PSYCHOLOGY 255 UPDATED EXAMS SCRIPT
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔posttest-only design - ✔✔an experiment using an independent-groups design in
which participants are tested on the dependent variable only once
✔✔pretest-posttest design - ✔✔An experiment using an independent-groups design in
which participants are tested on the key dependent variable twice: once before and
once after exposure to the independent variable.
✔✔concurrent-measures design - ✔✔An experiment using a within-groups design in
which participants are exposed to all the levels of an independent variable at roughly
the same time, and a single attitudinal or behavioral preference is the dependent
variable.
✔✔repeated measures design - ✔✔An experiment using a within-groups design in
which participants respond to a dependent variable more than once, after exposure to
each level of the independent variable.
✔✔power - ✔✔the likelihood that a study will show a statistically significant results when
some effect is truly present in the population; the probability of not making a Type II
error
,✔✔order effects - ✔✔in a within-groups design, a threat to internal validity in which
exposure to one condition changes participants' responses to a later condition
✔✔practice effects - ✔✔a type of order effect in which people's performance improves
over time because they become practiced at the dependent measure (not because of
the manipulation or treatment)
✔✔carryover effects - ✔✔A type of order effect, in which some form of contamination
carries over from one condition to the next.
✔✔Counterbalancing - ✔✔in an repeated-measures experiment, presenting the levels
of the independent variable to participants in different sequences to control for order
effects
✔✔full counterbalancing - ✔✔a method of counterbalancing in which all possible
condition orders are represented
✔✔partial counterbalancing - ✔✔a method of counterbalancing in which some, but not
all, of the possible condition orders are represented
✔✔Latin square - ✔✔A formal system of partial counterbalancing that ensures that each
condition in a within-groups design appears in each position at least once.
✔✔demand characteristics - ✔✔a threat to internal validity that occurs when some cue
leads participants to guess a study's hypotheses or goals
✔✔manipulation check - ✔✔In an experiment, an extra dependent variable researchers
can include to determine how well an experimental manipulation worked.
✔✔pilot study - ✔✔a study completed before (or sometimes after) the study of primary
interest, usually to test the effectiveness or characteristics of the manipulations
✔✔Emma is planning an experiment to examine whether reading to children increases
their vocabulary size. She plans to measure the vocabulary size of a group of 18-month-
olds, read to them three times a week for three months, then measure their vocabulary
size again. How could Emma change the design of the study to remove a major threat
to internal validity? - ✔✔She could add a comparison group.
✔✔A city in California has asked Professor Rodriguez to conduct an experiment on
earthquake preparedness. Professor Rodriguez will assess the preparedness of a
random sample of residents in the city and the city will mail out their annual brochure on
earthquake safety. Then, two weeks later, he will again assess the preparedness of
those residents. Right after the brochures are mailed, a large earthquake is reported in
Japan. What threat to internal validity does this pose? - ✔✔history
, ✔✔Which threat to internal validity occurs when there is a greater systematic loss of
participants in one condition than the other condition? - ✔✔attrition
✔✔As part of an experiment on the effects of behavior modeling, a set of raters are
evaluating the prosocial behavior in a series of videotapes of a class of preschoolers.
Initially, the raters were quite strict in their ratings, but after three hours of rating, their
criteria had changed. What type of threat to internal validity has occurred? -
✔✔instrumentation
✔✔Some internal validity threats can be addressed simply by including a comparison
group, while other internal validity threats can occur even in studies with a comparison
group. Which of the following threats to internal validity would be improved with the
inclusion of a comparison group? - ✔✔maturation threats
✔✔Which of the following is NOT a problem that may contribute to a null effect in a
study? - ✔✔large sample size
✔✔The students in a 50-student Introductory Psychology class were randomly assigned
to one of two review sessions, each being taught with a different technique. The next
day, every student got all 10 of the test questions correct. What problem does Professor
Zhao have in determining the better teaching technique for review sessions? -
✔✔ceiling effect
✔✔In an experiment on improving children's handwriting, two different techniques of
improving handwriting and a control condition are used. Using a pretest/posttest design,
both groups who received the treatment showed more improvement than the control
group. However, the two groups didn't show any difference from each other. The
researcher believes that there is a difference, but that the 5-point assessment scale of
handwriting cannot detect it. What measurement problem is the researcher concerned
with? - ✔✔insensitive measures
✔✔Jared is conducting an experiment with ESP (extrasensory perception) training. He
begins with a pretest of his 40 participants and divides them into two groups based on
their scores. The participants with the 10 lowest scores are given extensive training on
how to detect the signals. The participants with the 30 highest scores are given no
training. Both groups are retested and the average score of the participants with the
training improved, while the average score of the participants without the training
actually fell. What threat to internal validity should Jared consider? - ✔✔regression
✔✔Lucia is interested in studying discrimination in hiring. She designs an experiment in
which the participant takes the role of an employer looking at job candidates for a
specific position. Each participant is given two very similar resumés—one of a candidate
with a female name and one of a candidate with a male name—and is then asked to
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔posttest-only design - ✔✔an experiment using an independent-groups design in
which participants are tested on the dependent variable only once
✔✔pretest-posttest design - ✔✔An experiment using an independent-groups design in
which participants are tested on the key dependent variable twice: once before and
once after exposure to the independent variable.
✔✔concurrent-measures design - ✔✔An experiment using a within-groups design in
which participants are exposed to all the levels of an independent variable at roughly
the same time, and a single attitudinal or behavioral preference is the dependent
variable.
✔✔repeated measures design - ✔✔An experiment using a within-groups design in
which participants respond to a dependent variable more than once, after exposure to
each level of the independent variable.
✔✔power - ✔✔the likelihood that a study will show a statistically significant results when
some effect is truly present in the population; the probability of not making a Type II
error
,✔✔order effects - ✔✔in a within-groups design, a threat to internal validity in which
exposure to one condition changes participants' responses to a later condition
✔✔practice effects - ✔✔a type of order effect in which people's performance improves
over time because they become practiced at the dependent measure (not because of
the manipulation or treatment)
✔✔carryover effects - ✔✔A type of order effect, in which some form of contamination
carries over from one condition to the next.
✔✔Counterbalancing - ✔✔in an repeated-measures experiment, presenting the levels
of the independent variable to participants in different sequences to control for order
effects
✔✔full counterbalancing - ✔✔a method of counterbalancing in which all possible
condition orders are represented
✔✔partial counterbalancing - ✔✔a method of counterbalancing in which some, but not
all, of the possible condition orders are represented
✔✔Latin square - ✔✔A formal system of partial counterbalancing that ensures that each
condition in a within-groups design appears in each position at least once.
✔✔demand characteristics - ✔✔a threat to internal validity that occurs when some cue
leads participants to guess a study's hypotheses or goals
✔✔manipulation check - ✔✔In an experiment, an extra dependent variable researchers
can include to determine how well an experimental manipulation worked.
✔✔pilot study - ✔✔a study completed before (or sometimes after) the study of primary
interest, usually to test the effectiveness or characteristics of the manipulations
✔✔Emma is planning an experiment to examine whether reading to children increases
their vocabulary size. She plans to measure the vocabulary size of a group of 18-month-
olds, read to them three times a week for three months, then measure their vocabulary
size again. How could Emma change the design of the study to remove a major threat
to internal validity? - ✔✔She could add a comparison group.
✔✔A city in California has asked Professor Rodriguez to conduct an experiment on
earthquake preparedness. Professor Rodriguez will assess the preparedness of a
random sample of residents in the city and the city will mail out their annual brochure on
earthquake safety. Then, two weeks later, he will again assess the preparedness of
those residents. Right after the brochures are mailed, a large earthquake is reported in
Japan. What threat to internal validity does this pose? - ✔✔history
, ✔✔Which threat to internal validity occurs when there is a greater systematic loss of
participants in one condition than the other condition? - ✔✔attrition
✔✔As part of an experiment on the effects of behavior modeling, a set of raters are
evaluating the prosocial behavior in a series of videotapes of a class of preschoolers.
Initially, the raters were quite strict in their ratings, but after three hours of rating, their
criteria had changed. What type of threat to internal validity has occurred? -
✔✔instrumentation
✔✔Some internal validity threats can be addressed simply by including a comparison
group, while other internal validity threats can occur even in studies with a comparison
group. Which of the following threats to internal validity would be improved with the
inclusion of a comparison group? - ✔✔maturation threats
✔✔Which of the following is NOT a problem that may contribute to a null effect in a
study? - ✔✔large sample size
✔✔The students in a 50-student Introductory Psychology class were randomly assigned
to one of two review sessions, each being taught with a different technique. The next
day, every student got all 10 of the test questions correct. What problem does Professor
Zhao have in determining the better teaching technique for review sessions? -
✔✔ceiling effect
✔✔In an experiment on improving children's handwriting, two different techniques of
improving handwriting and a control condition are used. Using a pretest/posttest design,
both groups who received the treatment showed more improvement than the control
group. However, the two groups didn't show any difference from each other. The
researcher believes that there is a difference, but that the 5-point assessment scale of
handwriting cannot detect it. What measurement problem is the researcher concerned
with? - ✔✔insensitive measures
✔✔Jared is conducting an experiment with ESP (extrasensory perception) training. He
begins with a pretest of his 40 participants and divides them into two groups based on
their scores. The participants with the 10 lowest scores are given extensive training on
how to detect the signals. The participants with the 30 highest scores are given no
training. Both groups are retested and the average score of the participants with the
training improved, while the average score of the participants without the training
actually fell. What threat to internal validity should Jared consider? - ✔✔regression
✔✔Lucia is interested in studying discrimination in hiring. She designs an experiment in
which the participant takes the role of an employer looking at job candidates for a
specific position. Each participant is given two very similar resumés—one of a candidate
with a female name and one of a candidate with a male name—and is then asked to
