Question 1

What is an independent variable? Give examples of different types of independent variables (participant, stimulus, physiological, experience).

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is an independent variable? Give examples...

Question 2

Jose would like to do a study in which each participant is exposed to 12 different treatments. Which kind of counterbalancing would be easiest for him to implement?

Accepted Answer

Incomplete counterbalancing is often easier to implement because it does not require every possible order of treatments to be used, which is more feasible when dealing with a large number of treatments like 12.

Question 3

In _________ counterbalancing, each participant must experience each condition more than once.

Accepted Answer

Within-subject counterbalancing requires each participant to experience each condition more than once.

Question 4

_________ counterbalancing means that all possible treatment sequences are presented.

Accepted Answer

Complete counterbalancing involves presenting all possible sequences of treatments to control for order effects in an experiment.

Question 5

In _________ counterbalancing, only a portion of all possible sequences are presented.

Accepted Answer

In incomplete counterbalancing, only a portion of all possible sequences are presented. This is done to reduce the number of trials required, which can be important in studies with a large number of conditions.

Question 6

A researcher would like to compare the effectiveness of two drugs to treat anxiety. He gives Drug A to a participant and then gives Drug B to that same participant 12 hours later. Unfortunately, Drug A is not fully out of the participant's system yet, so the study is contaminated by

Accepted Answer

The carryover effect occurs when the effects of a previous treatment (Drug A) are still present and influence the response to a subsequent treatment (Drug B).

Question 7

What is an operational definition? Why is it important for researchers to use operational definitions? Give an example of an operational definition.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is an operational definition? Why is...

Question 8

Which of the following control techniques is most applicable to studies in which the participants are in all the conditions of the experiment?

Accepted Answer

Counterbalancing is used to control for order effects in repeated measures designs where participants are exposed to all conditions.

Question 9

Dennis would like to conduct a study in which participants taste five different brands of jam and decide which one they like best. To control for order effects, Dennis should use

Accepted Answer

Counterbalancing is used to control for order effects by varying the order in which participants experience conditions, ensuring that each condition is equally likely to occur at each position.

Question 10

Harry decides to use incomplete counterbalancing for his study in which each participant is exposed to six different treatments over the course of the study. He decides to randomly select the sequences he will use. Which requirement of counterbalancing is he likely to violate?

Accepted Answer

Each treatment must occur an equal number of times at each testing or practice session, and each treatment must precede and follow each of the other treatments an equal number of times.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT one of the guidelines for within-group counterbalancing?

Accepted Answer

Within-group counterbalancing does not require each participant to experience each condition more than once; it focuses on balancing the order of conditions across participants.

Question 12

Within-_______ counterbalancing refers to the presentation of different treatment sequences to the same participant, and within-_________ counterbalancing refers to the presentation of different treatment sequences to different participants.

Accepted Answer

Within-subject counterbalancing involves presenting different treatment sequences to the same participant, while within-group counterbalancing involves presenting different treatment sequences to different participants.

Question 13

When the position of a treatment in a series determines, in part, the participants' responses, the researcher is dealing with

Accepted Answer

Order effects occur when the sequence in which treatments are presented affects the participants' responses.

Question 14

Why is a "participant" independent variable different from other kinds of independent variables?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is a "participant" independent variable different...

Question 15

___________ is a procedure for controlling order effects by presenting different treatment sequences.

Accepted Answer

Counterbalancing is used to control order effects by varying the order of conditions for different participants.

Question 16

Susan conducts a study to determine which method is most effective in treating depression. Each participant receives two months of behavioral therapy, two months of cognitive therapy, and two months of humanistic therapy using a completely counterbalanced design. Susan finds that whatever type of therapy is last produces the most benefits. Susan has encountered a problem known as

Accepted Answer

Order effects occur when the order in which treatments are administered affects the outcome, as seen in Susan's study where the last therapy always shows the most benefits.

Question 17

Jeremy would like to do a study in which each participant is exposed to four different treatment conditions. In order to do complete counterbalancing, Jeremy will need a minimum of ________ participants.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Jeremy would like to do a study...

Question 18

A researcher is interested in creating equivalent groups in her experiment. If potential extraneous variables are unknown, she should use _________ and if the extraneous variables are known, she should use __________.

Accepted Answer

Randomization is used to create equivalent groups when extraneous variables are unknown, as it helps distribute these variables evenly across groups. Balancing is used when extraneous variables are known, to ensure they are equally represented in each group.

Question 19

When the effects of one treatment persist and influence responses to the next treatment, the researcher has the problem of

Accepted Answer

Carryover effects occur when the effects of one treatment persist and influence responses to the next treatment.

Question 20

What is a variable? How many values should a variable have, and why should it have that many values?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is a variable? How many values...

Quiz 6: Conducting a Good Experiment I: Variables and Control