrictive validity is not a valid concept, and construct validity and external validity are important but are not specifically related to determining causality between variables.

Question 14

For typical studies,what is an ideal time frame to wait before re-testing participants on a measure?
A)1 day
B)2-4 weeks
C)6 months
D)2-4 years

Accepted Answer

Waiting 2-4 weeks allows for enough time to minimize the effects of any potential practice or learning effects that could occur from taking the measure multiple times in a short period, while also not waiting so long that there could be significant changes in the participants' abilities or circumstances that could affect their scores.

Question 15

The degree to which a hypothesis successfully maps onto the broader theory that it was designed to test is known as:
A)conceptual validity
B)construct validity
C)hypothesis validity
D)internal validity

Accepted Answer

Conceptual validity refers to the degree to which a hypothesis or research question accurately reflects the broader theory that it was designed to test. It is concerned with the match between the theory and the operationalization of the concepts in the hypothesis or research question. So, A is the correct choice.

Question 16

According to the text,ruling out other probable causes of an event before concluding that one thing (e.g. ,testosterone)is the cause of another (e.g. ,aggression)is known as:
A)competitive elimination
B)eliminating confounds
C)construct validity
D)temporal consistency

Accepted Answer

Eliminating confounds refers to ruling out other possible causes of an event before drawing a conclusion. This is important in order to establish a clear relationship between two variables and avoid errors in research findings.

Question 17

Test-retest reliability can only be assessed:
A)when a survey contains two or more different items
B)when two different forms of a measure are administered at the same time
C)when participants fill out the same measure on more than one occasion
D)when multiple judges independently assess the same behavior or performance

Accepted Answer

Test-retest reliability refers to how consistent the results of a measure are over time when the same measure is administered to the same participants on two or more occasions. Therefore, the best choice is when participants fill out the same measure on more than one occasion, as this is the only option that fits the definition of test-retest reliability. The other options may refer to other forms of reliability (such as inter-rater reliability or parallel forms reliability) but are not specifically linked to test-retest reliability.

Question 18

According to the text,one way to think abo___________ is that it represents test-retest reliability as assessed over an extreme_____ waiting period.
A)inter-item validity;long
B)internal consistency;short
C)interrater agreement;short
D)interrater agreement;long

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the text,one way to think...

Question 19

Most researchers would argue th____ studies tend to be high in external validity.
A)experimental
B)quasi-experimental
C)passive observational
D)within-subjects

Accepted Answer

Passive observational studies often involve observing subjects in their natural environment without any manipulation of variables, which tends to result in high external validity. This is because the findings are more likely to be generalizable to real-world settings.

Question 20

Which is the easiest to assess statistically?
A)construct validity
B)test-retest reliability
C)conceptual validity
D)interval / ratio

Accepted Answer

Test-retest reliability is the easiest to assess statistically as it involves measuring the consistency of results when the same test or measure is administered multiple times to the same participants. This can be done using a correlation coefficient to determine the degree of similarity between the test scores obtained at different times. It is a relatively straightforward and objective means of assessing reliability. The other options listed require more complex statistical analyses and may involve subjective judgments, making them harder to assess statistically.

Quiz 3: Moving From Fact to Truth: Validity, Reliability, and Measurement

Because high levels of cloudiness usually go hand in hand with (i.e. ,are correlated with) high levels of rainfall,Rogelio concludes that rain causes cloudiness.Rogelio has failed to take into account information regarding:

The relative accuracy or correctness of a psychological statement is its:

Which of the following is NOT one of John Stuart Mill's requirements for establishing a causal relation between two variables?

To say that one is worried about confounds is to say that one is worried about the:

The quality of a researcher's operational definitions is closely associated with:

Psychology has been criticized by many people because its research generally uses white college students as participants.Critics would argue that focusing on such a limited group is a threat to:

If we wanted to formally assess the reliability of a set of judgments (scores) made by a group of boxing or figure skating judges,which form of reliability would we need to assess?

The central point behind the three strange stories that begin Chapter 3 (e.g. ,the story about the beginner's golf shot) is that:

The three basic forms of reliability emphasized in the text are:

High levels of empathy usually go hand in hand with high levels of helping behavior.That is,people who are very high in empathy are usually more likely to help others.This is an example of:

The best synonym for external validity is:

Studies that provide good information about causal relations between variables are high in:

For typical studies,what is an ideal time frame to wait before re-testing participants on a measure?

The degree to which a hypothesis successfully maps onto the broader theory that it was designed to test is known as:

According to the text,ruling out other probable causes of an event before concluding that one thing (e.g. ,testosterone) is the cause of another (e.g. ,aggression) is known as:

Test-retest reliability can only be assessed:

According to the text,one way to think abo_______ is that it represents test-retest reliability as assessed over an extreme_ waiting period.

Most researchers would argue th____ studies tend to be high in external validity.

Which is the easiest to assess statistically?