Go to: Answers to Section 5-2 Quiz Questions

1. In order to determine if the amount of time spent studying has an effect on test scores, 50 people studied a chapter from a textbook for 10 hours, and another 50 people studied the same chapter for only 3 hours. All of these people then took a test that asked questions about the material in the chapter. Those who studied for 10 hours received higher grades, on average, than those who studied for 3 hours. How did this study control for the directionality problem?

A. The study included both an experimental group and a control group.
B. Participants were assigned randomly to either the experimental or control groups.
C. The study included both an independent variable and a dependent variable.
D. The amount of study time was manipulated first and then the participants were tested.

2. If a study makes use of deception, it becomes difficult to claim that the participants are

A. able to give their informed consent.
B. acting as they would in real life.
C. behaving in an ethical manner.
D. not trying to deceive the researchers.

3. Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues performed an experiment involving prison situations. They randomly assigned college students to be either prison guards or prisoners and then observed their behaviors in a simulated prison situation. In this example, the independent variable was

A. the group of prison guards.
B. the group of prisoners.
C. being a guard versus being a prisoner.
D. the behaviors exhibited by the participants.

4. I wanted to test the hypothesis that giving daily quizzes in PSY 101 improves test scores. I gave daily quizzes in one section of PSY 101, but not in the other. I then compared test scores in the two sections. By performing this study in the actual classes I was teaching, I increased the _____ of my study.

A. external validity
B. internal validity
C. external reliability
D. internal reliability

5. Which of the following types of research study tends to have the HIGHEST internal validity?

A. case studies
B. experimental studies
C. correlational studies
D. quasi-experimental studies

6. Scientific researchers deliberately set up artificial laboratory conditions when testing their hypotheses because

A. it is the best way to increase the internal validity of a study.
B. it is the best way to increase the external validity of a study.
C. they tend to underestimate the importance of natural situations.
D. they tend to overestimate the importance of laboratory situations.

7. The Stanford Prison Study was stopped after six days because

A:  the researchers thought it unethical to continue the study.
B:  funding for the study was stopped by university administrators.
C:  the prisoners took over the prison and refused to continue.
D:  the data collected by the sixth day confirmed their hypotheses.

8. As researchers increase the _____ of a study, there tends to be a decrease in the _____ of the study.

A. internal reliability; external reliability
B. benefits; harms
C. internal validity; external validity
D. ethical basis; rational basis

9. Let's say that we want to measure the attitudes of Americans to various kinds of sexual behaviors. We know that we cannot talk to every single American, so we decide to take a sample of Americans and interview them about their attitudes. We decide to go to Christian churches on Sunday and interview people as they leave the service. What is the major problem with this procedure?

A. We are not being skeptical enough.
B. We are not using a representative sample.
C. We are not being empirical and objective.
D. We are not manipulating the causal variable.

10. When Milgram's study was replicated in other countries with participants from various cultural backgrounds, researchers found that

A. obedience to the experimenter is virtually absent in individualistic cultures.
B. there was some variation across cultures in rates of obedience.
C. obedience was highest in Japan.
D. all the above

11. Which of the following INCREASED the external validity of the Stanford Prison Study?

A. having participants arrested at their homes by real police officers
B. randomly assigning participants to either the prisoner or guard roles
C. excluding from the study people who showed signs of personality disturbances
D. placing the prison in the basement of the psychology building at Stanford University

12. If we are concerned with whether a study's design is adequate for testing a particular hypothesis, we are concerned with its

A. internal validity.
B. external validity.
C. theoretical soundness.
D. hypothetical soundness.

13. If we conclude that the possible benefits of a study are much greater than its possible harms, we are likely to judge the study to be

A. ethical.
B. moral.
C. externally valid.
D. internally valid.

14. Which of the following was the main hypothesis tested in the Stanford Prison Study?

A. whether or not prisons are as inhumane as many people claim them to be
B. whether or not the social roles of prisoners and guards explain their behaviors
C. whether or not social programs in prisons help to rehabilitate criminals
D. whether or not vicarious conditioning in prisons explains aggressive behavior

15. In order to determine if test anxiety causes students to receive lower test scores, on average, Siohban told one section of her psychology course that the test they were about to take was very difficult — thereby increasing the students' test anxiety — whereas she told a second section that the test they were about to take was very easy — thereby decreasing the students' test anxiety. Students in both sections received the same test. Siohban found that the "high-anxiety section" received a lower average test score than did the "low-anxiety section." This study is an example of experimental research because

A. a dependent variable was manipulated.
B. an independent variable was manipulated.
C. participants were randomly assigned to conditions.
D. participants were randomly assigned to groups.

16. A research study investigated the amount of cheating among college students by having professors ask each of their students how often he or she cheated during tests. It is very likely that this study has

A. low internal validity.
B. high internal validity.
C. low external validity.
D. high external validity.

17. In order for a study to be considered ethical, it must

A. cause no harm to those participating in it.
B. inform participants of the hypothesis being tested.
C. weigh the benefits of participating against the costs.
D. inform participants which group they are assigned to.

18. Stanley Milgram argued that the use of deception in his study was NOT unethical because

A. the informed consent of participants was obtained prior to the start of the study.
B. the results of the study produced important knowledge about human nature.
C. most of the participants finally realized that the Learner was not harmed.
D. most of the participants stated that the experience was personally meaningful.

19. When a study is high in external validity,

A. its results can be generalized to other situations.
B. its results provide clear support for the hypothesis.
C. subjects gave their informed consent to participate.
D. subjects are told that they can quit the study at any time.

20. In order to test the effects of smoking on the development of lung cancer, one group of rats was forced to inhale cigarette smoke each day for one year and a second group of rats did not inhale cigarette smoke. Six months later, all rats were examined to determine which showed signs of lung cancer. In this example, the experimental group was

A. the rats forced to inhale smoke.
B. the rats that did not inhale smoke.
C. forced inhalation of smoke versus no inhalation of smoke.
D. developing lung cancer versus not developing lung cancer.

21. Which of the following is a reason why the participants in Zimbardo's prison study and in Milgram's obedience study had a difficult time ending their participation?

A. After initially agreeing to take on their assigned roles, participants would be breaking a central rule of social life by refusing to continue.
B. After initially agreeing to take on their assigned roles, participants were required by the researchers to justify their refusal to continue.
C. The participants were afraid that, if they refused to continue, they would be sued for breach of contract.
D. The participants were afraid that, if they refused to continue, they would lose the money they had been promised.

22. In the Stanford Prison Experiment, Philip Zimbardo did not use an actual prison situation with real prisoners and real guards because

A. he was not able to obtain permission from the California penal system to do this.
B. he was not able to make reliable and valid observations in an actual prison.
C. he wanted to rule out any effects of personality characteristics.
D. he wanted to rule out any effects of automatic mental processes.

23. In his studies of the cause(s) of pellagra, Goldberger was MOST concerned with the

A. benefits of the research to the participants.
B. harms of the research to the participants.
C. internal validity of the research.
D. external validity of the research.

Go to: Answers to Section 5-2 Quiz Questions