Question 1

The experiment tested in this chapter, which examined the effect of ignoring text messages on participants' levels of distraction, was a:
A) one-group design.
B) two-group design.
C) three-group design.
D) four-group design.

Accepted Answer

The experiment in this chapter had two groups - one group was instructed to ignore text messages, while the other group was allowed to respond to text messages as usual. Therefore, it was a two-group design.

Question 2

You end up recruiting college students who were readily available, cheap, and easy to use as your participants. Your selection of participants represents a _____ sample.
A) stratified
B) representative
C) convenience
D) random

Accepted Answer

The selection of college students who were readily available, cheap, and easy to use as study participants represents a convenience sample, as they were recruited based on their ready availability rather than selected in a deliberate manner to represent the broader population.

Question 3

In designing an experimental study, the research question is to the experimental hypothesis as:
A) broad is to narrow.
B) thin is to wide.
C) limited is to boundless.
D) rational is to imaginative.

Accepted Answer

The research question is usually broad and open-ended, while the experimental hypothesis is a more specific and testable statement that is designed to answer the research question. Therefore, the relationship between the research question and the experimental hypothesis is one of broad to narrow.

Question 4

Professor Mateo is designing an experiment to test whether playing music during his exams improves students' grades. Which of the following will increase the mundane realism of his study?
A) conducting the study in his classroom
B) conducting the study in a research laboratory
C) assessing students while taking a practice exam that does not count toward their final grade
D) having students imagine that they are listening to music as they take their exam

Accepted Answer

Conducting the study in his classroom will increase mundane realism because it mimics the real-world situation in which students take exams.

Question 5

Select the factor that is NOT unique to experimental designs.
A) random assignment
B) experimental control
C) internal validity
D) covariation

Accepted Answer

Covariation is not unique to experimental designs as it is a general principle in research that refers to the relationship between two variables. Random assignment, experimental control, and internal validity are key components of experimental designs that differentiate them from other types of research designs.

Question 6

To experimentally test the adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," Anika randomly assigned 50 participants to eat an apple every day for one month and assigned 50 participants not to eat any apples during the month-long study period. At the end of the study, she asked all 100 participants how many apples they ate in a given day. This question served as her:
A) experimental hypothesis.
B) internal validity.
C) manipulation check.
D) mundane realism.

Accepted Answer

The question served as a manipulation check to make sure participants in the "apple-eating" group were actually eating apples every day as instructed. It did not serve as the experimental hypothesis, internal validity, or mundane realism.

Question 7

Jace is interested in examining whether productivity is improved when people wear noise-cancelling headphones. To test his hypothesis he decides to bring people into a research laboratory and have them complete an anagram task while either wearing noise-cancelling headphones or not. Jace can _____ the independence and _____ the control of his study by conducting participants one at a time.
A) decrease; increase
B) increase; increase
C) decrease; decrease
D) increase; decrease

Accepted Answer

By conducting participants one at a time, Jace can increase both the independence and control of his study. Independence is increased because participants are not influenced by the behavior or performance of others, and control is increased because Jace can more closely monitor and standardize the conditions of the study for each participant.

Question 8

Lucy is using her newfound scientific appreciation to study phenomena in her own life. This week she wants to conduct an experiment to test whether the dryer is shrinking her jeans. In her study, jeans that are washed and then air dried are her _____ condition.
A) control
B) experimental
C) null
D) independent

Accepted Answer

The jeans that are washed and air dried are the control condition, as they will serve as a baseline for comparison to the experimental condition (jeans that are washed and then dried in the dryer).

Question 9

For the study described in this chapter, the _____ asked whether trying to ignore a text message leads to distraction, whereas the _____ stated that participants in the highly restricted cell phone use group will have worse test performance than those who are allowed to check their cell phones.
A) hypothesis; research question
B) hypothesis; theory
C) research question; hypothesis
D) research question; theory

Accepted Answer

The research question is a broad inquiry about the relationship between ignoring a text message and distraction, while the hypothesis is a specific prediction about the outcome of the study, such as the impact on test performance.

Question 10

In an experiment designed to examine the effect of watching horror movies on the risk of heart attacks, participants in the experimental condition would be assigned to:
A) watch horror movies.
B) watch romantic comedies.
C) not watch horror movies.
D) not watch romantic comedies.

Accepted Answer

The experiment is designed to examine the effect of watching horror movies, therefore the participants in the experimental condition need to watch horror movies. The other options are not relevant to the experiment's research question.

Question 11

Suppose an experimenter were examining the relationship between texting and driving and found that there was no difference between the experimental and control groups in typical cell phone use, previous texting experience, or driving history. This would serve to:
A) identify weaknesses of the current study that must be reexamined through replication.
B) rule out possible alternative explanations.
C) show that the manipulation of the independent variable did not affect the dependent variable.
D) reveal extraneous variables that can explain the obtained research findings.

Accepted Answer

If there is no difference between the experimental and control groups in factors that could potentially impact the dependent variable, such as typical cell phone use or previous texting experience, then it rules out alternative explanations for any differences found in the study. This increases the internal validity of the study, as it suggests that any significant differences found can be attributed to the manipulation of the independent variable (i.e. texting while driving).

Question 12

Which of the following is the correct order of operations for conducting an experiment?
A) interpret your data, conduct the study, develop a hypothesis, review previous literature
B) conduct the study, interpret your data, review previous literature, develop a hypothesis
C) develop a hypothesis, conduct the study, interpret your data, review previous literature
D) review previous literature, develop a hypothesis, conduct the study, interpret your data

Accepted Answer

The correct order is to first review previous literature to understand the context, then develop a hypothesis, conduct the study, and finally interpret the data.

Question 13

Felipe is interested in testing whether people are more likely to take gummy vitamins than regular (hard pill) vitamins. In his study, the experimental group is composed of participants who take _____, and his control group is comprised of participants who take _____.
A) gummy vitamins; no vitamins
B) gummy vitamins: regular vitamins
C) regular vitamins; gummy vitamins
D) regular vitamins; no vitamins

Accepted Answer

The experimental group should be the group who takes gummy vitamins, and the control group should be the group who takes regular vitamins. This way, Felipe can compare the two types of vitamins and determine whether people are more likely to take gummy vitamins. Option B is the only choice that consists of these two groups.

Question 14

Camila is interested in examining whether people who have more frequent access to pictures have better memory. Which of the following represents the null hypothesis for her study?
A) Frequent access to pictures will lead to better memory.
B) Frequent access to pictures will lead to worse memory.
C) Frequent access to pictures will affect memory.
D) Frequent access to pictures will not affect memory.

Accepted Answer

The null hypothesis is typically stated as the absence of a relationship or difference between variables. In this case, the null hypothesis would be that there is no relationship between frequent access to pictures and memory. Therefore, choice D, "Frequent access to pictures will not affect memory," represents the null hypothesis for this study.

Question 15

Unlike a correlation, the two-group experimental design allows researchers to:
A) examine real life phenomena.
B) investigate naturally occurring relationships.
C) establish a cause-and-effect relationship.
D) study covariation.

Accepted Answer

The two-group experimental design involves manipulation of an independent variable and random assignment of participants to groups. This allows the researchers to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable.

Question 16

In a study examining the effect of ignoring text messages on distraction, trying to ignore text messages is the _____ variable, whereas the amount of distraction is the _____ variable.
A) dependent; independent
B) independent; dependent
C) independent; experimental
D) dependent; experimental

Accepted Answer

In this study, the researchers are manipulating the independent variable of "trying to ignore text messages" to observe its effect on the dependent variable of "amount of distraction". Therefore, trying to ignore text messages is the independent variable, and the amount of distraction is the dependent variable.

Question 17

By choosing to conduct a study in a research laboratory instead of its natural setting, researchers gain _____, but lose _____.
A) internal validity; generalizability
B) internal validity; independence
C) generalizability; internal validity
D) generalizability; independence

Accepted Answer

Conducting a study in a research laboratory provides greater control over extraneous variables, which enhances internal validity (the extent to which causal conclusions can be drawn from the study). However, the artificial setting of a laboratory may limit the generalizability of the findings to real-life situations, thereby decreasing external validity (the extent to which the findings can be generalized to other settings, populations, or time periods).

Question 18

Duncan designed a study to examine whether sunscreen with a higher SPF was able to protect participants from sunburn better than sunscreen with a lower SPF. To test this, he randomly assigned half of his participants to wear a sunscreen with a SPF of 50. The other half were assigned to wear a sunscreen with a SFP of 35. After five hours in the sun, he compared the level of sunburn across the groups. Which of the following would indicate that his two-group experimental study yielded a significant difference?
A) t(101) = 5.31, p = .09, d = .29
B) t(101) = 8.62, p = .03, d = .67
C) t(101) = 1.61, p = .15, d = .22
D) t(101) = 2.89, p = .72, d = .30

Accepted Answer

The t-value of 8.62 indicates a significant difference between the two groups, as does the low p-value of .03. Additionally, the effect size (d) of .67 indicates a medium to large effect, supporting the practical significance of the findings. Choices A, C, and D do not show significant differences between the groups.

Question 19

Bianca is interested in examining whether traffic is related to aggressive behavior. If she measures aggressive behavior, operationalized as horn blowing frequency, observed on a local highway, rather than in a driving simulator, she would have had greater _____, but less _____.
A) internal validity; mundane realism
B) internal validity; independence
C) mundane realism; generalizability
D) mundane realism; independence

Accepted Answer

The answer of Bianca is interested in examining whether traffic...

Question 20

If a personality psychologist was interested in examining the relationship between people's educational level and extraversion, the best operational definition of educational level would be:
A) participants' self-reported IQ.
B) how much time participants reading books compared to watching TV.
C) observers' rating of how intelligent participants appeared.
D) the highest degree earned by each participant.

Accepted Answer

The highest degree earned by each participant would be the best operational definition of educational level in this case as it directly reflects one's level of formal education and is a clear and objective measure. Self-reported IQ, time spent reading versus watching TV, and observer rating of intelligence are all indirect or subjective measures that may not accurately capture one's level of educational attainment.

Quiz 8: Two-Group Design: Texting: I Cant Get You Out of My Mind

The experiment tested in this chapter, which examined the effect of ignoring text messages on participants' levels of distraction, was a:

You end up recruiting college students who were readily available, cheap, and easy to use as your participants. Your selection of participants represents a _____ sample.

In designing an experimental study, the research question is to the experimental hypothesis as:

Professor Mateo is designing an experiment to test whether playing music during his exams improves students' grades. Which of the following will increase the mundane realism of his study?

Select the factor that is NOT unique to experimental designs.

Lucy is using her newfound scientific appreciation to study phenomena in her own life. This week she wants to conduct an experiment to test whether the dryer is shrinking her jeans. In her study, jeans that are washed and then air dried are her _____ condition.

For the study described in this chapter, the _ asked whether trying to ignore a text message leads to distraction, whereas the _ stated that participants in the highly restricted cell phone use group will have worse test performance than those who are allowed to check their cell phones.

In an experiment designed to examine the effect of watching horror movies on the risk of heart attacks, participants in the experimental condition would be assigned to:

Suppose an experimenter were examining the relationship between texting and driving and found that there was no difference between the experimental and control groups in typical cell phone use, previous texting experience, or driving history. This would serve to:

Which of the following is the correct order of operations for conducting an experiment?

Felipe is interested in testing whether people are more likely to take gummy vitamins than regular (hard pill) vitamins. In his study, the experimental group is composed of participants who take _, and his control group is comprised of participants who take _.

Camila is interested in examining whether people who have more frequent access to pictures have better memory. Which of the following represents the null hypothesis for her study?

Unlike a correlation, the two-group experimental design allows researchers to:

In a study examining the effect of ignoring text messages on distraction, trying to ignore text messages is the _ variable, whereas the amount of distraction is the _ variable.

By choosing to conduct a study in a research laboratory instead of its natural setting, researchers gain _, but lose _.

Bianca is interested in examining whether traffic is related to aggressive behavior. If she measures aggressive behavior, operationalized as horn blowing frequency, observed on a local highway, rather than in a driving simulator, she would have had greater _, but less _.

If a personality psychologist was interested in examining the relationship between people's educational level and extraversion, the best operational definition of educational level would be: