Quiz 2: Doing Health Psychology

Which of the following is FALSE? A)There are a variety of research designs in Health Psychology. B)Research that has been published and passed the test of independent review is called "peer reviewed." C)The journal Health Psychology contains articles focused on the extent to which health-improving behaviors are practiced rather than examining psychological well-being. D)Although there are different ways to measure the key elements of health, all research in the field of health psychology relies on the scientific method.

Lu and colleagues (2017) evaluated the benefits of expressive writing among Chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors in the U.S.There were two conditions of expressive writing with different directions and a control group who wrote about the facts of having cancer.This would be considered ______. A)a descriptive study B)an intervention study C)an epidemiological study D)a normative study

The proportion of the population that has a particular disease at a particular time refers to ______. A)mortality B)prevalence rate C)morbidity D)incidence rate

Dr.Chew studied the frequency of new cases of the HPV virus in adolescents in the U.S.during a 2018.He was studying ______. A)mortality B)prevalence rate C)morbidity D)incidence rate

The p value, or probability value, is influenced by ______. A)the geographical location of participants B)the sample size C)the diversity of the participants D)the education level of participants

This is one critical factor in a research study that can make previously insignificant changes significant. A)ethical use of participants B)researcher credibility C)funding sources D)increasing the sample size

Dr.Oliver is investigating whether depression is a determinant of the development of cardiovascular disease.To measures the strength of the relation between depression and cardiovascular disease, she would use a(n) ______. A)incidence rate B)retrospective study C)prevalence rate D)correlation coefficient

Rates of smoking go up as SES goes down.This is an example of ______. A)a positive correlation B)a partial correlation C)a negative correlation D)multivariate analysis of variance

Which is the strongest correlation listed? A).34 B)-.23 C).56 D)-.76

A researcher found that children reporting more depressive symptoms also had a greater percentage of body fat.This is an example of ______. A)a positive correlation B)a partial correlation C)a negative correlation D)logistic regression

When only the relation between two variables is tested (e.g., shift work and depressive symptoms), this is called a(n) ______. A)partial correlation B)direct correlation C)effect size D)odds ratio

Dr.Galloti calculated a(n) ______, a statistic that measures the relation between two variables while controlling for a third variable. A)partial correlation B)direct correlation C)effect size D)odds ratio

Upon reading the results section of a study, you see r =.38.The "r" refers to ______. A)a correlation B)a mediator value C)an effect size D)an odds ratio

Which of the following p values indicates the strongest significance? A)p <.08 B)p < .05 C)p < .01 D)p < .001

Experiments are powerful and help determine cause because the experimenter manipulates a variable between groups holding other factors constant.This manipulated variable is the ______. A)independent variable B)extraneous variable C)dependent variable D)control variable

Sometimes researchers cannot manipulate some of the variables they are most interested in (e.g., having thyroid cancer).We use naturally occurring groups.This form of research is known as ______. A)correlational B)clinical trials C)quasi-experimental D)randomized controlled trials

Researchers look at how close to ______ their correlational value is and whether it is statistically significant. A)1 B)5 C)10 D)20

In an experimental design that investigates the effects of stress on heart rate in middle-age men, the dependent variable would be ______. A)stress B)heart rate C)age D)gender

Inactive substances that appear similar to the experimental drugs given to test the power of expectations are called ______. A)controls B)placebos C)moderators D)dependent variables

Students were told that they were part of a clinical trial, testing a new topical anesthetic, Trivaricane.They were told that it had proved effective in studies at other universities.In reality, it had NO medical properties.One index finger was rubbed with Trivaricane; the other index finger was left untreated.Next, a mildly painful electrical shock was administered to both fingers.After 1 minute, subjects were asked to rate the pain intensity.The result was an overwhelming decrease in pain for fingers treated with the Trivaricane.This is an example of ______. A)the partial correlation effect B)the placebo effect C)the hazard ratio D)the moderator effect

Researchers examined the impact of alcohol advertising on adolescents' drinking beliefs.Participants carried handheld devices throughout the day and recorded each alcohol ad as they encountered it.After logging each ad, they completed a short survey assessing their alcohol-related beliefs at that moment.In addition, at three random times during the day, the device signaled students to complete the same survey.Beliefs about alcohol were more positive at moments of exposure to ads compared to these random (control) moments.The alcohol-related beliefs were the ______. A)Independent variable B)control variable C)dependent variable D)prospective variable

In health psychological research is often impractical and unethical to manipulate certain variables of interest (e.g., whether a person has diabetes, whether they smoke).Consequently, researchers have to rely on naturally occurring groups.Such designs are referred to as ______. A)randomized controlled trials B)quasi-experimental designs C)placebo designs D)experimental designs

Hoyt and colleagues (2014) randomly assigned participants to receive a message about the origin of obesity.Participants read either a recent New York Times article discussing the decision of the American Medical Association to categorize obesity as a disease or a control article offering a standard information-based public-health message about weight.They then looked at how message type affected food choices (high vs.low calorie foods).The message type is the ______. A)independent variable B)dependent variable C)control variable D)demographic variable

Participants in the Women's Health Initiative study were given either hormone replacement pills or a placebo.Postmenopausal women were followed over time and the researchers discovered that women taking the pills were more at risk for heart disease.As a result, the study was stopped before completion.This was an example of: A)a randomized controlled trial. B)a quasi-experiment C)cross-sectional study D)mediation study

______ means that the active intervention, not other factors, caused the observed changes in the outcome. A)The placebo effect B)Internal validity C)External validity D)Statistical significance

The Nurses' Health Study and the Women's Health Initiative are both examples of ______. A)prospective studies B)retrospective studies C)meta-analyses D)case studies

______ is the intervening process (variable) through which an antecedent variable influences and outcome variable. A)Replication B)Mediation C)Moderation D)Meta-analysis

In a study of male and female college students, researchers found that more stress leads people to ask for more social support, which leads them to feel better.In this case ______ is a mediator. A)stress B)social support C)feeling better (increased positive mood) D)sex

In a 2017 article in The Atlantic, Jean Twenge argued that the more time teens spend looking at screens (e.g., smartphones), the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression.This conclusion came from analysis of data from the Monitoring the Future survey, an ongoing study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents that started in 1975.In this research, the independent variable is ______. A)time spent looking at screens B)depression C)number of friends in their social circle D)geographic location of the adolescent

Which of the following is less likely than the rest to be included as a measure in a health psychology study? A)surveys B)questionnaires C)diaries D)cortisol levels

A researcher would be most likely to use medication events monitoring systems (MEMS) when conducting research on ______. A)expressive writing among cancer patients B)anger and hostility among patients with heart failure C)adherence D)the impact of risk information on the decision to drink and drive

______ are used to predict the likelihood of an outcome from a list of variables. A)P-values B)ANOVAs C)Regressions D)Meta-analyses

Kim and Anagondahalli (2017) examined college students' consideration of future consequences (CFC) as a predictor of energy drink consumption.Their first hypothesis was that individuals low in CFC would be more likely to consume energy drinks than those high in CFC.The statistic they reported to answer this question was a(n) ______. A)prevalence rate B)incidence rate C)odds ratio D)correlation

Kim and Anagondahalli (2017) examined college students' consideration of future consequences (CFC) as a predictor of energy drink consumption.Specifically, they examined whether CFC was a predictor of various health beliefs.One of their hypotheses was that individuals high in CFC would perceive greater levels of severity of energy drink-associated risks, greater benefits of abstaining from energy drinks, and fewer barriers in abstaining from energy drinks.The statistic they used to answer this questions was ______. A)a correlation B)a regression C)a meta-analysis D)an incidence rate

A recent study examined the effects of caregiving status (former, current, or bereaved) on the development of physical morbidity among long-term cancer caregivers.Family caregivers were studied at two and five years after the patients' cancer diagnosis.This is an example of a ______ study. A)incidence rate B)retrospective C)longitudinal D)cross-sectional

P-hacking refers to ______. A)researchers collecting or selecting data until nonsignificant results become significant B)an insignificant hazard ratio C)biased results caused by lack of diversity in the sample D)p-values less than .05

Studies that follow a group of people for a number of years to determine whether certain variables predict disease are called ______. A)incidence rate studies B)retrospective C)prospective D)cross-sectional

______ refers to the likelihood that a study will detect an effect when there is an effect there to be detected. A)External validity B)Statistical power C)Reliability D)P-hacking

Studies where one group gets an experimental drug and another gets a placebo are called ______. A)randomized clinical trials B)quasi-experimental studies C)correlational studies D)covariance studies

An experiment is being conducted to determine the effects of caffeine intake on student performance.One group is made to drink 5 cups of coffee, the other group drinks 1 cup of coffee.They then take the exam.The independent variable is ______. A)the amount of caffeine consumed B)how alert the students are during the exam C)the group membership D)the students' performance on the exam

The p-value is an indication of ______. A)statistical significance B)internal validity C)eternal validity D)reliability

Researchers select individuals who are HIV positive, and those who are not HIV positive, and train both in a certain form of coping.After a year, their health and well-being are compared and measured.This design is most likely a(n) ______. A)correlation B)retrospective C)experiment D)quasi-experiment

An odds ratio of 1.0 suggests ______. A)the phenomenon is equally likely in both groups B)the study is unlikely to be able to be replicated C)the researcher engaged in p-hacking D)a perfect correlation

There is often more than one variable influencing the other and to statistically control for this, researchers use a ______. A)partial correlation B)meta-analysis C)randomized controlled trial D)quasi-experimental design

The analytical research question whether men or women have a higher occurrence of heart attacks is called ______. A)regression analysis B)absolute risk C)cross-sectional D)odds ratio

Both the odds ratios and hazard ratio relate to ______. A)relative risk B)prevalence rate C)incidence rate D)the diversity of the sample

Dr.Varga reported the number of new cases of melanoma in 2017.She is reporting ______. A)the odds ratio B)the prevalence rate C)the incidence rate D)the predictive validity

If a researcher wanted to determine whether there was a significant difference between the Body Mass Index (BMI) scores of men and women she would use a(n) ______. A)correlation B)meta-analysis C)ANOVA D)regression analysis

______ refers to a person's chance of developing a disease independent of any risk that other people may have. A)Absolute risk B)The odds ratio C)Prospective risk D)Logistic risk

In the classic study Alameda County study (Berkman & Syme, 1979), almost 7,000 people were asked about their social and community ties, and their death rate was tracked over 9 years.Results showed that those with fewer social and community ties were more likely to die during this period than were people with many such ties.This is an example of a(n) ______. A)replication study B)cross-sectional study C)longitudinal study D)meta-analysis

The best way to determine cause and effect is to use a correlational design.

Prospective studies are a type of longitudinal study.

If a researcher wanted to know the risk of developing lung cancer for smokes compared to the risk for those who never smoked, she would calculate the relative risk.

Both ANOVAS and MANOVAS test for differences between group means.

A researcher reported the number of people per 1,000 in the U.S.who are living with HIV.That researcher was reporting the prevalence rate.

Age, ethnicity, and stress can be moderators, but they can never be mediators.

Health psychologists agree that the best way to measure health is to define health in terms of the extent to which health improving behaviors are practiced.

Health psychology is different from other psychology fields in that it relies less on the scientific method and more on experience and common sense.

Regarding research findings, all statistically significant change is meaningful change.

Because using naturally occurring groups is not a perfect experiment, such designs are referred to as quasi-experimental designs, and the independent variables are called subject variables.

What is a research question a health psychologist might investigate using a retrospective study? What is one advantage of a retrospective study over a prospective study?

A researcher wants to determine the influence of a high fat diet on colon cancer.Explain why the researcher would need to use a quasi-experimental design.In addition, clearly label the independent (subject) variable and dependent variable.

Explain what a randomized controlled trial is.Why it is considered the gold standard in research? In other words, what are the benefits of this method over others?

Give an example of a correlational study a health psychologist would conduct.Clearly state the hypothesis, the independent, and the dependent variables.What would be the limitation of this study?

Briefly describe an intervention designed to get adolescents who vape/have been using e-cigarettes to quit.Describe their demographics and how you would you recruit your sample.What research design and statistics would you use to examine whether the intervention was effective?