Psychological Research Methods Flashcards

A researcher is studying the effect of a new anxiety medication. She randomly assigns participants to two groups. Group A receives the new medication, and Group B receives a placebo. Neither the participants nor the researcher interacting with them know who is in which group. Which research design feature is best illustrated by this scenario?

Answer: A double-blind study

This scenario describes a double-blind study. In a double-blind study, neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment. This procedure is utilized to prevent bias in research results, such as the placebo effect from the participants' side and experimenter bias from the researcher's side.

A study found a strong positive correlation between the number of ice cream cones sold and the number of drowning incidents on a given day. Concluding that eating ice cream causes drowning is incorrect due to which of the following research limitations?

Answer: The third-variable problem

This is a classic example of the third-variable problem. A correlation between two variables does not imply that one causes the other. In this case, a third variable, such as high temperatures, likely causes an increase in both ice cream sales and swimming, which in turn leads to more drowning incidents. The correlation is spurious, not causal.

A psychologist develops a new 10-item questionnaire to measure self-esteem. To assess its reliability, she administers the test to a group of students and then calculates the correlation between their scores on the odd-numbered items and their scores on the even-numbered items. What type of reliability is being measured?

Answer: Split-half reliability

This method is known as split-half reliability, which is a measure of internal consistency. Internal consistency refers to how well different items on a test that are intended to measure the same construct produce similar scores. By splitting the test into two halves (e.g., odd and even items) and comparing the scores, the researcher can assess the consistency of the results across items within the test.

In an experimental design, which of the following refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations, people, and settings?

Answer: External validity

External validity is the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other populations, settings, and times. While internal validity focuses on whether the observed effects are due to the experimental manipulation itself, external validity is concerned with the real-world applicability of the results.

Which of the following APA ethical principles of research states that psychologists should strive to benefit those with whom they work and take care to do no harm?

Answer: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence

The principle of Beneficence and Nonmaleficence requires researchers to maximize potential benefits and minimize potential harm to participants. This principle guides psychologists to protect the welfare and rights of those they interact with professionally.

A researcher is investigating the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance. An unintended variable, such as the participants' caffeine intake, is not controlled and systematically varies with the independent variable (sleep duration), potentially affecting the results. What is the term for this type of variable?

Answer: Confounding variable

A confounding variable is an extraneous variable that is related to both the independent and dependent variables, making it impossible to determine if the independent variable truly caused the change in the dependent variable. In this case, caffeine intake could confound the results because it also affects cognitive performance and may be related to how much sleep a person gets.