Posted: September 7th, 2022

Research methods in psychology

QUESTION 1
1. Define each of the following terms: (Note: the computer will allow a maximum of 6 lines in your response)
a) Statistic
b) Data
c) Population
d) Sample

6 points
QUESTION 2
1. A researcher is interested in whether students would be more likely to help others if they had just completed playing a prosocial video game versus a neutral or antisocial game. The researcher randomly selected 45 students from a nearby middle school. Each student was asked to play a video game for the same amount of time. 15 of them played a prosocial game, 15 a neutral game and 15 an antisocial game. After playing, all 45 of the students were placed in a situation in which they might or might not offer their help to someone and the researcher recorded how many students elected to help and how many did not.
The type of video game played was the _________________.

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

Population

Sample
3 points
QUESTION 3
1. A researcher is interested in whether students would be more likely to help others if they had just completed playing a prosocial video game versus a neutral or antisocial game. The researcher randomly selected 45 students from a nearby middle school. Each student was asked to play a video game for the same amount of time. 15 of them played a prosocial game, 15 a neutral game and 15 an antisocial game. After playing, all 45 of the students were placed in a situation in which they might or might not offer their help to someone and the researcher recorded how many students elected to help and how many did not.
Whether or not students offereed their help was the _______________.

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

Population

Sample
3 points
QUESTION 4
1. James hall is 68.5 feet tall. What scale of measurement is this?

a. Ordinal

b. Interval

c. Nominal

d. Ratio
2 points
QUESTION 5
1. If I measure the temperature in Fahrenheit for each day of the week, what scale of measurement is this?

a. Ratio

b. Nominal

c. Interval

d. Ordinal
2 points
QUESTION 6
1. Jeff wears Birkenstock sandals. What scale of measurement is this?

a. Interval

b. Ratio

c. Nominal

d. Ordinal
2 points
QUESTION 7
1.
Statistics is more difficult than most other classes. What scale of measurement is this?

a. Ordinal

b. Interval

c. Ratio

d. Nominal
2 points
QUESTION 8
1. A researcher is performing an experiment studying the effect of three different types of therapy on the sleep patters of college students with insomnia. Fitbits are used to measure how much sleep 3 different groups of 20 MIT students with insomnia get after participating in one of three types of therapies (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Therapy, or Psychotherapy).
College students with insomnia are the ______________ being studied.

Dependent Variable

Sample

Population

Independent Variable
3 points
QUESTION 9
1. A researcher is performing an experiment studying the effect of three different types of therapy on the sleep patters of college students with insomnia. Fitbits are used to measure how much sleep 3 different groups of 20 MIT students with insomnia get after participating in one of three types of therapies (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Therapy, or Psychotherapy).
The hours of sleep is the ______________ being studied.

Population

Dependent Variable

Independent Variable

Sample
3 points
QUESTION 10
1. A researcher is performing an experiment studying the effect of three different types of therapy on the sleep patters of college students with insomnia. Fitbits are used to measure how much sleep 3 different groups of 20 MIT students with insomnia get after participating in one of three types of therapies (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Therapy, or Psychotherapy).
The 60 students measured are the ______________ being studied.

Dependent Variable

Sample

Population

Independent Variable
3 points
QUESTION 11
1. A researcher is performing an experiment studying the effect of three different types of therapy on the sleep patters of college students with insomnia. Fitbits are used to measure how much sleep 3 different groups of 20 MIT students with insomnia get after participating in one of three types of therapies (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Therapy, or Psychotherapy).
The type of therapy is the ______________ being studied.

Independent Variable

Population

Sample

Dependent Variable
3 points
QUESTION 12
1. For a research study examining how participant gender influences support for equality in society amongst college students, what is the dependent variable?

college students

experimental methodology

gender

level of support for equality in society
3 points
QUESTION 13
1. For a research study examining how participant gender influences support for equality in society amongst college students, what is the independent variable?

college students

experimental methodology

gender

level of support for equality in society
3 points
QUESTION 14
1. For an experiment comparing the effectiveness of two different teaching methods for improving the social skills of autistic children, the dependent variable would be the _____.

experimental methodology

autistic kids

teaching method

social skills
3 points
QUESTION 15
1. For an experiment comparing the effectiveness of two different teaching methods for improving the social skills of autistic children, the independent variable would be the _____.

experimental methodology

autistic kids

teaching method

social skills
3 points
QUESTION 16
1. Sarah is conducting a research study in which one group of participants consume one cup of coffee, whereas another group of participants consume two cups of coffee. Then, she assesses attention levels of these participants following coffee consumption. This is an example of a(n) _____ research study.

correlational

descriptive

experimental

independent
3 points
QUESTION 17
1.

The data represented by this histogram is

symmetric

Positively skewed

Negatively skewed

Multi-Modal
3 points
QUESTION 18
1.

The data represented by this histogram is

Symmetric

Positively skewed

Negatively skewed

Multi-Modal
3 points
QUESTION 19
1. Imagine you had two histograms, one was very wide and spread out, the other was very narrow with a very tall peak. Which histogram would you expect to contain more consistent numbers (numbers that are close to each other), explain why.

4 points
QUESTION 20
1. This table contains the IQ scores, weights and test scores of 20 lumberjacks
from Point Roberts Forest in Washington State.

How many measurements does this data contain?

3 points
QUESTION 21
1. This table contains the IQ scores, weights and test scores of 20 lumberjacks
from Point Roberts Forest in Washington State.

How many subjects does this data contain?

3 points
QUESTION 22
1. This table contains the IQ scores, weights and test scores of 20 lumberjacks
from Point Roberts Forest in Washington State.

How many variables does this data contain?

3 points
QUESTION 23
1. A researcher who is interested in the behavior of chimps believes that temperature is related to aggression in this species of animal. She goes out to her local zoo during a particular weekend and adjusts the temperature of their climate-controlled habitat to 50 degrees, 70 degrees, and 90 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of three days, noting the number of aggressive acts she observes at each temperature level.
a) What is the independent variable?
b) What is the dependent variable?
c) Is the dependent variable discrete or continuous?
d) What scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio) is used to measure the dependent variable?
e) What research method is being used (experimental or observational) and why?
(Note: The computer will allow only 6 lines in your response)

10 points
QUESTION 24
1. A cognitive psychologist would like to evaluate the claim that the omega-3 fatty acids can help improve memory in normal adult humans. One group of participants is given a large dose of fish extract containing the Omega-3 (500mg) and a second group is given a placebo containing no Omega – 3 (0mg). The researcher asks each participant to read the front page of a local newspaper thoroughly every morning and to take their prescribed dosage (of either Omega-3 or placebo) immediately afterwards. The researcher gives each participant a memory test at the end of two weeks and records how many news items each participant remembers from the past two weeks of news. Answer the following:
a) What is the independent variable?
b) What is the dependent variable?
c) Is the dependent variable discrete or continuous?
d) What scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio) is used to measure the dependent variable?
e) What research method is being used (experimental or observational) and why?
(Note: The computer will allow only 6 lines in your response)

10 points
QUESTION 25
1. NOTE: Take a picture of your answer for this question and paste it below!
A researcher interested in comparing the number of children born to families in New York and Kentucky collects relevant data from 25 individuals from each state.
The table below contains the number of siblings reported by each individual measured.
NY {1,1,0,1,2,1,0,4,0,0,0,1,1,1,2,1,6,1,1,1,2,2,1,0,1)
KY {3,5,4,2,3,2,4,2,4,2,3,0,2,2,4,4,3,3,1,1,2,3,1,3,1)
a) BY HAND, construct two frequency tables for the data below: one for NY, and one for KY. Be sure to include a column for Value, Frequency, Percent, Cumulative Frequency, and Cumulative Percent. Take a picture of your tables and paste them below.

10 points
QUESTION 26
1. Note: This is a continuation of the last question.
A researcher interested in comparing the number of children born to families in New York and Kentucky collects relevant data from 25 individuals from each state. The table below contains the number of siblings reported by each individual measured.
NY {1,1,0,1,2,1,0,4,0,0,0,1,1,1,2,1,6,1,1,1,2,2,1,0,1)
KY {3,5,4,2,3,2,4,2,4,2,3,0,2,2,4,4,3,3,1,1,2,3,1,3,1)
Below are histograms for each of these distributions.
NY

KY

Describe each distribution (number of modes, skew, symmetry), and describe the differences you see(if any) between the number of siblings people have, on average, in KY and NY.

Order | Check Discount