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PSY 2174 Final Exam Questions And
Correct Answers
Module 1: The Scientific Study of Behaviour - answer Way of acquiring knowledge - answer - Intuition
- Authority
- The Scientific Method Intuition (Way of acquiring knowledge) - answer Anecdotes, personal experience, opinion No critical thinking Authority (Way of acquiring knowledge) - answer Trust in experts or those in power No critical thinking Scientific Method (Way of acquiring knowledge) - answer Scientists do not accept knowledge from intuition or authority without evidence Why use the Scientific Method? - answer - An objective, systematic way to collect, evaluate, and report information about a phenomenon (reduces bias)
- Poses empirical questions that can be answered through structured observation (empirical questions are falsifiable: can be shown to be false or refuted) Scientific skepticism (Scientific Method) - answer Questioning the truth of information and seeking out evidence Empiricism (Scientific Method) - answer Gaining knowledge based on structured, systematic observations Goals of Psychological Research - answer - Describe
- Predict
- Determine causes
- Explain Describing behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer What happens? When? For whom? How often?
Predicting behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer When will a behaviour occur/not occur? Determining the causes of behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer Related to prediction, but relies on additional criteria:
- Covariation of cause and effect
- Temporal precedence
- No other alternative explanation Covariation of cause and effect (Determine causes) - answer - Causal factor is present: behaviour occurs
- Causal factor is not present: behaviour does not occur Temporal precedence (Determine causes) - answer Causal factor must occur before the behaviour does No other alternative explanation (Determine causes) - answer For the relationship that is observed between the causal factor and the behaviour Explaining behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer Why does a behaviour occur or change? Basic research - answer Answers fundamental questions about the nature of behaviour Applied research - answer Addresses practical, real-world problems with the goal of finding solutions Module 2: Research Starting Points - answer How to come up with a research idea - answer - Common assumptions
- Observations
- Practical problems
- Theories
- Past research Common assumptions (Coming up with a research idea) - answer Provide evidence for/against commonly held beliefs Observations (Coming up with a research idea) - answer Study what you know; "me-search" Practical problems (Coming up with a research idea) - answer Research to increase awareness, understand, solve current issues
Empirical studies (Types of research sources) - answer - Primary source
- Basic research paper detailing "original research"
- Research articles that report the results of one or more studies in which new data were collected and analyzed to answer a novel question
Systematic literature reviews (Types of research sources) - answer - Secondary source
- Offers a summary of existing empirical studies on a specific topic
- Provides general description of the findings in a particular area
- Researchers take great care to find all of the relevant research findings on a given topic (do this to fully summarize all the available research findings in the form of a narrative or text-based article)
Meta-analyses (Types of research sources) - answer - Secondary source
- Uses a statistical analysis to summarize existing empirical studies on a specific topic
- Provides statistical estimate of a set of findings in a particular area
- Systematically review all available research on a given topic
Structure of an academic article - answer - Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- References
- Appendices/Supplemental material
Abstract (Structure of an academic article) - answer Brief summary of entire article
Introduction (Structure of an academic article) - answer Tells a story, explains a purpose, past research findings/theoretical framework, builds in logical way towards
research hypothesis(es)
Methods (Structure of an academic article) - answer Describes the research design in detail
Results (Structure of an academic article) - answer Provides objective (non-interpreted) report of study findings
Discussion (Structure of an academic article) - answer - Interprets the study findings, typically in context of existing research and theory
- Proposes implications, limitations of study design, and future research directions
References (Structure of an academic article) - answer Complete list of all books, article, other sources the author(s) refer to
Appendices/Supplemental material (Structure of an academic article) - answer OPTIONAL to share extra details for the reader (e.g., test materials, data, etc.)
Hypothesis - answer A statement about a phenomenon that may or may not be true, which requires further evidence to support or refute it
Hypotheses based on theory/past research findings - answer - What parts of your guiding theory remain to be tested or require further testing?
- What areas have been suggested for additional research?
Replication of past research? - answer - Direct replication: directly replicates the design of a past research study
- Conceptual replication: indirectly replicate a finding or concept using a slightly different methodological approach
"Exploratory hypotheses" - answer - Insufficient past research/theory to develop clear
in a particular study to represent that variable
- A single variable may have many different possible operationalizations
Operational definitions inform... - answer - Measurement
- Predictions
- Research design
Non-experimental designs - answer - Research designs that focus on determining the relationship(s) between variables
- Also known as "correlational methods"
- "Do the variables of interest change together in meaningful ways?"
Advantages of non-experimental designs - answer - Can establish trends across large amounts of data
- Good for describing behaviour
- Can be used to predict future behaviour
- Sometimes necessary due to ethical issues
Disadvantages of non-experimental designs - answer - Direction of causal influence
Direction of causal influence (Disadvantages of non-experimental designs) - answer Which variable causes changes in the other?
Third-variable problem (Disadvantages of non-experimental designs) - answer What if an unmeasured variable is actually responsible for the relationship between two measured variables?
Experimental designs - answer - Research designs that try to determine causal
influence between variables
- At least one variable is manipulated, one variable is measured or observed
Independent variable (IV) - answer The variable that "causes" changes in behaviour; is manipulated/controlled
Dependent variable (DV) - answer The variable that is affected by changes in the IV; is measured
How experiments allow for causal influences (Experimental designs) - answer - Temporal precedence
- IV and DV covary
- Eliminate alternative explanations When all 3 criteria are met, an experiment has high internal validity
Internal validity - answer The degree to which the experiment's design allows for causal conclusions
Temporal precedence (How experiments allow for causal influences: experimental designs) - answer IV comes before DV
IV and DV covary (How experiments allow for causal influences: experimental designs) - answer Changes in one accompanied by changes in the other
Eliminate alternate explanations (How experiments allow for causal influences: experimental designs) - answer Removal of influence of confounding variables
- Experimental control
- Random assignment to levels of IV
Advantages of experimental designs - answer - Answer questions about causes of
Stratified random sampling (Probability sampling) - answer Population divided into subgroups; number of people randomly selected from each subgroup is proportional to their size in the population
Cluster sampling (Probability sampling) - answer Clusters of people are identified from population, everyone in those clusters are the sample
Non-probability sampling - answer No real effort to ensure that sample accurately represents the population
Convenience sampling (Non-probability sampling) - answer Sample participants selected on the basis of availability
Purposive sampling (Non-probability sampling) - answer Sample participants selected on the basis of availability, as long as they meet some criterion
Quota sampling (Non-probability sampling) - answer Sample participants selected on the basis of availability, but certain subgroups from population are proportionally represented
Self-report measures (Types of measures) - answer Individuals explicitly asked to respond on their thoughts, attitudes, or beliefs
- Questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, etc.
Behavioural measures (Types of measures) - answer Direct observation of behaviour
- Facial expression coding, counting behaviour occurrence, etc.
Physiological measures (Types of measures) - answer Recording of bodily response to stimulus
- Heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, EEG, fMRI, etc.
How to choose a measure - answer - Nature of operational definitions and research hypothesis
- Cost (monetary and practicality)
- Quality (reliability, validity, reactivity)
Reliability (Quality of Measures) - answer Degree to which a measure consistently produces scores that can be reproduced under the same conditions
- High reliability = more stable measure
Internal consistency (Reliability) - answer - How consistent is the measure across items measuring the same concept?
- Relevant to: self-report measures
- Cronbach's alpha (α): average correlation between items of a measure
Test-Retest reliability - answer - How consistent is the measure across time points?
- Relevant to: self-report, behavioural, and physiological measures
- Test-retest correlation: correlation between score on measure at time 1 and time 2
Inter-rater reliability - answer - How consistent is the measure across different raters?
- Relevant to: behavioural observations
- Cohen's kappa/intraclass correlation: extent of agreement between raters
Validity (Quality of Measures) - answer Degree to which a measure correctly measures variable/behaviour (construct) of interest
High validity - answer Measure seems to accurately measure the behaviour/construct it is designed to measure
How a measure might lack validity - answer - It does not appear, on its surface, to
Exceptions in which fully informed consent is not required - answer - Purely observational research
- Special populations (e.g., children who are minors → assent)
- Research requiring deception
Concern for Welfare (Tri-Council Policy Statement) - answer The potential benefits of participating in the research are greater than the potential risks to participating in the research
Possible types of risk (Concern for Welfare) - answer - Physical harm
- Psychological stress
- Risk of losing privacy and confidentiality
Justice (Tri-Council Policy Statement) - answer - All individuals and groups have fair access to benefits of research and participation, and experience same level of potential risks
- Cannot target a particular group to study without the research directly benefiting and involving that group/community
Institutional Research Ethics Board (REB) - answer Committees of scientists, non-scientists and legal experts who review proposed studies' procedures and deem them ethically acceptable or unacceptable
Levels of ethical risk (REB) - answer - Exempt
- Minimal risk
- Greater than minimal risk
Exempt (Levels of ethical risk: REB) - answer No REB review
- e.g., purely observational studies, anonymous archival data, literature reviews and meta-analyses
Minimal risk (Levels of ethical risk: REB) - answer Single REB member review
- e.g., survey studies in competent adult samples
Greater than minimal risk (Levels of ethical risk: REB) - answer Full REB review
- e.g., self-harm behaviour, illicit drug use, research involving vulnerable populations
Module 6: Observational Methods - answer
Quantitative approaches - answer Research approaches that result in numeric data that are statistically analyzed
Qualitative approaches - answer Research approaches that result in non-numeric data that are analyzed for meaning, themes, and/or patterns
Mixed methods - answer - Combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches
- Maximizes the types of conclusions drawn
Naturalistic Observations (Observational research methods) - answer - A research method that involves the researcher making systematic observations in a natural setting in the real world
- A broad range of behaviours are typically of interest
- Can be quantitative or qualitative
Participant observation (Naturalistic observation) - answer Researcher joins the community they are observing
Non-participant observation (Naturalistic observation) - answer Researcher does not actively participate and/or their presence is hidden from observed group
Case Studies (Observational research methods) - answer A research method in which the researcher makes detailed descriptive observations of behaviour and/or other factors from a single individual
- Data tend to be qualitative
- Common for studying rare, low frequency phenomena
Advantages of Case Studies - answer - Rich, detailed information
- Can be used when other methods would be impossible of unethical
Disadvantages of Case Studies - answer - Low external validity
- Observer (researcher) bias
Module 7: Self-Report Methods - answer
Self-Report Research Methods - answer Specific way in which data about a variable can be collected
Research Design - answer How an overall study is set up, and whether different variables are either observed or manipulates
Questionnaire Research - answer - A set of questions answered by participants regarding their attitudes or behaviours
- Questionnaires are a convenient way to gather a lot of information
- Can produce either quantitative or qualitative data
Closed-ended questions - answer Questions with limited choice of response questions
Open-ended questions - answer Any response is possible
Issues in questionnaire research - answer Rely on participants' honest and meaningful responses
- Social desirability bias: tendency for participants to respond in ways that are likely to be viewed favourably
Advantages of Questionnaires - answer - Affordable & efficient
- Large sample sizes
- Anonymity
- Flexibility
Disadvantages of Questionnaires - answer - Risk of collecting biased or untruthful data is higher
Interview Research - answer Data collection approach where researchers ask participants questions orally
Interviews are subject to interviewer bias - answer Any influence the interviewer has over the participants' response
Face-to-Face Interviews (Types of Interviews) - answer - Quantitative & Qualitative
- Interviewer & participant meet in person to complete the interview
- Can include both closed- & open-ended questions
- More feasible if sample size is small
Telephone Interviews (Types of Interviews) - answer - Quantitative & Qualitative
- Traditionally held by phone
- Can include both closed- & open-ended questions
- Adaptable to larger samples if using multiple interviewers
could bias participant's response; maintain neutral tone
Negative wording (Asking "good" questions) - answer Question is framed in the negative, which can confuse respondents as to how to correctly indicate their preference
Solution to negative wording - answer Avoid negative phrasing
Module 8: Basic Experimental Designs - answer
Confounding variables - answer Variables that are connected to the IV that could actually explain the change in DV
Between-subjects designs (Types of experimental designs) - answer Different participants are assigned to each level or condition of the IV
Random assignment (Reducing selection differences: between-subjects design) - answer - Randomly selected participants for each IV condition
- Reduces risk of systematic differences across groups
Pretest-posttest design (Reducing selection differences: between-subjects design) - answer - DV measured both before and after experimental manipulation of IV
- Can compare pretest scores across groups and ensure no pre-existing differences
Matched pairs design (Reducing selection differences: between-subjects design) - answer Participants sorted into pairs by matching some characteristic then each member is randomly assigned to an IV condition
Within-subjects designs (Types of experimental designs) - answer The same group of participants are assigned to each level or condition of the IV
- Internal validity of within-subjects designs is threatened by issues resulting from
repeated measuring of the same DV
Order effects - answer When the order of levels/conditions has an influence on the DV
- Reduced by counterbalancing IV levels
Practice effects (Order effects) - answer Participants perform better over time because of repeated experience with study tasks
Fatigue effects (Order effects) - answer Participants perform poorer over time because they are tired or bored/inattentive
Contrast effects (Order effects) - answer Participant responses following a later condition are impacted by experience in earlier condition
Advantages of between-subjects designs - answer - Allows for causal inference (advantage over non-experimental designs)
- Useful when exposure to multiple levels of IV is not realistic or order effects cannot be eliminated
Disadvantages of between-subjects designs - answer - Selection differences could confound results (addressed with random assignment, inclusion of pretest, and/or matched pairs)
Advantages of within-subjects designs - answer - Allows for causal inference (advantage over non-experimental designs)
- Fewer participants needed
- Individual differences are not an issue
- Can detect very small differences
