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PSYC 2001 Exam Study Questions and
Answers Graded 2026
Surveys and Polls: what's important to keep in mind when designing them?
1. Choosing question formats
2. Writing well-worded questions
3. Encouraging accurate responses
What are some question formats?
1. Open-ended questions:
- "What do you think about this class?"
2. Forced-choice format:
- "Do you like this class so far? Yes or No?"
3. Likert scale:
- "How difficult is this scale from 1-10, 1 being easy, 10 being hard?"
What are types of bad question wording?
1. Leading questions:
- How fast do you think the car was going when he hit the other car?
2. Double-barreled questions:
- Do you enjoy swimming and wearing sunscreen?
3. Negatively worded questions: when disagreement is the socially desirable
PSYC 2001
, Page |2
answer
- People who do not drive with a suspended license should never be punished,
disagree or agree?
What are problems with trying to get accurate responses?
1. Response sets: answering a number of questions in the same way; this weakens
construct validity
2. Acquiescence: answering positively to a number of items instead of each
specific item
3. Fence sitting: playing it safe by choosing the response in the middle of the scale,
or the neutral response
Also, people try to look good/smart and respond in socially desirable ways.
What is observational research?
When a research observes people and systematically records their actions. Used to
deal with some of the issues in self-report research.
What are naturalistic observations?
Observations made in a natural setting over a period of time. Is naturally time-
consuming and can be complex because it's natural and not under any constraints.
What are systematic observations?
Careful observations of specific behaviors in a particular setting.
PSYC 2001
, Page |3
Observations are quantifiable, used to test a hypothesis, and are summarized with a
coding system.
What are observational research issues?
1. Observer Bias
2. Observer effects: when participants confirm the observer's expectations
How can you prevent issues in observational research?
1. Have a blind/masked design where the purpose of the study isn't known.
2. Having multiple observers (which increases interrater reliability)
3. Training observers
4. Developing codebooks
What is reactivity?
How can you prevent it?
When people change their behavior in some way because someone is watching
them.
To prevent: blend in, wait it out, and then measure results.
What is a case-study?
An in-depth study of an individual or event.
What is archival research?
PSYC 2001
PSYC 2001 Exam Study Questions and
Answers Graded 2026
Surveys and Polls: what's important to keep in mind when designing them?
1. Choosing question formats
2. Writing well-worded questions
3. Encouraging accurate responses
What are some question formats?
1. Open-ended questions:
- "What do you think about this class?"
2. Forced-choice format:
- "Do you like this class so far? Yes or No?"
3. Likert scale:
- "How difficult is this scale from 1-10, 1 being easy, 10 being hard?"
What are types of bad question wording?
1. Leading questions:
- How fast do you think the car was going when he hit the other car?
2. Double-barreled questions:
- Do you enjoy swimming and wearing sunscreen?
3. Negatively worded questions: when disagreement is the socially desirable
PSYC 2001
, Page |2
answer
- People who do not drive with a suspended license should never be punished,
disagree or agree?
What are problems with trying to get accurate responses?
1. Response sets: answering a number of questions in the same way; this weakens
construct validity
2. Acquiescence: answering positively to a number of items instead of each
specific item
3. Fence sitting: playing it safe by choosing the response in the middle of the scale,
or the neutral response
Also, people try to look good/smart and respond in socially desirable ways.
What is observational research?
When a research observes people and systematically records their actions. Used to
deal with some of the issues in self-report research.
What are naturalistic observations?
Observations made in a natural setting over a period of time. Is naturally time-
consuming and can be complex because it's natural and not under any constraints.
What are systematic observations?
Careful observations of specific behaviors in a particular setting.
PSYC 2001
, Page |3
Observations are quantifiable, used to test a hypothesis, and are summarized with a
coding system.
What are observational research issues?
1. Observer Bias
2. Observer effects: when participants confirm the observer's expectations
How can you prevent issues in observational research?
1. Have a blind/masked design where the purpose of the study isn't known.
2. Having multiple observers (which increases interrater reliability)
3. Training observers
4. Developing codebooks
What is reactivity?
How can you prevent it?
When people change their behavior in some way because someone is watching
them.
To prevent: blend in, wait it out, and then measure results.
What is a case-study?
An in-depth study of an individual or event.
What is archival research?
PSYC 2001
