Deck 6: Constructing Laboratory Experiments

Question 1

In general, which of the following is NOT included in the skeletal framework for constructing an experiment?
[Figure 6.1; pp. 2-4] in the text

A) Submitting research plan to the IRB
B) Random assignment of participants to conditions
C) Test validity of measurement instruments
D) Prepare instructions, manipulations, and other necessary materials

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In a study of the effects of room temperature and experimenter gender on aggression, manipulating room temperature would represent what type(s) of experimental manipulation(s)? (circle all that apply)

A) stimulus
B) social
C) environmental
D) instructional

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In a study of emotional intelligence, participants were asked to view the eyes of several photographs of people's faces, and then rate how likely it was that they would want to be friends with the person they are currently viewing. The pictures that participants were shown exhibited 50 facial expressions, half positively valenced and half negatively valenced, of which only the eyes of those faces were visible (the rest of the face was obscured). Researchers found that participants with a higher emotional intelligence were more likely to befriend only those pictures of people with positive facial expressions (e.g., smiling), whereas people with low emotional intelligence were just as likely to want to befriend pictures of positive and negative facial expressions (e.g., smiling; grimacing). Varying the facial expressions of the photographs is most likely what type of experimental manipulation?

A) social
B) environmental
C) stimulus
D) priming

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following examples reflect types of experimental manipulations? (circle all that apply)

A) Smoke pours into a room from under a door (smoke is presented to all conditions).
B) In the instructions for a study, participants are told they will be subjected to electric shocks.
C) Half of participants are told their responses will be videotaped; the other half are not told their responses will be taped.
D) Some participants fill out surveys with plants in the room; some participants fill out surveys with pictures of plants in the room.

Question 5

In a study of group identification, Barbara had half of participants think about the things that make them feel uncertain about their life and their future. The other half of participants were instructed to think about the things that make them feel certain about their life and future. Whether participants were induced to feel certain or uncertain was expected to influence later responses. This example is most likely what type of manipulation?

A) instructional
B) priming
C) stimulus
D) social

Question 6

__________ are measurement tools that can be used to determine the extent to which our manipulations were effective and worked how we expected them to work.

A) dependent variables
B) validity tests
C) manipulation checks
D) manipulation variables

Question 7

When researching the effects of fear on people's tendency to affiliate with others, researchers wanted to verify that their fear induction manipulation actually made half of their participants more afraid during the study, so they wrote the following item, "how afraid do you feel right now," and mixed it in with other items on affective states. This item is:

A) an independent variable
B) a dependent variable
C) a moderator variable
D) a manipulation check

Question 8

Which of the following techniques is an appropriate way of obtaining random assignment to conditions? (circle all that apply)

A) flip a coin to determine whether each participant is placed in condition 1 or 2
B) pre-arrange (at random) all possible experimental conditions (e.g., 4) into groups, choose an arbitrary starting point, and the next four participants will be exposed to the arbitrarily ordered 4 conditions (e.g., 1, 4, 3, 2)
C) pre-arrange the order of two conditions by alternating them one after the other, then choose an arbitrary starting point when the first participant arrives (e.g., 2, 1, 2, 1…)
D) for 4 conditions, randomly determine a starting time, then use a random numbers table to determine which conditions will be administered during each hour of the day (e.g., 8:01-9:00 = condition 1; 9:01-10:00 = condition 3)

Question 9

____(a)______ realism is the extent to which the experiment resembles what participants would encounter in everyday life, while ____(b)______ realism reflects participants' engagement in the study and whether they respond naturally and spontaneously as they would outside of the experiment.

A) experimental; mundane
B) mundane; experimental
C) ordinary; extraordinary
D) analogue; role-playing

Question 10

_____(a)_____ are situations where participants respond as they would outside of the experiment. _____(b)_____ are situations where participants are asked to respond as if they were in the situation specified by the experimenter.

A) mundane realism experiments; experimental realism experiments
B) simulation experiments; analogue experiments
C) analogue experiments; simulation experiments
D) experimental realism experiments; mundane realism experiments

Question 11

Researchers wanted to investigate how groups of people make decisions, so they designed an experiment where participants would be randomly placed into groups of five and asked to consensually determine which two of six employees to lay off, as if they were executives of a company. This type of experimental condition is most likely a(n):

A) active role-playing simulation
B) passive role-playing simulation
C) active analogue experiment
D) passive analogue experiment

Question 12

Researchers were interested in how people's perceptions of others can be influenced by knowledge regarding those others' consumption of limited resources. Specifically, they designed a study where participants were asked to imagine that they were responsible for their town's energy supply, which was displayed on a computer screen, and some people were already using too much. Participants were then shown (experimentally manipulated) profiles for all people in town and in each profile it included information about the person's individual consumption rate directly above the average consumption rate in the town. The dependent variable was a scale assessing how likely it was that the participant would be friends with each person-profile. This experiment is most likely a(n):

A) active role-playing simulation
B) passive role-playing simulation
C) active analogue experiment
D) passive analogue experiment

Question 13

In a variation of the prisoner's dilemma game, participants are given $10 in "experimental chips" and asked to engage in an activity with two strangers (one of which was a computer program). At the beginning of the activity, each person's $10 is put into the collective pot. Then, in each round of 20 total rounds, participant members (two humans and a computer) had the option to withdraw none, some, or all of their money from the collective pot. The collective pot would then be replenished at a predetermined rate by the experimenter. If both human participants withdrew everything on the first round, they would end up with $9 (because of the computer participant). Thus, if participant 1 withdrew no money and participant 2 withdrew all $10, the pool would be replenished such that participant 2 could still withdraw more money the following round (i.e., participant 2 could come away with more money than she started with. This type of experiment is most likely: (circle all that apply)

A) an analogue experiment
B) a role-playing simulation
C) high in mundane realism
D) high in experimental realism

Question 14

Which of the following would NOT be an example of a simulation?

A) participants are each assigned to one of the 193 member states of a model United Nations
B) participants are assigned to groups of five and imagine that they are the board of directors of a company charged with hiring a new CEO by unanimous vote
C) participants are assigned to a group with two confederates, and then presented with an opportunity by one of the confederates to cheat on the group activity to make more money
D) participants are asked to imagine that they are a human resources director charged with ranking employee profiles on how well they will fit in with the current group of employees

Question 15

Latané and Darley (1968) designed a study where they poured smoke into the laboratory waiting room and varied the number of other people in the room with each participant. In this example, they use a(n) _____(a)_____ manipulation, as part of a(n) _____(b)_____.

A) environmental; analogue experiment
B) social; analogue experiment
C) environmental; simulation experiment
D) social; simulation experiment

Question 16

Altering the temperature in the laboratory for the length of an experiment is an example of:

A) an environmental manipulation
B) an independent variable
C) an social manipulation
D) an intervention
E) a mechanized manipulation

Question 17

Inducing happiness in participants before they complete a survey by having them reflect on pleasant moments with their families would be an example of:

A) a social manipulation
B) priming
C) an instructional manipulation - priming is a type of instructional manipulation
D) an environmental manipulation
E) embodiment

Question 18

What role does a manipulation check play in the experimental process?

A) ensures that manipulations are set up properly before the experiment takes place
B) helps limit the confounding effect of aspects of the laboratory environment
C) determines whether a researcher's treatment had the intended effect
D) provides confirmation that the measures used in the experiment are reliable
E) can help explain failed experiments

Question 19

When seeking random assignment of research participants:

A) with small samples, one by one random assignment is ideal
B) experimental conditions with larger groups of participants is better than small groups
C) group randomization is superior to block randomization
D) each individual must have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions
E) larger sample sizes generally will produce more successful randomization

Question 20

A lab experiment in which participants must make decisions about whether or not to allocate resources to a collective of fellow participants is likely to be:

A) high in both mundane and experimental realism
B) high in experimental realism, but low in mundane realism
C) high in mundane realism, but low in experimental realism
D) low in both mundane and experimental realism

Question 21

The "Prisoner's Dilemma" is an example of:

A) passive role playing
B) negotiation and bargaining games
C) active role playing
D) a social simulation
E) an international relations simulation

Question 22

Explain the "prisoner's dilemma game" (PDG). How can the PDG be a simulation or an analogue experiment? Provide two examples using the same variables to demonstrate your point, and be sure to explain how your examples reflect a simulation or analogue, respectively.

Question 23

Researchers wanted to examine the effects of nature (i.e., plants and animals) on people's mood. Provide an example of a stimulus manipulation that would accomplish this.

Question 24

Explain the differences between an environmental manipulation and a social manipulation. Using the same variables, provide examples of each to demonstrate how they are different, and be sure to explain why your examples reflect an environmental and social manipulation.

Question 25

Your research advisor wants to investigate how the severity of potential monetary consequences (high, low) and the presence of other people (0, 1, 4) influence people's willingness to cheat. However, your advisor does not have the time to do so - so you have been given the opportunity to design that study. Specifically, with these variables, create an experimental design that utilizes one environmental manipulation and one social manipulation in the context of an analogue experiment. In your response, be sure to (a) provide sufficient elaboration of your design to clearly identify which manipulation is paired with which variable; (b) explain how and why your manipulations are examples of an environmental and social manipulation; and (c) explain how and why your design is an example of an analogue experiment.

Question 26

What are some important considerations when constructing an experiment?

Question 27

What are manipulation checks, and why are they important to include in the design of a study?

Question 28

Explain the difference between experimental and mundane realism. Although establishing both is desirable, why might one be more important than the other?

Question 29

You are interested in investigating whether the presence of extremely attractive people negatively influences participants' perspective taking ability. However, you have not decided on the best way to experimentally manipulate the "presence of extremely attractive people." How could you construct an environmental manipulation of the presence of extremely attractive people? What would a stimulus manipulation of attractive people look like? How could you create a priming manipulation of the presence of attractive people? Is it possible to design an instructional manipulation of the presence of attractive people? In this example, which type of manipulation do you think would be the most effective - why?

Question 30

Sometimes using a manipulation check to verify that your experimental treatment had its intended effect only undermines the efficacy of your treatment. For example, when people are primed to feel self-uncertainty, having participants report how uncertain they feel completely undoes the effect of the uncertainty prime. In other words, given the same manipulation, we see effects in the hypothesized direction when a manipulation check for uncertainty is not used; however, if a manipulation check is used, these effects disappear. If this is the case, how do we know that our manipulation is actually manipulating uncertainty, rather than some other construct entirely? How might we be able to assess the degree of people's uncertainty caused by our manipulation without explicitly asking them how uncertain they feel?

Question 31

To what extent do you think social simulations and role-playing scenarios risk inducing participants' idealizations or normative beliefs regarding the types of people they would like to be, or what they expect others to be like, rather than accurate representations of how participants would behave if the same situation occurred in real life? That is, in simulations and role-playing scenarios, are participants more likely to base their behavior on subjective (what others think you should do) and injunctive norms (what you think you ought to do), rather than descriptive norms (what you and other people actually do)? In other words, since simulations obviously occur in a controlled laboratory setting, are participants more likely to alter their behavior, even slightly, to improve the self-image they present to the experimenter, or to conform to certain group norms? How problematic is this possibility? How likely is this possibility?