Description

Operational Definitions. This activity helps students understand the importance of operational definitions. Tape approximately 10 minutes of a typical violent cartoon (e.g., Looney Tunes). Tell students that you are going to do a study on the prevalence of violence in cartoons. Show the students five minutes of the cartoon and have them mark on a piece of paper how many instances of violence they see (do NOT define violence for them – let each student decide for him or herself). Afterwards, have students report their answers; there will likely be a wide range of responses. Ask students why they think there was such a wide range of responses – students will recognize that the problem lies in the fact that people defined violence differently. Spend a few minutes of class time coming up with an operational definition of violence as a group. Then show the next five minutes of the cartoon and have students write down each instance of violence they see, using the new operational definition. There should be much more agreement this time. This activity can also lead into a discussion of interobserver reliability.

Identifying Confounds. This handout lists experiments with confounds. Students should be able to identify each confound and also figure out a way to fix the problem.

Randomization. Enders, Stuetzle, and Laurenceau (2006) describe a classroom demonstration designed to help students understand randomization. Divide students into groups of 2 or 3 and provide each group with a deck of playing cards. Each card in the deck represents a “participant” in an experiment. Essentially, the students will randomly assign each card to a group and record the “background characteristics” of the “participants” (e.g., color, suit) in each group. For some of the student groups, randomization should result in the “background characteristics” being evened out between the experimental groups. For other groups, randomization may not produce equivalent groups, which can lead into a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of randomization as a control technique.

Enders, C. K., Stuetzle, R., & Laurenceau, J. P. (2006). Teaching random assignment: A classroom demonstration using a deck of playing cards. Teaching of Psychology, 33, 239-242.

Article Review. The Article Review for Chapter 6 is by Valins (1966). Valins was interested in examining whether false heart rate feedback given while men were looking at semi-nude female slides would affect their attractiveness ratings of the women. For example, if men thought (erroneously) that their heart rates were increasing in response to five of the slides, would they rate those five slides as more attractive than the others?

Valins, S. (1966). Cognitive effects of false heart-rate feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 400-408.

Identifying Confounds

A researcher conducts a study to compare the effectiveness of different treatments for generalized anxiety disorder. Each participant receives behavioral therapy for two months, then cognitive therapy for two months, and finally cognitive-behavioral therapy for two months. At the end of each two-month period, a different therapist rates each participant’s levels of generalized anxiety disorder. The results showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy was the most effective, followed by cognitive therapy, followed by behavioral therapy.

1. What is the independent variable?

1. What is the dependent variable?

1. What is the confound?

1. How could the confound be fixed?

A researcher conducts a study to determine whether smiling affects students’ interest in the course material. In her 8am Physiological Psychology course, she never smiles while teaching. In her 9am Physiological Psychology course, she smiles often while teaching. At the end of the semester, she gives students a questionnaire to assess the extent to which students liked the course material. The results showed that the 9am class liked the course material more than the 8am class.

1. What is the independent variable?

1. What is the dependent variable?

1. What is the confound?

1. How could the confound be fixed?

A researcher is interested in the effects of cocaine on learning. A group of rats is randomly assigned to receive either cocaine or a non-harmful saline solution. The rats are taught how to run a maze. The cocaine rats need to be reared away from the control group rats, so they are handled and taught by one experimenter, and the control group rats are handled and taught by another experimenter. The results showed that the control group rats learned how to run the maze more quickly than the cocaine rats.

1. What is the independent variable?

1. What is the dependent variable?

1. What is the confound?

1. How could the confound be fixed?

Identifying Confounds – Answer Key

A researcher conducts a study to compare the effectiveness of different treatments for generalized anxiety disorder. Each participant receives behavioral therapy for two months, then cognitive therapy for two months, and finally cognitive-behavioral therapy for two months. At the end of each two-month period, a different therapist rates each participant’s levels of generalized anxiety disorder. The results showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy was the most effective, followed by cognitive therapy, followed by behavioral therapy.

1. What is the independent variable?

ANSWER: type of therapy (behavioral, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral)

1. What is the dependent variable?

ANSWER: level of generalized anxiety disorder after therapy

1. What is the confound?

ANSWER: The same order of therapy implementation was used. Was cognitive-behavioral therapy the most effective because the therapy is in fact effective, or was it the most effective because by the time the participants received it, they had already been in therapy for several months?

1. How could the confound be fixed?

ANSWER: Within-group complete counterbalancing is one strategy. Participants are randomly assigned to one of six possible orders of therapy presentation. Or, the study could be changed to be completely between-subjects, with randomization used.

A researcher conducts a study to determine whether smiling affects students’ interest in the course material. In her 8am Physiological Psychology course, she never smiles while teaching. In her 9am Physiological Psychology course, she smiles often while teaching. At the end of the semester, she gives students a questionnaire to assess the extent to which students liked the course material. The results showed that the 9am class liked the course material more than the 8am class.

1. What is the independent variable?

ANSWER: smiling behavior (smiling, not smiling)

1. What is the dependent variable?

ANSWER: students’ ratings of the extent to which they liked the course material

1. What is the confound?

ANSWER: Students were not randomly assigned to be in the 8am class versus the 9am class. Perhaps the 8am class was less satisfied with course material because they were sleepier than the 9am class.

1. How could the confound be fixed?

ANSWER: In some ways, it can’t. A teacher can’t randomly assign students to particular classes, so the teacher can never get around the possibility that a different kind of student takes an 8am versus 9am class. Perhaps the teacher could, over the course of the semester, smile sometimes in the 8am class and sometimes in the 9am class, and not smile sometimes in both classes, and have students rate interest in the course material at the end of each class session.

A researcher is interested in the effects of cocaine on learning. A group of rats is randomly assigned to receive either cocaine or a non-harmful saline solution. The rats are taught how to run a maze. The cocaine rats need to be reared away from the control group rats, so they are handled and taught by one experimenter, and the control group rats are handled and taught by another experimenter. The results showed that the control group rats learned how to run the maze more quickly than the cocaine rats.

1. What is the independent variable?

ANSWER: drug condition (cocaine, saline)

1. What is the dependent variable?

ANSWER: the speed at which the rats learn to run a maze

1. What is the confound?

ANSWER: There were different experimenters for the two groups of rats. Perhaps the control group rats outperformed the cocaine rats not because of the drug, but because their experimenter was more skilled in training rats.

1. How could the confound be fixed?

ANSWER: have the same experimenter train both groups of rats

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

Article Review

Read the following article and answer the questions that follow:

Valins, S. (1966). Cognitive effects of false heart-rate feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 400-408.

1. This study is an experiment. How do you know?

ANSWER: There is a manipulated independent variable (heart rate feedback) and a dependent variable (attractiveness ratings of slides) and control of extraneous variables.

1. What is ONE independent variable? How many levels does it have?

ANSWER: One independent variable is the feedback. It has two levels: (1) thought they were listening to their heart rates; (2) thought they were listening to meaningless sounds. The other independent variable is speed of the sound. It has two levels: (1) heard heart rate/noise increase in response to five slides; (2) heard heart rate/noise decrease in response to five slides.

1. Which category of independent variable is this (e.g., physiological, experience, stimulus, or participant)?

ANSWER: Participants in the heart rate condition were under the impression that this was physiological, but because it was bogus feedback, it is more appropriately labeled as environmental.

1. What extraneous variables were controlled in this study?

ANSWER: Valins (1966) used the same tape recorder for all conditions. He used the same rate of increase and decrease across all conditions. The same ten color slides were used across all conditions. Other answers possible.

1. What is ONE of the dependent variables?

ANSWER: One dependent variable was attractiveness ratings of each slide (on a 100-point scale ranging from not at all to extremely). Another DV was photograph choice (participants were told they could take the five most attractive pictures home). The third DV was the delayed photograph rankings three weeks later.

1. What kind of dependent variable is this (correctness, rate/frequency, degree/amount, or latency/duration)? Explain.

ANSWER: These are degree/amount DVs. For example, the attractiveness ratings were done on a 100-point scale; the researcher was measuring the degree of attraction to each slide.

1. Do you think the dependent variable is valid? How do you know?

ANSWER: Yes. A DV is valid when it measures what it is supposed to measure. The researcher was interested in attractiveness ratings, and that is what he measured.

1. How have the authors used randomization in this study?

ANSWER: Each participant had an equal chance of receiving either heart rate feedback or meaningless noise feedback, and each participant had an equal chance of hearing either an increase in the noise or a decrease in the noise.

1. Do the results in Table 1 support the hypothesis? Explain the results in words (Hint: “Reinforced” refers to the five slides for which the sounds increased or decreased. “Non-reinforced” refers to the five slides for which the sounds remained stable).

ANSWER: The results supported the hypothesis. Men who thought they were listening to their heart rates increase during five slides rated those five slides 18.31 points higher than the other slides. Men who thought they were listening to their heart rates decrease during five slides rated those slides only 6.69 points higher than the other slides. Men who thought they were listening to random noise showed little difference (2.90 points) between the two sets of slides.

1. Describe any deception in this study.

ANSWER: (1) Participants in the heart rate condition were told that they were hearing their heart rates, but they weren’t. (2) Participants in the meaningless noise condition were told a “cover story” (see p. 402 of the article) to explain why they had to listen to these noises during the experiment. (3) In order to get the delayed photograph rankings, participants had to think they were in a different experiment (see p. 404 of the article).

1. Do you think the deception was necessary? Why or why not?

Answers by students will vary.

1. If you were a member of an IRB, would you have approved this study? Why or why not?

Answers by students will vary. (Note, however, that it is not clear if a full debriefing was conducted at the end of the experiment).

1. Read the discussion on p. 408 of the article. How does Valins (1966) propose using a similar methodology to treat phobias?

ANSWER: Valins argues that a therapist could put a client in contact with his/her phobia (e.g., snakes) and give the client false heart rate feedback (specifically, that the heart rate is unaffected by the snakes). The client would then presumably think, “I’m in contact with a snake, but my heart isn’t racing. Maybe I’m not really afraid of snakes after all.”

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. An event or behavior that can assume two or more values is known as a
   1. constant.
   2. confound.
   3. carryover effect.
   4. variable.

ANSWER: d (p. 104)

1. A variable has
   1. only one value.
   2. only two values.
   3. only three values.
   4. two or more values.

ANSWER: d (p. 104)

1. An independent variable must have _________, and an extraneous variable must have _________.
   1. one value; one value
   2. two values; one value
   3. one value; two values
   4. two or more values; two or more values

ANSWER: d (p. 105)

1. Which of the following is a good operational definition of anxiety?
   1. a feeling of apprehension
   2. a feeling of worry
   3. a feeling of unease
   4. score on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale

ANSWER: d (p. 105)

1. Defining variables in terms of the operations needed to produce them is called using _______ definitions.
   1. dictionary
   2. operational
   3. independent
   4. confounded

ANSWER: b (p. 105)

1. Why is it important to use operational definitions in research?
   1. It allows extraneous variables to be controlled.
   2. It allows other researchers to replicate the research.
   3. It is the only way to randomly assign participants to conditions.
   4. It is allows nuisance variables to be controlled.

ANSWER: b (p. 105)

1. The variable that the researcher directly manipulates is known as the ________ variable.
   1. dependent
   2. confounded
   3. independent
   4. nuisance

ANSWER: c (p. 106)

1. When the participants in an experiment are subjected to conditions that alter or change their normal biological state, a(n) _________ independent variable is being used.
   1. stimulus
   2. participant
   3. experience
   4. physiological

ANSWER: d (p. 106)

1. Natalie conducts an experiment in which she randomly assigns half the individuals to drink alcohol and half to drink tonic water that they think is alcohol. What kind of independent variable is being used?
   1. experience
   2. participant
   3. physiological
   4. stimulus

ANSWER: c (p. 106)

1. When the effects of amount or type of previous training or learning are manipulated, the researcher is using a(n) __________ independent variable.
   1. physiological
   2. stimulus
   3. experience
   4. participant

ANSWER: c (p. 106)

1. Boice and Gargano (2001) conducted a study in which some participants received zero cues and others received eight cues when trying to remember items in a list. What kind of independent variable was being used?
   1. participant
   2. experience
   3. stimulus
   4. physiological

ANSWER: b (p. 106)

1. When researchers manipulate some aspect of the environment, they are using a(n) ________ independent variable.
   1. physiological
   2. stimulus
   3. experience
   4. participant

ANSWER: b (p. 106)

1. Age is considered a(n) _________ independent variable.
   1. participant
   2. physiological
   3. stimulus
   4. experience

ANSWER: a (p. 107)

1. Josh compares men versus women on memory performance. Josh is using a(n) __________ independent variable.
   1. stimulus
   2. experience
   3. participant
   4. physiological

ANSWER: c (p. 107)

1. Why are participant characteristics not true independent variables?
   1. Participant characteristics are extraneous variables, not independent variables.
   2. Participant characteristics are confounded with stimulus independent variables.
   3. Participant characteristics are not manipulated by the researcher.
   4. Participant characteristics are not operationally defined.

ANSWER: c (p. 107)

1. Uncontrolled variables that can cause unintended changes between groups are known as
   1. independent variables.
   2. dependent variables.
   3. physiological variables.
   4. extraneous variables.

ANSWER: d (p. 107)

1. An extraneous variable is most similar to a(n) ________ variable.
   1. dependent
   2. independent
   3. reliable
   4. valid

ANSWER: b (p. 107)

1. An extraneous variable influences the difference __________ groups.
   1. within
   2. between
   3. both within and between
   4. None of the above; extraneous variables do not influence groups in an experiment.

ANSWER: b (p. 107)

1. Daniel would like to study a new way of teaching research methods. There are two sections of research methods being taught at 2pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, so Daniel has one teacher use the new way and the other teacher use the old way. At the end of the semester, he finds that students who were taught the new way had higher grades than students taught the old way. What is the extraneous variable?
   1. grades at the end of the semester
   2. method of instruction (new versus old)
   3. the two teachers
   4. There is no extraneous variable in this study.

ANSWER: c (p. 107)

1. Why are extraneous variables problematic?
   1. The operational definitions of extraneous variables are poor.
   2. The extraneous variables are purposely manipulated by the researcher.
   3. Extraneous variables are usually measured on a Likert scale.
   4. The researcher does not know if the results are due to the independent variable or to the extraneous variables.

ANSWER: d (p. 107)

1. The _______ variable is the response or behavior that is measured.
   1. independent
   2. confounded
   3. dependent
   4. nuisance

ANSWER: c (p. 109)

1. The ________ variable changes as a function of the ________ variable.
   1. dependent; independent
   2. nuisance; dependent
   3. independent; dependent
   4. extraneous; independent

ANSWER: a (p. 109)

1. Tara compared first-graders and second-graders in number of words they remembered correctly. What kind of dependent variable is this?
   1. degree or amount
   2. rate or frequency
   3. correctness
   4. latency or duration

ANSWER: c (p. 110)

1. In one study, a group of children watched an adult either hit a Bobo doll or play quietly with the doll. The researchers measured the number of times the children later hit the Bobo doll. What kind of dependent variable is this?
   1. rate or frequency
   2. latency or duration
   3. correctness
   4. degree or amount

ANSWER: a (p. 110)

1. A researcher calculates how many times a rat presses a lever after having been either reinforced or punished. What kind of dependent variable is this?
   1. latency or duration
   2. degree or amount
   3. rate or frequency
   4. correctness

ANSWER: c (p. 110)

1. McKibban and Nelson (2001) assessed satisfaction with life in college students by using their scores on the Satisfaction with Life scale. What kind of dependent variable is this?
   1. degree or amount
   2. correctness
   3. rate or frequency
   4. latency or duration

ANSWER: a (p. 110)

1. A researcher measures how quickly participants notice a dot that is presented in various places on a computer screen. What kind of dependent variable is this?
   1. rate or frequency
   2. correctness
   3. degree or amount
   4. latency or duration

ANSWER: d (p. 111)

1. A dependent variable is _____ when it measures what it is supposed to measure.
   1. reliable
   2. confounded
   3. valid
   4. extraneous

ANSWER: c (p. 112)

1. Janie creates a new scale to measure self-esteem, but it turns out that it really measures extraversion. Janie’s scale has low
   1. latency.
   2. reliability.
   3. constancy.
   4. validity.

ANSWER: d (p. 112)

1. The degree to which a dependent variable produces consistent measurements is known as
   1. validity.
   2. constancy.
   3. latency.
   4. reliability.

ANSWER: d (p. 113)

1. George creates a new happiness scale and gives it to a sample of college students twice. Scores were consistent over time, which means that George’s scale is
   1. valid.
   2. reliable.
   3. negatively correlated.
   4. confounded.

ANSWER: b (p. 113)

1. Unwanted variables that can cause the variability of scores within groups to increase are called _________ variables.
   1. extraneous
   2. dependent
   3. independent
   4. nuisance

ANSWER: d (p. 113)

1. A researcher is interested in examining the reaction times of first year students versus senior year students. She conducts her study in a room that is much colder than the rest of the building due to a heating malfunction. What is the nuisance variable in this study?
   1. college rank (first year versus senior year)
   2. reaction times
   3. room temperature
   4. the researcher

ANSWER: c (p. 114)

1. Nuisance variables _________ the spread of scores within a distribution.
   1. decrease
   2. increase
   3. first increase, then decrease
   4. first decrease, then increase

ANSWER: b (p. 113)

1. Nuisance variables make it ________ to see the differences between groups.
   1. easier
   2. harder
   3. sometimes easier and sometimes harder
   4. None of the above; nuisance variables do not affect differences between groups.

ANSWER: b (p. 115)

1. _________ variables increase the variability of scores within all groups, and ________ variables change the difference between groups.
   1. Extraneous; confounded
   2. Extraneous; nuisance
   3. Nuisance; extraneous
   4. Independent; dependent

ANSWER: c (p. 115)

1. Researchers wish to keep ________ variables to a minimum so that the effects of the ________ variable are as clear as possible.
   1. Nuisance; dependent
   2. Nuisance; independent
   3. Extraneous; dependent
   4. Extraneous; nuisance

ANSWER: b (p. 115)

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the techniques to control extraneous variables?
   1. Elimination
   2. Constancy
   3. Randomization
   4. Validation

ANSWER: d (p. 117)

1. __________ is a control technique that ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group in an experiment.
   1. Balancing
   2. Counterbalancing
   3. Elimination
   4. Randomization

ANSWER: d (p. 117)

1. Derek conducts a study in which half of the participants read a job application from a male candidate, and the other half read the same job application from a female candidate. He wants to make sure that each participant has an equal chance of reading the male job application as the female job application, so he uses the control technique known as
   1. counterbalancing.
   2. randomization.
   3. constancy.
   4. elimination.

ANSWER: b (p. 117)

1. How does randomization work to control extraneous variables?
   1. The researcher uses different treatment sequences in order to control order effects.
   2. The researcher ensures that all groups receive the extraneous variables to the same extent.
   3. The researcher creates a constant or uniform condition to control an extraneous variable.
   4. Because all participants have an equal likelihood of being in any group, any individual differences associated with the participants should be equally distributed across the groups.

ANSWER: d (p. 117)

1. What is the main drawback of randomization?
   1. Randomization increases the risk of carryover effects.
   2. The researcher cannot be sure that all extraneous variables have been equally distributed across the groups.
   3. It is very difficult to implement this technique.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: b (p. 118)

1. ____________ is a control technique in which extraneous variables are completely removed from an experiment.
   1. Constancy
   2. Randomization
   3. Elimination
   4. Balancing

ANSWER: c (p. 118)

1. Sagles et al. (2002) conducted a cross-cultural study of the identification of facial expressions. They were careful to use photographs of faces only so that variables like attire and body type could not influence responses. Sagles et al. used the control technique of
   1. randomization.
   2. balancing.
   3. constancy.
   4. elimination.

ANSWER: d (p. 118)

1. Joy is conducting her experiment in the same room, with the same temperature, and the same lighting. Joy is using the control technique of
   1. randomization.
   2. elimination.
   3. balancing.
   4. constancy.

ANSWER: d (p. 118)

1. _________ is a control technique in which an extraneous variable is reduced to a single value that is experienced by all participants.
   1. Balancing
   2. Counterbalancing
   3. Elimination
   4. Constancy

ANSWER: d (p. 118)

1. Larey (2001) decided to restrict her study on body dissatisfaction to only women because men and women vary greatly on this variable. Larey used the control technique of
   1. counterbalancing.
   2. elimination.
   3. constancy.
   4. randomization.

ANSWER: c (p. 118)

1. Constancy can control for
   1. nuisance variables only.
   2. extraneous variables only.
   3. both nuisance and extraneous variables.
   4. neither nuisance nor extraneous variables.

ANSWER: c (p. 119)

1. ___________ is a control technique that achieves group equality by distributing extraneous variables equally to all groups.
   1. Constancy
   2. Elimination
   3. Randomization
   4. Balancing

ANSWER: d (p. 119)

1. 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 __________.
   1. balancing; elimination
   2. balancing; randomization
   3. randomization; balancing
   4. elimination; balancing

ANSWER: c (p. 119)

1. Which of the following control techniques is most applicable to studies in which the participants are in all the conditions of the experiment?
   1. elimination
   2. randomization
   3. counterbalancing
   4. constancy

ANSWER: c (p. 121)

1. 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
   1. constancy.
   2. randomization.
   3. elimination.
   4. counterbalancing.

ANSWER: d (p. 121)

1. ___________ is a procedure for controlling order effects by presenting different treatment sequences.
   1. Elimination
   2. Randomization
   3. Counterbalancing
   4. Constancy

ANSWER: c (p. 121)

1. 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.
   1. subject; group
   2. group; subject
   3. treatment; subject
   4. treatment; group

ANSWER: a (p. 121)

1. In _________ counterbalancing, each participant must experience each condition more than once.
   1. within-subject
   2. within-group
   3. complete
   4. incomplete

ANSWER: a (p. 121)

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the guidelines for within-group counterbalancing?
   1. Each participant must experience each condition more than once.
   2. Each treatment must be presented to each participant an equal number of times.
   3. Each treatment must occur an equal number of times at each testing or practice session.
   4. Each treatment must precede and follow each of the other treatments an equal number of times.

ANSWER: a (p. 122)

1. 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.
   1. 4
   2. 16
   3. 24
   4. 48

ANSWER: c (p. 123)

1. _________ counterbalancing means that all possible treatment sequences are presented.
   1. Total
   2. Differential
   3. Incomplete
   4. Complete

ANSWER: d (p. 123)

1. 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?
   1. Within-subject counterbalancing
   2. Complete counterbalancing
   3. Incomplete counterbalancing
   4. Differential counterbalancing

ANSWER: c (p. 123)

1. In _________ counterbalancing, only a portion of all possible sequences are presented.
   1. complete
   2. incomplete
   3. within-subjects
   4. elimination

ANSWER: b (p. 123)

1. 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?
   1. Each treatment must be presented to each participant an equal number of times.
   2. Each treatment must occur an equal number of times at each testing or practice session.
   3. Each treatment must precede and follow each of the other treatments an equal number of times.
   4. Both b and c.

ANSWER: d (p. 124)

1. When the position of a treatment in a series determines, in part, the participants’ responses, the researcher is dealing with
   1. order effects.
   2. incomplete counterbalancing.
   3. constancy.
   4. nuisance variables.

ANSWER: a (p. 125)

1. 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
   1. experimenter bias.
   2. order effects.
   3. demand characteristics.
   4. social desirability.

ANSWER: b (p. 125)

1. When the effects of one treatment persist and influence responses to the next treatment, the researcher has the problem of
   1. social desirability.
   2. experimenter bias.
   3. carryover effects.
   4. elimination.

ANSWER: c (p. 126)

1. 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
   1. response bias.
   2. a carryover effect.
   3. demand characteristics.
   4. experimenter bias.

ANSWER: b (p. 126)

Short Answer/Essay

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

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

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

1. Why is a “participant” independent variable different from other kinds of independent variables?

1. What is an extraneous variable? Give an example of a study in which there is an extraneous variable, including how you would modify the study to solve the problem.

1. Explain why extraneous variables are so important to control.

1. What is a dependent variable? Give examples of different types of dependent variables (correctness, rate or frequency, degree or amount, latency or duration).

1. Under what circumstances should you add more than one dependent variable?

1. Describe validity and reliability as they relate to dependent variables.

1. Explain the difference between nuisance variables and extraneous variables. Give an example of each.

1. Explain the effect of a nuisance variables in an experiment.

1. Briefly describe the five basic control techniques: randomization, elimination, constancy, balancing, and counterbalancing.

1. Describe the purpose of the five basic control techniques.

1. Describe the control technique of randomization. What is the logic of randomization, and what is its main drawback?

1. Describe the control technique of elimination and give an example.

1. Describe the control technique of constancy. Describe an example whereby constancy helped control an extraneous variable. Describe an example whereby constancy helped control a nuisance variable.

1. Describe the control technique of balancing and give an example.

1. Describe counterbalancing and when it is needed. Briefly contrast the two types of counterbalancing: within-subject counterbalancing and within-group counterbalancing.

1. What is within-subject counterbalancing? What is one major drawback to within-subject counterbalancing?

1. What is within-group counterbalancing? Briefly describe the three requirements of within-group counterbalancing.

1. What is complete counterbalancing? Describe at least one advantage and one disadvantage of complete counterbalancing.

1. What is incomplete counterbalancing? Describe at least one advantage and one disadvantage of incomplete counterbalancing.

1. What are order effects? Describe carryover effects and give an example.

CHAPTER 7: CONDUCTING A GOOD EXPERIMENT II: FINAL CONSIDERATIONS, UNANTICIPATED INFLUENCES, AND CROSS-CULTURAL ISSUES

Activities/Assignments

Experimenter Expectancies. The following activity can help students see firsthand the effects of experimenter expectancies (Wiederman, 1999). Students read one of two descriptions of a fictitious 17-year-old troubled young man named Jeff. In one description, Jeff is depicted as withdrawn at school and in the other, Jeff is depicted as aggressive at school. Students then are exposed to a Rorschach and a TAT card followed by Jeff’s interpretation of both. Afterwards, the teacher asks the students to state what they felt was most important in Jeff’s responses. Students tend to be influenced by the descriptions they read earlier and are puzzled that half the class is focusing on different characteristics than themselves.

Wiederman, M. W. (1999). A classroom demonstration of potential biases in the subjective interpretation of projective tests. Teaching of Psychology, 26, 37-39.

Experimenter Expectancies Video, Part I. The Discovering Psychology video series contains an interview with Rosenthal concerning his famous study with grade school children and teacher expectancies. The interview is in Program #20: Constructing Social Reality. This same video contains footage of Jane Elliot’s brown-eyed/blue-eyed study, which also nicely illustrates the power of expectancies to shape behavior. The interview with Rosenthal begins approximately 12 minutes into the video and lasts about 5 minutes. You can view these videos online at the link below (registration is required, but it’s free).

http://www.learner.org/resources/series138.html?pop=yes&vodid=238952&pid=1516#

Experimenter Expectancies Video, Part II. The Discovering Psychology video series contains a description of an experiment to test the validity of lie detectors. The segment is located in Program #2: Understanding Research. The segment begins approximately 20 minutes into the video and lasts about 4 minutes. Have students view the video and answer the following questions (Note: Because these videos are available online for free, students could complete this as an out-of-class assignment).

1. State several criticisms of lie detector tests, according to Leonard Saxe.

ANSWER: (1) Some innocent people are shown to be liars. (2) The effectiveness relies on people believing the polygraph is effective, not on it actually being effective. (3) Some individuals are capable of defeating the test.

1. How do lie detector tests supposedly work?

ANSWER: The polygraph measures heart rate, sweating, etc. The tester asks control questions to get a baseline level of arousal. Then the tester asks questions about which the participant might lie. If the participant lies, heart rate and sweating will increase.

1. In the experiment described in the video, what was the independent variable?

ANSWER: expectancy about the effectiveness of the polygraph: half of the participants were told that the polygraph is always accurate, and half were told that lie detectors can be deceived

1. In the experiment described in the video, what was the dependent variable?

ANSWER: ability to pass the lie detector test

1. How do the results of this experiment relate to expectancies, as described in the textbook?

ANSWER: According to the video, polygraphs only work if participants expect them to work.

Article Review. The article review for chapter 7 is by Gordon and Carey (1996). Young men were given either alcohol or no alcohol and then completed questionnaires on their knowledge of HIV, their attitudes toward condom use, and their feelings of self-efficacy regarding condom use. The results showed that men who consumed alcohol had less favorable attitudes toward condom use compared to the control group.

Gordon, C. M., & Carey, M. P. (1996). Alcohol’s effects on requisites for sexual risk reduction in men: An initial experimental investigation. Health Psychology, 15, 56-60.

Chapter 7: Conducting a Good Experiment II: Final Considerations, Unanticipated Influences, and Cross-Cultural Issues

Article Review

Read the following article and answer the questions that follow:

Gordon, C. M., & Carey, M. P. (1996). Alcohol’s effects on requisites for sexual risk reduction in men: An initial experimental investigation. Health Psychology, 15, 56-60.

1. How do you think the researchers chose their participants for this study (precedent, availability, or type of research project)? Explain.

ANSWER: Probably availability – the sample consisted of men from the community.

1. How do you think the researchers decided on this particular number of participants (finances, time, availability, type of research project, power concerns)? Explain.

ANSWER: Probably finances – the researchers had to pay each participant $30, so likely they could not have a very big sample (there are only 20 participants, which is very small).

1. What is the independent variable?

ANSWER: type of drink (alcohol versus no alcohol)

1. Identify at least three dependent variables.

ANSWER: (1) AIDS risk knowledge, (2) Attitudes about condom use, (3) Risk for HIV infection, (4) Self-efficacy for initiating discussion of condom use with a new partner, (5) Self-efficacy for insisting on condom use if the partner did not want to use a condom, and (6) Self-efficacy for refusing sexual activity if condoms were not to be used.

1. What was the hypothesis?

ANSWER: Men who consume alcohol will have lower HIV-related knowledge, decreased motivation for condom use, and reduced self-efficacy for condom use relative to men who do not consume alcohol.

1. How might experimenter characteristics have affected this study?

ANSWER: The participants were men drinking alcohol and then answering questions about HIV and condom use. They may have felt uncomfortable answering these questions in front of, for example, a woman or an experimenter appearing anxious or unfriendly. Their discomfort could cause socially desirable responses.

1. How might experimenter expectancies have affected this study?

ANSWER: If the experimenter administering the drinks knew the hypothesis, he/she could have inadvertently given the participants cues about the “correct” way to respond to the questionnaires. The experimenter knew who was receiving alcohol and who wasn’t, and may have had expectancies about how intoxicated people are supposed to act and thus treated them differently from the sober participants (e.g., read instructions more slowly to intoxicated participants).

1. How might demand characteristics have affected this study?

ANSWER: Participants may have figured out the hypothesis (that intoxicated men were expected to answer the questions in a more sexually risky way than sober men). Some participants may have responded to the questionnaires in the way that the experimenter expected, rather than how they actually felt (the “good participant” effect).

1. In studies such as these, researchers often include one or even two placebo conditions. For example, participants might be given flat tonic water and are TOLD that it contains alcohol, but there really isn’t any. Or, participants might be given alcohol and are told that it DOESN’T contain alcohol, but it really does. Why do you think researchers would include these conditions?

ANSWER: Many people have expectancies about how alcohol affects them. If people have been given alcohol and they know it’s alcohol, it is impossible to determine if their subsequent responses are due to the pharmacological effects of alcohol or to their expectancies about how intoxicated people act. If, however, people are given tonic water and told that it is alcohol, then if they respond similarly to the alcohol group we know that their responses are due to expectancies and not the pharmacological properties of alcohol (after all, they didn’t have any alcohol).

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Researchers use which of the following to choose their participants?
   1. availability
   2. nature of the problem
   3. precedent
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: d (p. 130)

1. An established pattern is referred to as a
   1. precedent.
   2. demand characteristic.
   3. emic.
   4. Rosenthal effect.

ANSWER: a (p. 130)

1. Dawn chose to use college students as her participants because past research did as well. Dawn used _______ in choosing her participants.
   1. availability
   2. precedent
   3. power
   4. an etic

ANSWER: b (p. 130)

1. One advantage to using precedence to choose participants is that there is
   1. increased power in the experiment.
   2. a lowered chance of experimenter expectancies affecting the research.
   3. a body of knowledge about that type of participant.
   4. increased generalizability of the information that is gathered.

ANSWER: c (p. 130)

1. One disadvantage to using precedence to choose participants is that
   1. the researcher will have little past information on that type of participant.
   2. there is an increased chance of experimenter expectancies affecting the research.
   3. there is decreased power in the experiment.
   4. there is limited generalizability of the information that is gathered.

ANSWER: d (p. 130)

1. Which of the following populations is used most often in psychological research?
   1. patients with schizophrenia
   2. patients with depression
   3. the general population
   4. college students

ANSWER: d (p. 130)

1. Why do participants use college students as their participants so frequently?
   1. They are more interesting than other populations.
   2. They are readily available for researchers.
   3. They are less susceptible to demand characteristics compared to other populations.
   4. They are less susceptible to response sets compared to other populations.

ANSWER: b (p. 130)

1. Which of the following is a factor regarding how many participants a researcher will test?
   1. time
   2. availability
   3. finances
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: d (p. 131)

1. The _______ the within-group variability, the _______ the number of participants the researcher will need.
   1. greater; fewer
   2. lower; greater
   3. greater; greater
   4. None of the above.

ANSWER: c (p. 131)

1. Why will a researcher need more participants when there is a high degree of within-group variability?
   1. The scores are spread out within the groups, which makes it more difficult to see differences between groups.
   2. The scores are clustered together within the groups, which makes it more difficult to see differences between groups.
   3. The scores are spread out within the groups, which makes it easier to see differences between groups.
   4. None of the above.

ANSWER: a (p. 132)

1. The probability that a statistical test will be significant is called
   1. precedent.
   2. the Rosenthal effect.
   3. a response set.
   4. power.

ANSWER: d (p. 132)

1. The ______ the number of participants, the _____ the power in an experiment.
   1. greater; fewer
   2. fewer; greater
   3. greater; greater
   4. None of the above.

ANSWER: c (p. 132)

1. Which of the following is the best guideline for choosing the number of participants to use in a research project?
   1. cost
   2. availability
   3. time
   4. past research

ANSWER: d (p. 132)

1. The apparatus you choose for your research project is most closely associated with
   1. IV presentation.
   2. DV recording.
   3. Both a and b.
   4. Neither a nor b.

ANSWER: c (p. 132)

1. Which of the following is a drawback associated with the use of expensive or elaborate equipment in your research study?
   1. Often less elaborate equipment can work just as well with less chance of a breakdown.
   2. Researchers can unwittingly let their equipment choose the research question.
   3. When elaborate equipment breaks down, it can be prohibitively expensive to fix.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: d (pp. 133-134)

1. Which of the following is true regarding experimenter characteristics?
   1. Physiological characteristics of the experimenter can have an effect on participants, but psychological characteristics of the experimenter do not.
   2. Past research has shown that female experimenters are friendlier to participants than male experimenters.
   3. Both physiological and psychological characteristics of the experimenter can have an effect on participants.
   4. Experimenter characteristics are not problematic because experimenters use constancy in their research.

ANSWER: c (p. 136)

1. Which of the following experimenter characteristics have been shown to affect the outcome of experiments?
   1. sex of the experimenter
   2. age of the experimenter
   3. race of the experimenter
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: d (p. 136)

1. Experimenter expectancies are best categorized as __________ variables.
   1. extraneous
   2. nuisance
   3. independent
   4. dependent

ANSWER: a (p. 136)

1. Experimenter expectancies refer to expectations that
   1. participants have about the research process.
   2. the participants have about the experimenter.
   3. the experimenter has about the participants.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: c (p. 136)

1. Experimenter expectancies usually result in participants
   1. behaving in a manner opposite of experimenter expectations.
   2. behaving in a manner consistent with experimenter expectations.
   3. behaving in a natural way.
   4. not understanding the directions of the experimenter.

ANSWER: b (p. 136)

1. In the Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) study involving the IQ scores of grade-school children,
   1. children who were genetically predisposed to achieve an intellectual spurt actually did increase their IQ scores at the end of the school year.
   2. children who came from an intellectually stimulating home environment had increased IQ scores at the end of the school year compared to their peers.
   3. teachers were told that certain randomly selected children were “intellectual bloomers” and those children did in fact experience an IQ increase at the end of the school year.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: c (p. 137)

1. In the Rosenthal and Fode (1963) study involving “maze bright” and “maze dull” rats,
   1. rats who were genetically superior (“maze bright”) were better able to run a maze than rats who were genetically inferior (“maze dull”).
   2. rats were able to run a maze better in bright light (“maze bright”) than in low light (“maze dull”).
   3. students who were told that their (randomly selected) rats were “maze bright” ended up with rats who were better able to run mazes than students who were told that their rats were “maze dull.”
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: c (p. 137)

1. When the experimenter’s preconceived idea of appropriate responding influences the treatment of participants and their behavior, it is known as
   1. the Rosenthal effect.
   2. precedence.
   3. power.
   4. an etic.

ANSWER: a (p. 137)

1. Which of the following is a common method for controlling physiological and psychological experimenter effects?
   1. Use standardized methods.
   2. Use careful training to a set standard when the experimenter administers procedures.
   3. Standardize appearance, attitude, etc. as much as possible.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: d (p. 137)

1. Which of the following is true regarding physiological and psychological experimenter effects, according to the text?
   1. Researchers are more concerned with physiological experimenter effects than psychological experimenter effects.
   2. Researchers are more concerned with psychological experimenter effects than physiological experimenter effects.
   3. Researchers are very concerned with both physiological and psychological experimenter effects.
   4. Researchers usually pay little attention to these factors because they are difficult to control.

ANSWER: d (p. 137)

1. In a single-blind experiment,
   1. the experimenter is unaware of the treatment the participants are receiving.
   2. both the experimenter and the participant are unaware of the treatment the participants are receiving.
   3. participants are more likely to engage in yea-saying than nay-saying.
   4. participants are more likely to engage in nay-saying than yea-saying.

ANSWER: a (p. 138)

1. Which of the following helps to minimize experimenter expectancies?
   1. precedence in selecting participants
   2. conducting a single-blind experiment
   3. increasing the power in an experiment
   4. using rats instead of human participants

ANSWER: b (p. 138)

1. Which of the following is NOT a method to minimize experimenter expectancies?
   1. Use a single-blind experiment.
   2. Tape-record instructions to participants.
   3. Increase the number of demand characteristics in the study.
   4. Carefully prepare the instructions given to participants.

ANSWER: c (p. 138)

1. Which of the following is an accurate depiction of a single-blind experiment?
   1. The experimenter is unaware of the treatment the participants are receiving.
   2. The participants are unaware of the treatment they are receiving.
   3. Both the experimenter and the participant are unaware of the treatment the participants are receiving.
   4. Either a or b.

ANSWER: d (p. 138)

1. Features of the experiment that inadvertently lead participants to respond in a particular manner are known as
   1. etics.
   2. emics.
   3. demand characteristics.
   4. experimenter expectancies.

ANSWER: c (p. 138)

1. The tendency for participants to behave as they perceive the experimenter wants them to behave is known as
   1. an emic.
   2. the good participant effect.
   3. an etic.
   4. ethnocentrism.

ANSWER: b (p. 139)

1. Dickson et al. (2001) did not tell their participants that they were studying racial stereotypes because they were worried about
   1. experimenter expectancies.
   2. demand characteristics.
   3. ethnocentrism.
   4. sampling issues.

ANSWER: b (p. 139)

1. Demand characteristics act as _________ variables.
   1. extraneous
   2. nuisance
   3. extraneous or nuisance
   4. independent

ANSWER: c (p. 140)

1. Demand characteristics act as ________ variables when participants know which group they are in, and demand characteristics act as _________ variables when participants are not sure which group they are in.
   1. nuisance; extraneous
   2. extraneous; nuisance
   3. extraneous; extraneous
   4. nuisance; nuisance

ANSWER: b (p. 140)

1. Participants in an experiment figure out that the study is about helping behavior, but they can’t figure out which group they are in. The demand characteristics in this study are operating as ________ variables.
   1. nuisance
   2. extraneous
   3. independent
   4. dependent

ANSWER: a (p. 140)

1. Participants in an experiment figure out that the study is about group size and helping behavior. They know that some people are in groups of five, and others are in groups of three. The demand characteristics in this study are operating as ________ variables.
   1. independent
   2. dependent
   3. extraneous
   4. nuisance

ANSWER: c (p. 140)

1. Participants who tend to answer yes to all questions are known as
   1. good participants.
   2. single-blind participants.
   3. yea-sayers.
   4. yes-men.

ANSWER: c (p. 140)

1. Participants who tend to answer no to all questions are known as
   1. double-blind participants.
   2. etics.
   3. emics.
   4. nay-sayers.

ANSWER: d (p. 140)

1. When participants answer yes or no to all questions, the _______ of their scores is called into question.
   1. validity
   2. power
   3. precedence
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: a (p. 140)

1. When the experimental context or testing situation influences the participants’ responses, it is known as a(n)
   1. emic.
   2. etic.
   3. response set.
   4. single-blind experiment.

ANSWER: c (p. 140)

1. Brenda constructs a questionnaire to assess racial bias. All of the questions are worded such that agreement with each item indicates more racial bias. Brenda runs the risk of creating a(n)
   1. etic.
   2. emic.
   3. response set.
   4. double-blind experiment.

ANSWER: c (p. 140)

1. Which of the following represents a way of controlling demand characteristics?
   1. Conduct a double-blind experiment
   2. Use random sampling
   3. Conduct an experiment rather than a correlational study
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: a (p. 141)

1. An experiment in which both the experimenter and the participants are unaware of which treatment the participants are receiving is known as a ___________ experiment.
   1. single-blind
   2. double-blind
   3. triple-blind
   4. demand-characteristics

ANSWER: b (p. 141)

1. A researcher conducts a study on the effectiveness of a new drug to alleviate anxiety. Participants are given either the drug or a sugar pill, and they don’t know which they are receiving. Furthermore, the experimenter dispensing the pills does not know which pill he is giving out (the lead researcher, however, is aware of everything). This experiment is known as a _________ experiment.
   1. correlational
   2. double-blind
   3. single-blind
   4. response-set

ANSWER: b (p. 141)

1. Which of the following is NOT a technique used by researchers to control demand characteristics?
   1. Conduct a single-blind experiment in which participants do not know which group they are in.
   2. Conduct a double-blind experiment.
   3. Use deception in the informed consent.
   4. Use a general population sample rather than a college student sample.

ANSWER: d (p. 141)

1. Suppose you conduct a double-blind experiment, but you leave participants to their own devices to guess what the experiment is about. The effect of such a situation would be to create
   1. an extraneous variable.
   2. a nuisance variable.
   3. yea-saying.
   4. nay-saying.

ANSWER: b (p. 141)

1. Which of the following is a drawback to using deception to control demand characteristics?
   1. Deception creates excessive yea-saying in participants.
   2. Participants might guess erroneously about the true purpose of the experiment, thus creating demand characteristics created by the deception.
   3. Experimenter expectancies make the deception ineffective.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: b (p. 142)

1. Which of the following is a technique used by researchers to control yea-saying?
   1. Conduct a case study instead of an experiment.
   2. Conduct a cross-cultural study.
   3. Rewrite items so that sometimes a negative response represents agreement, and sometimes a negative response represents disagreement.
   4. Avoid ethnocentrism on the part of the experimenter.

ANSWER: c (p. 142)

1. A researcher reviews her questions to guard against socially desirable responding. The researcher is concerned about
   1. ethnocentrism.
   2. response set.
   3. precedence.
   4. etics.

ANSWER: b (p. 142)

1. Which of the following is NOT a technique used by researchers to guard against response set?
   1. Review all questions to determine if socially desirable responding has occurred.
   2. Create an emic to include in your survey.
   3. Pilot test the survey.
   4. Interview participants.

ANSWER: b (p. 142)

1. Research aimed at determining the universality of research results is known as _________ research.
   1. correlational
   2. experimental
   3. archival
   4. cross-cultural

ANSWER: d (p. 144)

1. Lasting values, attitudes, and behaviors which are shared by a group define
   1. the Rosenthal effect.
   2. culture.
   3. response sets.
   4. precedence.

ANSWER: b (p. 145)

1. Which of the following is true regarding culture?
   1. Culture is synonymous with race and nationality.
   2. Each country has a particular culture.
   3. Each city has a particular culture.
   4. Several cultures can exist within the same country.

ANSWER: d (p. 145)

1. A finding that is the same in different cultures is known as a(n)
   1. emic.
   2. etic.
   3. response set.
   4. precedent.

ANSWER: b (p. 145)

1. A culture-specific finding is known as a(n)
   1. emic.
   2. etic.
   3. response set.
   4. precedent.

ANSWER: a (p. 145)

1. A finding that is the same in different cultures is known as a(n) _________, and a culture-specific finding is known as a(n) _______.
   1. etic; emic
   2. emic; etic
   3. etic; response set
   4. response set; emic

ANSWER: a (p. 145)

1. Some cultures are individualistic, and others are not. Individualism is a(n)
   1. emic.
   2. etic.
   3. response set.
   4. demand characteristic.

ANSWER: b (p. 145)

1. People of all cultures respond similarly to reinforcers; therefore, reinforcement is a(n)
   1. demand characteristic.
   2. emic.
   3. response set.
   4. etic.

ANSWER: b (p. 145)

1. Researchers are _________ when they view other cultures as an extension of their own culture.
   1. yea-sayers
   2. double-blind
   3. ethnocentric
   4. confounded

ANSWER: c (p. 145)

1. In what way does culture influence the research process?
   1. Culture influences the choice of the research project.
   2. Culture influences the nature of the experimental hypothesis.
   3. Culture influences the selection of the IV and recording of the DV.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: d (p. 146)

1. Which of the following is a methodological question relevant to cross-cultural research?
   1. Are the samples from two cultures equivalent?
   2. Is the sample of participants representative of the culture from which they were drawn?
   3. Do the survey questions mean the same thing in different cultures?
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: d (p. 147)

1. What is one way to ensure that a questionnaire is appropriate in multiple cultures?
   1. The researcher should conduct a reliability analysis.
   2. The researcher should conduct a back translation.
   3. The researcher should restrict the study to college students.
   4. The researcher should conduct a validity analysis.

ANSWER: b (p. 147)

1. What is a back translation?
   1. A researcher conducts a study in at least three different cultures.
   2. A researcher translates a questionnaire into another language.
   3. A researcher translates a questionnaire into another language and then translates it back into the original language.
   4. A researcher ensures that a particular culture responds in the same way.

ANSWER: c (p. 147)

1. The tendency of a particular culture to respond in a certain manner is known as a(n)
   1. etic.
   2. cultural response set.
   3. demand characteristic.
   4. Rosenthal effect.

ANSWER: b (p. 148)

1. What is one way in which a researcher may know that a cultural response set is operating?
   1. The participants complain about the deception being used in the experiment.
   2. There are more yea-sayers than nay-sayers in the experiment.
   3. Differences exist among the groups tested in various cultures.
   4. All of the above.

ANSWER: c (p. 148)

1. If a researcher cannot distinguish between the effects of the independent variable and the effects of a cultural response set, then the cultural response set is operating as a(n) _________ variable.
   1. nuisance
   2. dependent
   3. extraneous
   4. participant

ANSWER: c (p. 148)

Short Answer/Essay

1. Briefly describe the three considerations in choosing participants: precedent, availability, and the nature of the project.

1. What is a precedent? What are the advantages and disadvantages to using a precedent in choosing participants?

1. What does it mean to use “availability” in choosing participants? What are the advantages and disadvantages to using availability in choosing participants?

1. Briefly describe some of the considerations in deciding how many participants a researcher is going to test in an experiment.

1. The greater the within-group variability, the greater the number of participants the researcher will need. Explain why this is so.

1. Explain the concept of power and how to increase power.

1. Give some examples of apparatuses appropriate for IV presentation and DV recording. What are some potential drawbacks to using expensive or elaborate equipment?

1. Explain how the experimenter can be an extraneous variable (e.g., experimenter characteristics and experimenter expectancies). What are some ways to control experimenter effects?

1. Explain how physiological and psychological characteristics of the experimenter can affect a research project. Why might these characteristics be problematic even if the researcher achieves constancy?

1. What are experimenter expectancies and how do they affect a research project? Should experimenter expectancies be categorized as nuisance variables or extraneous variables? Explain.

1. Describe the Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) study involving the IQ scores of grade-school children. How does this study illustrate experimenter expectancies?

1. Describe the Rosenthal and Fode (1963) study involving “maze bright” and “maze dull” rats. How does this study illustrate experimenter expectancies?

1. Describe some common procedures for controlling physiological and psychological experimenter effects.

1. Describe some common procedures for controlling experimenter expectancies.

1. What is a single-blind experiment and what is it used for?

1. Describe several aspects of the participants’ perception of the research project that can act as extraneous or nuisance variables.

1. What are demand characteristics? Explain the circumstances under which demand characteristics operate as nuisance variables. Explain the circumstances under which demand characteristics operate as extraneous variables.

1. Describe several factors that produce a response bias on the part of research participants (yea-saying, nay-saying, response sets).

1. Describe several techniques to control participant effects.

1. Describe two ways in which researchers control demand characteristics.

1. Describe one way in which researchers control yea-saying (and nay-saying).

1. Describe some ways in which researchers control response set.

1. What are the drawbacks to using deception to control demand characteristics?

1. Define culture and the purpose of cross-cultural psychology.

1. What is the difference between an etic and an emic? Give an example of each.

1. What is ethnocentrism and why is it problematic for research?

1. Describe three ways in which culture influences research.

1. Describe three methodological issues that are relevant in cross-cultural research.

1. Describe some specific sampling issues that are relevant in cross-cultural research.

1. Describe some specific questionnaire issues that are relevant in cross-cultural research.

1. What is a cultural response set? How does a researcher know if a cultural response set is operating? How does a cultural response set differ from a more general response set?