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1. Which of the following is a major difference between research in social psychology and research in other fields?
a. Social psychologists are less likely to rely on empirical observation to draw conclusions.
b. Many people have intuitive opinions about the questions that social psychologists study empirically.
c. Social psychology researchers are less concerned with theories and more concerned with data.
d. Social psychology is less of a science than many other fields.

ANSWER: b

2. “Moms prefer Brand X of peanut butter” is a commercial claim. Sarah wonders what other brands were used as
the comparison group. Which of the following benefits of learning about research methods is Sarah displaying?
a. Better understanding of studies
b. Better memory for the results of studies
c. Critical evaluation of information
d. Enhanced self-esteem

ANSWER: c

3. Why do social psychologists use the scientific method when studying human behavior?
a. To encourage the use of basic research rather than applied research
b. To replicate their findings
c. To ensure that the right people get credit for the research.
d. To provide a solid theoretical foundation for social psychological research.

ANSWER: b

4. Adarah is learning about research methods in her social psychology course. She should experience all of the
following benefits except that
a. she will develop a better appreciation for the advantages of anecdotal stories.
b. the findings she learns about in class will be easier to understand and remember.
c. she will become a more sophisticated consumer of information in general.
d. it will improve her reasoning about real-life events.

ANSWER: a

5. What is integral to starting social psychological research?

a. Control group
b. Subject variable
c. Question
d. Independent variable

ANSWER: c

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6. Which of the following statements concerning research questions in social psychology is FALSE?
a. Social psychologists sometimes develop research questions based on their own personal experiences and
observations.
b. Research questions can be inspired by real-world events.
c. Research questions are often determined after the research begins rather than before it starts.
d. Social psychologists can develop research questions from song lyrics.

ANSWER: c

7. Why do social psychologists use electronic databases?

a. To determine the moral value of their research question
b. To find published research on a particular topic
c. To increase the external validity of their research
d. To help them select a random sample of participants

ANSWER: b

8. Which of the following resources is a research database that provides specific information related to the field of
psychology?
a. GooglePsych
b. TrackPsych
c. PsychFind
d. PsycINFO

ANSWER: d

9. A hypothesis provides a means of ____ a theory.

a. testing
b. creating
c. proving
d. generalizing

ANSWER: a

10. Which of the following is NOT a testable hypothesis?

a. People smile more when they are lying than when they are telling the truth.
b. Refusing to help someone in need is morally wrong.
c. Stereotypes are more likely to impact judgments when people are tired.
d. Women tend to have more opposite-sex friends than men.

ANSWER: b

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11. Hypotheses must be all of the following except

a. comprehensive.
b. explicit.
c. testable.
d. predictive.

ANSWER: a

12. What is the definition of hypothesis?

a. An investigation about how a testable prediction is carried out
b. An organized set of principles used to explain observed phenomena
c. The specific procedure through which a set of questions is tested
d. An explicit, testable prediction about the conditions under which an event will occur

ANSWER: d

13. An organized set of principles used to explain observed phenomena is called a(n)
a. personal bias.
b. theory.
c. hypothesis.
d. educated guess.

ANSWER: b

14. Theories in social psychology have all of the following characteristics except that
a. they are efficient and precise.
b. they lead to new hypotheses.
c. they predict conditions under which events will occur.
d. they encompass all of the relevant information .

ANSWER: c

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15. Britney believes that exposure to violent television increases aggressive behavior by making people’s own
aggressive thoughts more accessible. Christina believes that violent television increases aggressive behavior by
impairing people’s cognitive abilities, which in turn makes them worry less about the consequences of their behavior
as well as more likely to have aggressive thoughts. If we knew that violent television indeed increases aggressive
behavior but knew nothing else on this topic, which of the following two theories should we prefer?
a. Christina’s, because it is more empirical than Britney’s
b. Britney’s, because it is more efficient than Christina’s
c. Christina’s, because it is more testable than Britney’s
d. Britney’s, because it is more testable than Christina’s

ANSWER: b

16. Which of the following is NOT involved in basic research?

a. Solving practical or real-world problems
b. Increasing our understanding of human behavior
c. Testing hypotheses
d. Increasing our understanding of animal behavior

ANSWER: a

17. Melissa’s research examines the cognitive processes involved in persuasion and how those processes can be used to
persuade women to have yearly mammograms. This work represents an integration of
a. basic and applied research.
b. independent and dependent research.
c. hypothetical and theoretical research.
d. experimental and nonexperimental research.

ANSWER: a

18. Which of the following BEST describes the primary goal of basic research?
a. To solve practical problems
b. To integrate the different research methodologies within one subfield of social psychology
c. To test specific hypotheses derived from a specific theory
d. To make real-time applications

ANSWER: c

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19. In encouraging social psychologists to generate useful, practical theories, Kurt Lewin
a. set apart reliability issues from validity issues.
b. urged the synthesis of basic and applied research.
c. emphasized the importance of experimental methodologies.
d. reduced the distinction between hypotheses and theories.

ANSWER: b

20. Dr. Pinsker is conducting research that he hopes will lead to a reduction in gender biases that impact women in
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) courses. His work is purely a(n) ____ research.
a. applied
b. integration of basic and applied
c. basic
d. descriptive

ANSWER: a

21. Which of the following is NOT true of applied research in social psychology?
a. It is often conducted by researchers who also conduct basic research.
b. It contributes to solutions of social problems.
c. It was pioneered by Kurt Lewin.
d. It is more experimental than basic research.

ANSWER: d

22. Sapna is interested in the influence of nutrition on reaction time. She assigns participants to eat a salad and fruit for
dinner every day for a week or to eat fast food each day. She then brings participants into the lab and asks them to
push a button on a keyboard as fast as they can every time they hear a particular sound. What are the operational
definitions of the variables in Sapna’s study?
a. nutrition; reaction time
b. nutrition; whether participants eat a salad or fast food
c. whether participants eat salad or fast food; how quickly they push the button when they hear the sound
d. whether participants eat salad or fast food; reaction time

ANSWER: c

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23. Construct validity is BEST defined as the extent to which

a. participants who are tested repeatedly on the same measure will yield the same results.
b. the participants in a study were subjected to both random assignment and random selection.
c. results in a study can be achieved upon repeated administration of the same measuring instrument.
d. measures used in a study really measure the conceptual variables they were designed to measure.

ANSWER: d

24. Which of the following statements about construct validity does NOT hold?
a. It ensures that the study is high in internal validity.
b. It is relevant to both the dependent and independent variables in a study.
c. It can be identical for two researchers who have different operational definitions of the same conceptual
variable.
d. It facilitates the testing of both hypotheses and theories.

ANSWER: a

25. In a study concerning the cues that signal deception, Winston uses the number of times a person shifts in his or her
seat as a measure of lying. Virginia points out that people may shift their position because they are nervous about
being perceived as a liar, even though they are actually telling the truth. Virginia is questioning the ____ of Winston’s
measure of lying.
a. internal validity
b. construct validity
c. interrater reliability
d. mundane realism

ANSWER: b

26. Which of the following is NOT relevant to self-reports?

a. They are sometimes inaccurate because people intentionally present themselves in a socially desirable way.
b. They may not allow for individuals to explicitly remember the thoughts or behaviors they are asked about.
c. They allow researchers access to individuals’ private thoughts and feelings.
d. They are not influenced by the phrasing of a question or the response options provided.

ANSWER: d

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27. Your book describes a study in which participants were provided with information about either the success rate or
failure rate of condoms. The findings of this study indicate that
a. the simple wording of a question can have a drastic effect on self-report responses.
b. men and women had very different opinions about the effectiveness of condoms.
c. participants often lie when they are asked about sensitive personal issues.
d. college students tend to be naively ignorant of the risks associated with unsafe sex.

ANSWER: a

28. Which of the following procedures is used to increase the accuracy of self-reports?
a. Experimental research
b. Construct validity
c. The bogus pipeline technique
d. Random sampling

ANSWER: c

29. When interrogating a woman in a string of neighborhood thefts, Detective Morse tells her suspect the following: “I
am asking you these questions and I’d advise you to answer honestly. When we are done chatting, you are going to
have to answer them again when attached to a lie-detector.” In this investigation, Detective Morse uses the ____
technique.
a. bogus pipeline
b. experimental realism
c. deception
d. quasi-experimental

ANSWER: a

30. Researchers have developed interval-contingent, signal-contingent, and event-contingent report methods to
a. reduce memory distortions in self-report measures.
b. amplify memory distortions in self-report measures.
c. increase the role of values in the research process.
d. observe participants’ behavior unobtrusively.

ANSWER: a

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31. Johanna is participating in a study on social contacts and subjective well-being. Each evening around 6 p.m.,
Johanna is supposed to record in a journal the number of social interactions she had that day that were longer in
duration than 5 minutes. The researcher is using ____ self-report in this study.
a. event-contingent
b. signal-contingent
c. bogus pipeline
d. interval-contingent

ANSWER: d

32. Johanna is participating in a study on social contacts and subjective well-being. At random times during the day, she
receives a text message to which she responds with information about who she was with and how happy she is
feeling. The researcher is using ____ self-report in this study.
a. signal-contingent
b. interval-contingent
c. bogus pipeline
d. event-contingent

ANSWER: a

33. Rhianna is participating in a study on social contacts and subjective well-being. After each social interaction that is
longer than 5 minutes in duration, Rhianna logs into a site and responds to a series of questions about how she is
feeling. The researcher is using ____ self-report in this study.
a. signal-based
b. event-based
c. interval-based
d. bogus pipeline

ANSWER: b

34. Self-report measures and observational measures are similar in that both
a. are subject to profound distortions from memory errors.
b. require exceptionally high interrater reliability to be considered accurate.
c. may be biased by participants presenting themselves in a favorable light.
d. provide direct access to people’s thoughts and feelings.

ANSWER: c

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35. To assess the extent to which students are reading their textbooks, a professor notes how creased the spines of
books are. What technique does this professor apply?
a. An event-contingent self-report
b. An observational measure
c. A descriptive study
d. A signal-contingent self-report

ANSWER: b

36. Interrater reliability is BEST employed in which of the following examples?

a. The degree of correlation of students’ responses to several foods
b. The relationship between the quality ratings and actual health in different nursing homes
c. The degree of jury agreement in rating children’s paintings
d. A comparison of toy preferences of toddlers at different intervals

ANSWER: c

37. What is the significant advantage of observational research?

a. Seeking evidence to support ideas of different observers
b. Having control over events
c. Avoiding faulty recollections and distorted interpretations of our own behavior
d. Eliminating the problems of the past

ANSWER: c

38. Which of the following is/are NOT mentioned in the text as a technology used by social psychologists in obtaining
data?
a. Brain imaging technology
b. Measures of reaction time and heart rate
c. Polygraphs (lie detector machines)
d. Eye tracking

ANSWER: c

39. The research methods used by social psychologists tend to emphasize all of the following except a(n) ____
approach.
a. systematic
b. objective
c. variable
d. quantifiable

ANSWER: c

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40. What is the most popular method of testing ideas in social psychology?
a. Meta-analysis
b. Descriptive research
c. Correlational research
d. Experimentation

ANSWER: d

41. Social psychologists use descriptive research in order to describe

a. associations between two or more variables of interest.
b. people and their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
c. the strength of an observed effect.
d. cause-and-effect relationships between independent and dependent variables.

ANSWER: b

42. For which of the following questions would a researcher be MOST likely to use an observational study?
a. Is memory for television commercials influenced by the tune of the music included in the commercial?
b. Does smoking marijuana lead to increased aggression?
c. Does taking a social psychology course cause one to be happier?
d. Do banks tend to offer minorities lower interest rates on home mortgages than nonminorities?

ANSWER: d

43. A study that examines existing records or databases is referred to as a(n)

a. anecdotal study.
b. survey.
c. case study.
d. archival study.

ANSWER: d

44. To examine potential gender differences in the qualities individuals seek in their romantic partners, HaeJin compares
the personal ads placed by men and women. HaeJin is conducting a(n)
a. experiment.
b. observational study.
c. archival study.
d. survey study.

ANSWER: c

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45. Latrell, the editor of a popular sports magazine, would like to know more about the demographics of the magazine’s
readers. He designs a questionnaire to assess this information and sends it to a random sample of the magazine’s
readers. Latrell is conducting a(n)
a. survey.
b. observational study.
c. archival study.
d. experiment.

ANSWER: a

46. The MOST important aspect of sampling in a survey study is

a. its inclusion of equal numbers of individuals from different groups in the population.
b. the number of people in the sample.
c. the ratio of the sample size to the population size.
d. the total number of groups in the population.

ANSWER: c

47. A television producer is interested in whether women like soap operas more than sitcoms. The producer uses a
random number table to select a sample of 100 households, and then makes phone calls to these households every
afternoon for three weeks. Of those who were home when the producer called, 75% reported they liked soap
operas more than sitcoms. Which of the following might raise questions about the results?
a. The use of archival data
b. The representativeness of the sample
c. The construct validity of the measure
d. The operational definition advanced by the magazine

ANSWER: b

48. Many social psychological questions can be addressed only with surveys because
a. funding sources are looking to save money and surveys are relatively inexpensive.
b. researchers rarely have time to carry out complex social psychological experiments.
c. the analysis of surveys permits much tighter control than could otherwise be achieved.
d. they involve variables that are impossible or unethical to observe directly or manipulate.

ANSWER: d

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49. In principle, the purpose of random sampling is to make sure that research participants
a. have the right to withdraw from a study without incurring any penalty.
b. are fully informed as to the procedures and hypotheses of the study.
c. do not differ from one another in systematic ways.
d. constitute a representative sample from the population of interest.

ANSWER: d

50. In what way do descriptive and correlational research methods differ from each other?
a. Descriptive research does not look at relationships between variables.
b. Descriptive research is more useful when one wants to infer causation.
c. Correlational research cannot make use of archival data.
d. Correlational research allows the researcher to control the participants’ actions.

ANSWER: a

51. Luke would like to know if there is a relationship between the number of psychology courses people take and their
level of empathy. He surveys a randomly selected group of college students. Each student indicates the number of
psychology courses he or she has taken and then completes an empathy scale. Luke’s research is best described as
a(n)
a. correlational study.
b. experiment.
c. prospective study.
d. archival study.

ANSWER: a

52. The main purpose of conducting correlational research is to

a. determine the causal relationship between an independent and a dependent variable.
b. describe the population’s average score on a particular measure.
c. manipulate one variable but hold the other constant.
d. determine the nature and strength of the association between two measured variables.

ANSWER: d

53. Which of the following statements concerning correlational research is TRUE?

a. In correlational research, variables are measured but not manipulated.
b. In correlational research, one variable is manipulated and one is measured.
c. Correlational research can be conducted using observational, but not archival, measures.
d. Correlational research can be conducted using archival, but not observational, measures.

ANSWER: a

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54. The sign of a correlation coefficient indicates the ____ of the relationship between variables.
a. quality
b. strength
c. power
d. direction

ANSWER: d

55. Which of the following correlation coefficients reflects the strongest meaningful relationship?
a. +0.67
b. 0.00
c. −0.86
d. +1.25

ANSWER: c

56. When decreases in one variable are accompanied by decreases in another variable, the variables are described as
a. negatively correlated.
b. positively correlated.
c. causally related.
d. prospectively related.

ANSWER: b

57. Vito finds a correlation of −0.35 between procrastination behaviors and academic achievement. Which of the
following is an appropriate conclusion for Vito to draw?
a. Procrastination leads students to perform more poorly.
b. Poor academic performance causes more procrastination.
c. Elimination of procrastination behaviors will lead students to perform better.
d. As a student procrastinates more, her academic achievement decreases.

ANSWER: d

58. Carmella finds a correlation of +0.47 between self-esteem and academic achievement. Which of the following is the
MOST appropriate interpretation of this correlation?
a. High self-esteem motivates students to achieve more academically.
b. Doing well academically increases students’ self-esteem.
c. The higher students’ self-esteem, the greater their academic achievement.
d. As self-esteem increases, academic achievement decreases.

ANSWER: c

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59. Which of the following is an example of a negative correlation?

a. The more pets you own, the better your physical health tends to be.
b. The more money people make, the bigger their house tends to be.
c. The more alcohol you consume, the lower your GPA tends to be.
d. The more points a player scores, the more time they play in the next game.

ANSWER: c

60. Suppose the correlation between the number of times couples go to the movies and the number of times they go out
to dinner is +0.79. Among the following conclusions, which one is NOT consistent with this computation?
a. The more often that couples go to the movies, the more often they go out to dinner.
b. The less often that couples go to the movies, the less often they go out to dinner.
c. There is a strong positive correlation between the number of times couples go to the movies and the number
of times they go out to dinner.
d. Because the correlation coefficient is less than 1.0, the association between these two variables is very weak
and probably unreliable.

ANSWER: d

61. Alan conducted an analysis to examine the relationship between pollution and low life expectancy in a rural setting.
He estimated the correlation ratio to be 0.089 for the age group of 25 to 85 years. What type of correlation would he
have observed?
a. No correlation
b. Positive correlation
c. Negative correlation
d. Weak correlation

ANSWER: a

62. Camryn uses a survey to measure the association between students’ grade point average and weekly consumption
of alcohol. She finds that higher GPAs tend to be associated with lower levels of alcohol consumption (and vice
versa). This study is best described as a(n)
a. experiment.
b. observational study.
c. concurrent study.
d. correlational study.

ANSWER: d

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63. One of the many advantages of correlational research is that it

a. allows researchers to study variables that cannot be examined using an experiment.
b. allows the researcher to test for and determine the nature of causal relationships.
c. exhibits high internal validity.
d. tends to be statistically significant.

ANSWER: a

64. What is the major limitation of random assignment?

a. It may result in inconsistent estimates of possible correlations.
b. It cannot establish causality.
c. It cannot be implemented for experiments involving more complex calculations.
d. It may affect external validity under certain conditions.

ANSWER: d

65. Which of the following statements about correlational research is TRUE?

a. It is a powerful way to establish causal relationships between variables.
b. It allows a researcher to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
c. It permits researchers to determine whether one variable is predictive of another.
d. It is limited to the study of variables that can be measured in the laboratory.

ANSWER: c

66. What is the primary disadvantage of correlation studies compared to experimental studies?
a. They are more labor-intensive.
b. They do not allow one to determine causality.
c. The results are more difficult to understand.
d. The choice of variables that can be studied is limited.

ANSWER: b

67. Causation cannot be inferred from correlational studies because

a. they are so low in external validity.
b. they do not involve the manipulation of variables.
c. they are always conducted outside of the research lab.
d. researchers have too much control over the variables.

ANSWER: b

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68. Which of the following conditions does NOT hold for conducting an experiment in social psychology?
a. All participants are treated equally.
b. The researcher has control over experimental procedures.
c. Participants are assigned to different manipulations.
d. The experiment is limited to be performed in a tightly controlled laboratory environment.

ANSWER: d

69. In a well-designed experiment, all participants must

a. be treated in exactly the same manner except for the specific differences the experimenter wants to create.
b. not realize that they are involved in an experiment.
c. be influenced by experimenter expectancy effects.
d. be allowed to choose their own experimental conditions without interference or bias from the experimenter.

ANSWER: a

70. Buster runs an experiment in which she finds that participants placed in a good mood by a happy film clip are more
likely to offer help to a fellow participant than participants who see a sad film clip. Bob suggests that perhaps this
difference simply results from the fact that the participants in the happy film clip condition were more helpful people
to begin with. What methodological aspect of a successful experiment can Buster point to in order to refute this
criticism?
a. External validity
b. Random selection
c. Random assignment
d. Manipulation

ANSWER: c

71. Which of the following characteristics is MOST relevant to the condition that any differences one obtains after the
experimental manipulation of a study have been produced only by that manipulation?
a. Control of subject variables
b. Random sampling
c. Construct validity
d. Control over experimental procedures

ANSWER: d

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72. Random assignment, a defining feature of an experiment, means that participants

a. select the particular experimental manipulations they wish to experience.
b. are chosen randomly from the population of interest.
c. have an equal chance of being in any of the conditions.
d. are assigned to groups on the basis of their preexisting differences.

ANSWER: c

73. A researcher examined the effects of mood on aggression in an experiment. She decided to see how receiving an
insult or a compliment affects aggression, and she measured aggression by having participants administer small
shocks to another participant. The researcher found that participants in the insult condition were more aggressive
than those in the compliment condition. One of her colleagues reads about this research and voices concern that
people in the insult condition may have been more naturally aggressive than people in the compliment condition,
causing the differences observed by the researcher. This concern about preexisting differences between participants
in the two conditions would only be valid if participants were not
a. a representative sample of the population.
b. randomly assigned to the condition.
c. randomly selected from the population.
d. informed that they were involved in a correlational study.

ANSWER: b

74. Random assignment is essential to establishing causality because it

a. permits researchers to verify that they have a diverse and representative sample of participants.
b. reduces the possibility that individual characteristics of the participants produced the observed results.
c. increases the external validity of the experiment and virtually eliminates issues of reliability.
d. allows researchers to determine whether or not their operational definitions reflect the variables of interest.

ANSWER: b

75. The procedure used to ensure that research participants have an equal chance of being placed in the experimental
or control groups in an experiment is called
a. random assignment.
b. random sampling.
c. debriefing.
d. experimental realism.

ANSWER: a

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76. In comparison to field experiments, laboratory experiments

a. permit researchers greater control.
b. allow more naturalistic observation of behavior.
c. are less susceptible to experimenter expectancy effects.
d. have fewer problems caused by the limitations of self-report data.

ANSWER: a

77. In an experiment, the independent variable is ____ while the dependent variable is ____.
a. held constant; varied
b. correlational; descriptive
c. manipulated; measured
d. general; specific

ANSWER: c

78. Which of the following characteristics does NOT belong to subject variables?
a. They are neither dependent nor truly independent variables.
b. They cannot be manipulated or randomly assigned.
c. They may include gender and ethnicity of participants.
d. They are essential for field experiments.

ANSWER: d

79. Stanley examines the impact of group size on conformity behavior in an experiment. He makes groups of two, five,
or ten people stand on a city street and stare up at a window. He then records the number of passersby who stop
and stare at the window. This study is an example of a(n)
a. meta-analysis.
b. archival study.
c. experiment with one independent variable.
d. experiment with two independent variables.

ANSWER: c

80. Professor Collison conducts an experiment to find whether playing video games causes aggressive behavior or
aggressive behavior induces playing video games. His study signifies what kind of relationship?
a. Random
b. Correlation
c. Statistical
d. Indirect

ANSWER: b

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81. Vera thinks that having pets increases psychological functioning and well-being. To test this, individuals in one group
of randomly selected nursing home residents are each given a pet while participants in a second group are not given
pets. Over two months, the overall level of psychological functioning is evaluated on a daily basis. What is the
independent variable in this study?
a. Having pets increases psychological functioning
b. Whether or not the resident received a pet
c. The level of psychological functioning demonstrated by the residents
d. This is a correlational study, so there is no independent variable

ANSWER: b

82. Barb examines the impact that sitting in front of a mirror has on the academic performance of female adolescents.
In her study, the number of math questions answered correctly appears to be the ____ variable.
a. control
b. conceptual
c. independent
d. dependent

ANSWER: d

83. Castilla wonders whether environmental factors influence how long juries take to select a foreperson. Mock jurors
are brought into a room with either a rectangular table or a round table. The jurors are asked to select a foreperson
before starting deliberation. Castilla records how long it takes each jury to select a foreperson. The shape of the
table is the
a. independent variable.
b. dependent variable.
c. subject variable.
d. control variable.

ANSWER: a

84. Robinson manipulates two variables in his experimental investigation of test-taking performance: the number of
participants seated in the room and the room temperature. He finds that regardless of the temperature in the room,
participants do better on the test when the room is less crowded. Which statement about this study is TRUE?
a. There are two independent variables in this study.
b. There is one independent variable in this study.
c. There are two dependent variables in this study.
d. There are two dependent and two independent variables in this study.

ANSWER: a

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85. Natasha finds that men speak more often in the classroom than do women, and that this is true both when they are
assigned to sit in the front of the room and the back of the room. Natasha’s study has found a statistically significant
effect for
a. the independent variable she manipulated.
b. a subject variable.
c. the conceptual variable.
d. the experimental but not the correlational variable.

ANSWER: b

86. What does it mean to say that an experiment has two independent variables?
a. The researcher has created a study with two different conditions.
b. The researcher has come up with two different measures to take in order to test the hypothesis.
c. The researcher is manipulating two different variables in the course of the study.
d. The effects of one variable in the study have nothing to do with the effects of the other variable.

ANSWER: c

87. Leila runs an experiment to see the impact of mood on prosocial behavior. Participants are allowed to watch a video
intended to put them in either a positive or neutral mood before they are asked to make a donation to a fictitious
charity. What is the dependent variable in this study?
a. The participants’ mood
b. Watching a happy or sad video
c. The participants in the study
d. Whether or not a donation is made to charity

ANSWER: d

88. Rabiyah administered an intelligence test to sophomores and seniors at Faber College and at Hillman College and
compared performance across these four groups. Which of the following is/are the subject variable(s) in this study?
a. Being a sophomore versus a senior only
b. Attending Faber versus Hillman College only
c. Scoring high versus low on intelligence
d. Both being a sophomore versus a senior and attending Faber versus Hillman College

ANSWER: d

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89. Achieving ____ is typically more of a challenge in a field study than in a laboratory study.
a. high external validity
b. high internal validity
c. high mundane realism
d. cross-cultural reliability

ANSWER: b

90. If the results of an experiment could have occurred by chance only five or fewer times in 100 possible outcomes,
they are considered
a. statistically significant.
b. to have an interaction between the dependent variables.
c. theoretically meaningful.
d. null because of their low level of reliability.

ANSWER: a

91. Zachary observes a statistically significant negative correlation between binge drinking and grades among college
students. Which of the following is TRUE?
a. There is a 5% probability or less that this correlation occurred by chance.
b. There is a 5% probability or less that there is a practically important relationship.
c. Zachary will probably try to replicate his findings by conducting an experiment.
d. Zachary behaved unethically by identifying students who binge drink without intervening.

ANSWER: a

92. According to standard convention, a researcher must be ____% sure that the difference she observed between
experimental conditions was not simply the result of chance in order to conclude that the difference is statistically
significant.
a. 90
b. 95
c. 99
d. 99.9

ANSWER: b

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93. The emphasis on the importance of replication of results in social psychology has ____ in recent years.
a. increased
b. remained constant
c. decreased
d. ebbed and flowed

ANSWER: a

94. One reason that social psychologists attempt to replicate the results of their research is that doing so
a. reduces the probability that the results are due to chance.
b. increases the construct validity of the experiment.
c. allows them to examine multiple relationships among variables.
d. increases the likelihood that participants have been treated ethically.

ANSWER: a

95. Which of the following factors other than the independent variable varies between conditions of an experiment?
a. Confound
b. Experimenter effect
c. Subject effect
d. Expectancy effect

ANSWER: a

96. A confound is a serious threat to ____ validity in a social psychological study.

a. external
b. construct
c. internal
d. content

ANSWER: c

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97. Megumi is running an experiment on the impact of noise level on subsequent aggressive behavior. In one condition,
participants experience a loud, annoying noise while trying to complete a task, and then are given a chance later to
give another ostensible participant a noise blast, too. In the other condition, the participants do not experience the
noise while trying to complete their task. After the study has been conducted, Megumi realizes that the loud room
was lit more brightly than the quiet room. This difference in the level of light is an example of a
a. confound.
b. control group.
c. threat to external validity.
d. subject variable.

ANSWER: a

98. Participants who are subjected to all of the experimental procedures except the experimental manipulation are part
of a(n) ____ group.
a. rating
b. experimental
c. sample
d. control

ANSWER: d

99. The purpose of using control groups is to

a. address ethical concerns about experiments.
b. determine if there are any interactions among the independent variables.
c. ensure a high level of experimental realism.
d. provide a baseline against which to compare the effects of the independent variables.

ANSWER: d

100. Experimenter expectancy effects may be greatly minimized by

a. using different experimenters in different conditions.
b. letting participants choose their own condition.
c. keeping experimenters uninformed about group assignment.
d. having strict attention to random assignment.

ANSWER: c

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101. A new researcher examines the effects of alcohol on aggressiveness in a laboratory. He acts in a less polite manner
with participants who are assigned to the alcohol condition. This differential treatment of participants across
conditions will threaten
a. the statistical significance of the results.
b. internal validity.
c. external validity.
d. interrater reliability.

ANSWER: b

102. A researcher asked students to teach a rat to learn a maze. Some students were told they had been given a
genetically engineered “intelligent” rat, whereas others were told that they had a “dull” rat. Although there were no
actual differences among the rats, the “intelligent” rats learned the maze more quickly than the “dull” rats. Which of
the following can BEST explain the results of this experiment?
a. Experimenter expectancy effects
b. Mundane realism
c. Experimental realism
d. High construct validity

ANSWER: a

103. External validity is defined as the degree to which

a. there can be reasonable certainty that the independent variables in an experiment caused the observed
effects on the dependent variables.
b. there can be reasonable confidence that the same results would be obtained for other people and in other
situations.
c. participants were assigned to the various conditions on the basis of representative criteria.
d. the experimental situation engages participants and leads them to behave naturally and spontaneously.

ANSWER: b

104. Including culture as a subject variable in a study helps improve the ____ validity of the study.
a. internal
b. external
c. construct
d. content

ANSWER: b

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105. A social psychologist wants to study the impact of listening to classical music on people’s level of comfort in social
interactions. She runs a study using a convenience sample of college undergraduates. The use of this particular
sample is a threat to
a. mundane realism.
b. experimental realism.
c. internal validity.
d. external validity.

ANSWER: d

106. Joel argues that the use of confederates provides for real interactions that emulate the types of reactions that occur
in real life. Dale argues that the use of confederates simply makes an experiment more involving for the participant.
Which of the following is TRUE?
a. Joel and Dale both believe that confederates increase mundane realism.
b. Joel and Dale both believe that confederates increase experimental realism.
c. Joel believes that confederates increase mundane realism; Dale believes that confederates increase
experimental realism.
d. Joel believes that confederates increase experimental realism; Dale believes that confederates increase
mundane realism.

ANSWER: c

107. The degree to which the experimental situation resembles places and events in the real world is called ____ realism.
a. experimental
b. statistical
c. external
d. mundane

ANSWER: d

108. The degree to which the experimental procedures are involving participants and lead them to behave naturally and
spontaneously is called ____ realism.
a. experimental
b. statistical
c. external
d. mundane

ANSWER: a

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109. The reliance of many social psychology studies on college student participants poses a threat to
a. internal validity.
b. external validity.
c. mundane realism.
d. experimental realism.

ANSWER: a

110. According to advocates of basic research, the more ____ the principle being studied, the ____ it matters who
participates in the study.
a. basic; less
b. applied; less
c. basic; more
d. complex; more

ANSWER: a

111. A social dilemma experiment often involves an economic decision-making task in which participants must decide to
cooperate or compete with their partner based on various payoffs. Although the format of the experiment does not
resemble the real-world decisions participants may make, it is very involved, and participants often become highly
competitive. Based on this description, a social dilemma experiment has
a. high mundane realism and low experimental realism.
b. low mundane realism and low experimental realism.
c. high experimental realism and high mundane realism.
d. high experimental realism and low mundane realism.

ANSWER: d

112. An accomplice of the experimenter who, in dealing with the real participants in an experiment, acts as if he or she is
also a participant, is called a(n)
a. confederate.
b. union.
c. helper.
d. actor.

ANSWER: a

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113. Research using meta-analysis procedures

a. computes correlations among more than two variables.
b. approaches a research question using both correlational and experimental studies.
c. statistically assesses the consistency of several tests of the same hypothesis.
d. is used when self-report data regarding a particular topic are not available.

ANSWER: c

114. If a finding from one culture fails to generalize to a second culture, this should be viewed as a(n)
a. failure to replicate.
b. opportunity to study a potentially interesting cultural difference.
c. indication of the second researcher to not adequately train confederates.
d. wasted effort, and shuts down future efforts to examine culture as a subject variable.

ANSWER: b

115. Which of the following is NOT a challenge mentioned in the text in conducting cross-cultural social psychological
research?
a. Cultural differences affect people by the context in which they complete a survey.
b. Translation of a survey or questionnaire from one language to the other can be literally the same, yet carry
the wrong connotation.
c. Multilingual people may think or act differently as a function of what language is used in a particular setting.
d. In general, universities are unwilling to allow faculty to travel outside the United States to conduct research.

ANSWER: d

116. Any institution seeking federal funding for research involving human participants must have a(n) __________ to
ensure those participants’ well-being.
a. human participants’ safety board
b. right and well-being assurance group
c. ethical insurance committee
d. institutional review board

ANSWER: d

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117. Which of the following studies was controversial enough to spark discussion of the ethics of research and ultimately
resulted in the creation of IRBs to protect participant rights?
a. Ashton-James and colleagues (2009) study of the influence of mood and culture on openness to novelty
b. Greitemeyer and colleagues (2012) study of the influence of video games on aggression
c. Milgram’s (1963) studies of obedience to an authority telling participants to deliver electrical shocks to a
confederate
d. Newcomb’s (1961) study of interpersonal attraction in a highly structured dormitory setting

ANSWER: c

118. An individual’s deliberate, voluntary decision to participate in research, based on the researcher’s description of
what will be required during such participation, is called
a. implied permission.
b. informed consent.
c. communicated assent.
d. referential validity.

ANSWER: b

119. Margarita is conducting research as part of her Master’s thesis. She enlists the participation of undergraduate
students in her laboratory, has them go through a series of activities, and then tells them what the true intent of the
research was before they leave. She does not, however, inform them what their participation will involve before the
research begins. Margarita has failed to remember the importance of
a. informed consent.
b. debriefing.
c. an institutional review board.
d. experimental realism.

ANSWER: a

120. The disclosure made to participants after research procedures are completed, in which the researcher explains the
purpose of the research, is called
a. informed consent.
b. a post-hoc test.
c. experimenter expectancy effects.
d. debriefing.

ANSWER: d

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121. Which of the following statements about social psychology/psychologists is TRUE?

a. Institutional review boards have had little effect on the types of research conducted by social psychologists.
b. Most social psychologists believe they have a moral imperative to study important topics even if doing so
poses high risk for the study participants.
c. Social psychology research is devoid of human biases.
d. Strict adherence to scientific methods reduces but do not eliminate human biases in social psychology.

ANSWER: d

122. What event in 2011 has increased the level of discussion in social psychology about the role of values in the research
process?
a. The mistreatment of experimental participants
b. The failure of IRBs to adequately oversee research
c. The confession of a researcher to fabrication of data
d. The report that most researchers fail to debrief their participants

ANSWER: c

123. What is NOT a suggestion made in the text for how social psychology could protect itself against intentional or
unintentional bias or dishonesty?
a. Using more precise and advanced statistical methods
b. Having researchers be more open to public scrutiny of their materials and data
c. Emphasizing the importance of replication of results
d. Having tenure and promotion less dependent upon publication of research

ANSWER: d

124. Compare and contrast random sampling and random assignment. Also, indicate how these procedures affect a
study’s internal and external validity.

ANSWER: A random sample indicates that all members of the target population have an equal chance of being
selected for the study. Random samples are particularly attractive because they are more
representative than other samples (such as convenience samples) of the populations from which they
are taken. Moreover, because representative samples allow one to generalize the findings of a study to
the larger population, random sampling increases external validity. Random assignment is a procedure
that is only relevant when conducting an experiment; in this case, members of the sample (who have
already been chosen, randomly or not) have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the
experimental conditions. This procedure assures that, on average, members of experimental groups are
equivalent in all ways before a study begins. This allows the researcher to infer that any differences
between groups at the end of the study must be the result of the manipulation. In other words, it is
random assignment that allows the researcher to conclude with confidence that the independent
variable caused the changes in the dependent variable, which means that random assignment to
condition increases internal validity.

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125. What are the benefits and the main limitation of conducting correlational research over experiments? Give an
example of negatively correlated variables. Justify your example.

ANSWER: An important advantage of doing correlational research rather than experiments is that correlational
research can study associations of naturally occurring variables that cannot be manipulated or induced
due to practical constraints, such as participants’ gender, age, race, height, and so on. Correlational
research can also examine phenomena that would be difficult or unethical to create for research
purposes, such as certain kinds of violence, love, abuse of alcohol, and so on. Correlational research
also offers more flexibility than experiments because a wide range of variables can be measured,
including those obtained in the field, using archives, through national surveys, and so on. The primary
disadvantage of doing correlational research rather than experiments is that a correlational study cannot
demonstrate causation. That is, correlations cannot demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships between
variables. A well-designed experiment, in contrast, can demonstrate that changes in one variable can
cause a change in another variable. Two variables are negatively correlated if as one variable increases
the other decreases (and vice versa). One pair of variables that should be negatively correlated with
each other is the amount of time spent studying and the number of courses failed. As the amount of
time one spends studying increases, the number of courses one fails should decrease.

126. What are the two essential characteristics of an experiment? Why, and how, is each of these important for the
internal validity of the experiment?

ANSWER: One essential characteristic of an experiment is that the researcher has control over the experimental
procedures. The researcher manipulates the variables of interest and keeps all else uniform. That is, all
participants should be treated exactly the same way—except for the manipulations that the
experimenter is investigating. The other essential characteristic of an experiment is that all participants
are assigned randomly to the different conditions. Because of random assignment to condition, at the
beginning of the study there should be no systematic differences between the groups of participants.
Internal validity is the degree to which there can be reasonable certainty that the independent variables
in an experiment caused the effects obtained on the dependent variable. By having a great deal of
control over the experimental procedures, researchers can help ensure that the only differences
between conditions are the manipulations themselves and not some other factors. If other factors vary
along with the independent variables, then it is less clear that the independent variables are the cause of
any differences found in the dependent variable, thereby reducing the internal validity of the
experiment. Even if the researcher has a great deal of control and ensures that the only differences in
the treatment received by the participants across conditions are the manipulations of the independent
variables, it is possible that the participants in one condition are different from the participants in other
conditions in important ways just by random chance. If this is the case, the differences found in the
dependent variable may be a function of these other differences rather than the result of the
manipulations. If the participants are randomly assigned to the conditions, however, the chances that the
participants differed in ways other than those created by the manipulations become very improbable,
especially with larger samples. Differences found in the dependent variable can thus be attributed to the
manipulations of the independent variables rather than to preexisting differences among the participants,
thereby creating internal validity.

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127. Imagine that some researchers are interested in college students’ self-reports about their reactions to various
stressful situations. Rather than simply asking the students to recall various stressful situations and their reactions to
them, the researchers want to reduce the time between the students’ self-reports about the situations and the actual
situations themselves. Describe two methods that have been developed by social psychologists that could serve this
purpose.

ANSWER: The textbook describes three such methods: interval-contingent, signal-contingent, and event-contingent.
Using the interval-contingent method, the researchers would have the students report their experiences
at regular intervals, such as once a day. Using the signal-contingent method, the researchers would ask
the students to report their experiences as soon as possible after being signaled to do so, as with a
beeper. Using the event-contingent method, the researchers would ask the students to report on a
designated set of events as soon as possible after such events occurred; for example, the students
might be asked to report their experiences as soon as possible after being confronted with a stressful
situation.

128. What role do values play in the scientific process?

ANSWER: Values can influence what questions researchers even think of to ask, as well as the way in which they
proceed to study that question. Some argue that because science is a human enterprise, values will
influence the research process, and we should simply acknowledge this and proceed. Others see
science as more value-free. They argue that it is better to try to rely heavily on the scientific method so
as to avoid allowing one’s personal biases and preconceptions to taint observations.
Values also influence the choices we make in any activity, research included. A value relevant to the
research process is honesty. It is important that researchers honestly report their findings so that the
scientific process can iteratively build upon them. If researchers fabricate their results, as one Dutch
social psychologist did recently, then science builds upon a story rather than an empirical observation.
As a result, everyone loses.

129. Elaborately explain a correlation coefficient. How will you differentiate between a positive or a negative coefficient?
ANSWER: When researchers examine the relationship between variables that vary in quantity (such as height or
degree of self-esteem), they can measure the strength and direction of the relationship between the
variables and calculate a statistic called a correlation coefficient. Correlation coefficients can range
from -1.0 to +1.0. The absolute value of the number (the number itself, without the positive or negative
sign) indicates how strongly the two variables are associated. The larger the absolute value of the
number, the stronger the association between the two variables, and thus the better either of the
variables is as a predictor of the other. Whether the coefficient is positive or negative indicates the
direction of the relationship. A positive correlation coefficient indicates that as one variable increases,
so does the other.

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130. Describe the concepts of mundane realism and experimental realism, and relate them to the larger issue of external
validity in a research study.

ANSWER: The external validity of an experiment may also depend in part on how realistic the study is for the
participants. But what is meant by realistic is not as straightforward as one might think. Two types of
realism can be distinguished: mundane versus experimental (Aronson & Carlsmith, 1968). Mundane
realism refers to the extent to which the research setting resembles the real-world setting of interest.
In order to study interpersonal attraction, Theodore Newcomb (1961) set up an entire college dormitory
—a striking example of mundane realism. Advocates of mundane realism contend that if research
procedures are more realistic, research findings are more likely to reveal what really goes on. In
contrast, experimental realism refers to the degree to which the experimental setting and procedures
are real and involving to the participant, regardless of whether they resemble real life or not. According
to those who favor experimental realism, if the experimental situation is compelling and real to the
participants while they are participating in the study, their behavior in the lab—even if the lab is in the
basement of the psychology building—will be as natural and spontaneous as their behavior in the real
world. The majority of social psychologists who conduct experiments emphasize experimental realism.

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