Question 1

Which of the following is true about studies that potentially increase mortality salience in participants?
A)Mortality salience is classified as a physical risk.
B)Studies which increase mortality salience are unethical.
C)Stress from mortality salience is typically short term and can be an acceptable risk.
D)Studies which increase mortality salience are always acceptable.

Accepted Answer

The stress from mortality salience is typically short-term and considered an acceptable risk in research. However, studies must still take measures to minimize harm to participants, and ethical guidelines must be followed to ensure participant safety. Mortality salience is not classified as a physical risk, and studies that increase mortality salience may not always be acceptable or ethical.

Question 2

_______________ are a set of techniques used to organize,summarize,and interpret dat a.
A)Central tendencies
B)Inferential statistics
C)Distributions
D)Descriptive statistics

Accepted Answer

Descriptive statistics are used to organize, summarize, and interpret data through measures like mean, median, mode, variance, and standard deviation. Central tendencies (choice A) refer to measures like mean, median, and mode that represent the center of a distribution. Inferential statistics (choice B) are used to draw conclusions or make predictions about a population based on a sample. Distributions (choice C) refer to the way data is spread out or distributed across different values. Therefore, the best choice is D.

Question 3

Participants in modern psychology experiments are given the right to:
A)choose which treatment group they are in.
B)withhold responses to questions they feel uncomfortable answering.
C)review the results of the study before they are published.
D)write a formal response to the published paper.

Accepted Answer

Participants have the right to withhold responses to questions they feel uncomfortable answering, but they do not have the right to choose which treatment group they are in, review the results of the study before they are published, or write a formal response to the published paper. These decisions are typically made by the researchers conducting the study.

Question 4

Which of these is an essential concern regarding ethical principles for human research?
A)Research participants must give informed consent.
B)Research participants must be deceived so that they do not know the true nature of the research to which they are contributing.
C)Research participants must be paid for their contribution.
D)As long as informed consent has been given,research participants may be subjected to any level of physical or psychological pain or discomfort.

Accepted Answer

Informed consent is an essential concern in ethical principles for human research. It ensures that research participants are fully informed about the research they are contributing to and have voluntarily given their consent to participate. Deceiving participants or subjecting them to pain or discomfort without their consent is a violation of ethical principles. Being paid for their contribution may be a concern, but it is not essential for ethical research.

Question 5

In general,what should researchers do with data after the results of a study have been published?
A)Destroy it immediately.
B)Keep it forever.
C)Keep it secure for around 25 to 50 years.
D)Keep it secure for around 3 to 5 years.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In general,what should researchers do with data...

Question 6

Kendra serves on a committee whose job is to review proposed psychology studies.The committee refuses to approve one study because they feel the possible benefit from the research is too little given the potential risk to the participants.Kendra's committee is most accurately called an _________________.
A)ethics commission
B)inquisition
C)academic safety advisory committee
D)institutional review board

Accepted Answer

An institutional review board (IRB) is a committee that reviews research proposals to ensure that the rights and welfare of human subjects are protected. They review studies to make sure that the potential benefits justify the risks to participants, which is consistent with the decision Kendra's committee made.

Question 7

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is often cited as an example of:
A)unethical research on animals.
B)unethical research on human beings.
C)why it is sometimes necessary to deceive participants.
D)why IRBs sometimes cause more harm than good.

Accepted Answer

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was a biomedical research study conducted by the United States Public Health Service from 1932 to 1972 that involved denying treatment to African American men who had syphilis. The study continued even after the discovery of penicillin as a successful treatment for the disease, and the men were not informed about their diagnosis or the nature of the study. This study is widely considered to be an egregious violation of research ethics and is often cited as an example of the unethical treatment of human participants in research.

Question 8

Dr.Johansen randomly assigned subjects to three different groups during her last experiment.She then proceeded to give all the participants in the experiment a new study technique designed to enhance their learning for the upcoming test.What critical error did she make during her experiment?
A)She failed to identify the independent variable.
B)She failed to identify the dependent variable.
C)She failed to include an experimental group.
D)She failed to include a control group.

Accepted Answer

Dr. Johansen failed to include a control group. Without a control group, there is no way to know if the new study technique actually had an effect on learning or if any changes in test scores were due to other factors. A control group is necessary to establish a baseline for comparison and to ensure that any observed effects are truly due to the independent variable (in this case, the new study technique).

Question 9

According to your text,which of the following is true of the use of animal research in psychology?
A)Animal research is important for several reasons,but it requires attention to many of the same ethical issues that apply to human research.
B)All animal research must be ended as soon as is possible because it is generally cruel.
C)Animal research is misguided because psychology is the study of human behavior.
D)Animal research is useful because risk and discomfort to non-human subjects do not need to be addressed.

Accepted Answer

The text states that animal research is important but requires attention to ethical issues. It also notes that many researchers argue it is necessary for understanding human behavior. The text does not support the ideas in choices B or D, and choice C is incorrect as the text acknowledges the importance of animal research in psychology.

Question 10

In order to organize and summarize a large set of data,use a set of mathematical techniques called
A)hypothesis testing.
B)inferential statistics.
C)descriptive statistics.
D)variability testing.

Accepted Answer

Descriptive statistics are used to summarize and organize large sets of data by using measures such as mean, median, and mode. Hypothesis testing and inferential statistics are used to draw conclusions about a larger population based on a sample of data, whereas variability testing is a specific type of statistical analysis that measures the variation within a set of data.

Question 11

Professor Wagner is explaining to his subjects the purpose behind the experiment they just participated in,along with a general description of the results.He is engaging in what aspect of a research study?
A)debriefing
B)informed consent
C)institutional review
D)deception

Accepted Answer

Professor Wagner is engaging in debriefing, which is the process of explaining the purpose of the study and the results to the participants after they have completed their participation.

Question 12

The group that receives the manipulation of an independent variable is called the _______________.
A)control group
B)dependent group
C)experimental group.
D)independent group

Accepted Answer

The experimental group receives the manipulation of the independent variable, while the control group does not receive any manipulation and serves as a comparison group. The dependent group does not make sense in this context, and the independent group is not a commonly used term in experimental research.

Question 13

Dr.Nolen wants to know the effects of removing portions of one's hippocampi on long-term memory,in the hopes of one day finding a cure for patients with Alzheimer's disease.The subjects for his study are most likely to be ___________.
A)humans
B)nonhuman animals
C)robots
D)insects

Accepted Answer

Nonhuman animals are most likely to be the subjects for such a study due to ethical concerns and the complexity of conducting invasive brain research on humans. Animal models allow for controlled experimentation on brain structures like the hippocampus, which is crucial for understanding memory processes relevant to Alzheimer's disease.

Question 14

Confidentiality requires researchers to do which of the following?
A)Provide complete anonymity when collecting data.
B)Erase all confidential data as soon as the results of the study are published.
C)Use a double-blind procedure.
D)Remove any specific information that can be connected with a participant when sharing data.

Accepted Answer

Confidentiality requires researchers to remove any specific information that can be connected with a participant when sharing data. This means that the researcher must protect the identity of the participant and ensure that their personal information is not disclosed to anyone who is not authorized to see it. It is important for the researcher to maintain confidentiality in order to gain the trust of the participants and to ensure that they feel safe and protected during the study. Erasing all confidential data after publication might also help in protecting confidentiality, but it is not always necessary. Anonymity and double-blind procedures are related to confidentiality, but they are not the same thing. Anonymity means that the participant's identity is unknown to the researcher, while a double-blind procedure means that both the researcher and the participant are unaware of which group they are in during the study.

Question 15

Which of the following is an advantage of using non-human subjects in psychology research?
A)Research on non-humans does not have to be reviewed by ethics committees.
B)Many lab animals have relatively short life spans,so several generations can be observed.
C)Researchers do not have to justify risk and discomfort by the potential scientific value of the research.
D)There are no advantages of animal research over human research.

Accepted Answer

Observing several generations of lab animals allows for longitudinal studies not possible with humans due to lifespan constraints.

Question 16

What is the purpose of an institutional review board?
A)to help protect research participants from abuse
B)to hinder the research process by placing unnecessary hurdles in the way of researchers
C)to help protect the university from lawsuits from unhappy research participants
D)to encourage the use of deception in medical and psychological research with humans

Accepted Answer

The purpose of an institutional review board (IRB) is to protect research participants from any harm or unethical practices, including abuse, by reviewing and approving research studies before they can be conducted. The IRB also ensures that informed consent is given by participants and that privacy and confidentiality are maintained. Its main objective is not to hinder the research process but to ensure that it is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner. While protecting the university from lawsuits may be a potential benefit of the IRB process, it is not its primary purpose. Finally, the use of deception in medical and psychological research with humans is highly regulated and must be carefully justified and approved by the IRB.

Question 17

What is informed consent?
A)Volunteers agree to participate in a study after the purpose,tasks,and risks of the study are explained to them.
B)IRBs must be informed about the purpose,tasks,and risks of a study before they approve it.
C)Researchers agree to be legally responsible for the physical and psychological safety of their participants.
D)Participants must be informed of the results of the study they participated in and give their consent before the research is published.

Accepted Answer

Informed consent is the process of ensuring that volunteers fully understand the purpose, tasks, and risks of a study before they agree to participate. This involves giving them all of the necessary information and time to ask questions before they make a decision.

Question 18

Quasi-experimental designs are similar to true experimental designs,except for what difference?
A)random assignment is not possible
B)there is more than one independent variable
C)there is more than one dependent variable
D)there is no dependent variable

Accepted Answer

The main difference between quasi-experimental and true experimental designs is that random assignment is not possible in quasi-experimental designs. This is because the groups being studied are already pre-existing, rather than being randomly assigned to different groups. Quasi-experimental designs also often lack the same level of control and manipulation of variables that true experimental designs have.

Question 19

If researchers wanted to study the effect of various factors on reaction time,which factor would require the researchers to use a quasi-experimental design instead of an experimental design?
A)alcohol
B)sleep deprivation
C)gender
D)caffeine

Accepted Answer

Gender is not a variable that can be manipulated by the researchers, as participants cannot be randomly assigned to be male or female. Therefore, a quasi-experimental design would be needed to study the effect of gender on reaction time, where pre-existing groups of male and female participants are compared. The other factors listed (alcohol, sleep deprivation, caffeine) can be manipulated by the researchers and thus could be studied using experimental designs.

Question 20

What effect does the planned use of deception have on the approval of a study?
A)Studies with deception can be approved,but only if the deception is necessary and the risk to participants is minimal.
B)The use of deception has no effect on the likelihood the study will be approved.
C)Studies that involve deception go through a different approval process.
D)Studies with deception are never approved.

Accepted Answer

Studies with deception can be approved, but only if the deception is necessary and the risk to participants is minimal. Institutional review boards (IRBs) carefully review studies that involve deception to ensure that the deception is justified and necessary. If the deception is deemed necessary and the risk to participants is minimal, then the study can be approved.

Quiz 2: Reading and Evaluating Scientific Research

Which of the following is true about studies that potentially increase mortality salience in participants?

_______________ are a set of techniques used to organize,summarize,and interpret dat a.

Participants in modern psychology experiments are given the right to:

Which of these is an essential concern regarding ethical principles for human research?

In general,what should researchers do with data after the results of a study have been published?

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is often cited as an example of:

Dr.Johansen randomly assigned subjects to three different groups during her last experiment.She then proceeded to give all the participants in the experiment a new study technique designed to enhance their learning for the upcoming test.What critical error did she make during her experiment?

According to your text,which of the following is true of the use of animal research in psychology?

In order to organize and summarize a large set of data,use a set of mathematical techniques called

Professor Wagner is explaining to his subjects the purpose behind the experiment they just participated in,along with a general description of the results.He is engaging in what aspect of a research study?

The group that receives the manipulation of an independent variable is called the _______________.

Dr.Nolen wants to know the effects of removing portions of one's hippocampi on long-term memory,in the hopes of one day finding a cure for patients with Alzheimer's disease.The subjects for his study are most likely to be ___________.

Confidentiality requires researchers to do which of the following?

Which of the following is an advantage of using non-human subjects in psychology research?

What is the purpose of an institutional review board?

What is informed consent?

Quasi-experimental designs are similar to true experimental designs,except for what difference?

If researchers wanted to study the effect of various factors on reaction time,which factor would require the researchers to use a quasi-experimental design instead of an experimental design?

What effect does the planned use of deception have on the approval of a study?