Test Bank For Social Psychology 4th Edition Test Bank

CHAPTER 2: The Methods of Social Psychology MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Dr. Goldstein hopes to reveal that although some of the findings presented in her class may seem obvious, students would not have predicted them accurately. To do so, she asked her students to take a guess about the results of a study before describing the outcome. Many of the students’ predictions were wrong. Dr. Goldstein is demonstrating what to her students? a. the prediction bias c. external validity b. the hindsight bias d. internal validity ANS: B OBJ: 2.1A DIF: Easy MSC: Applying REF: The Value of Social Psychology Research 2. In her social psychology course, Maria learns that the more one is exposed to something, such as a song on the radio, the more one tends to like it. Maria thinks this so obvious and questions why she signed up for the class. What might Maria be displaying? a. random sampling c. the hindsight bias b. biased sampling d. the learning bias ANS: C OBJ: 2.1A DIF: Easy MSC: Applying REF: The Value of Social Psychology Research 3. All of the following are examples of resources used in archival research EXCEPT a. police records. c. firsthand observations of behavior. b. newspaper articles. d. databases. ANS: C OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Remembering 4. Interviews and written questionnaires are forms of which type of research method? a. observation c. applied b. archival d. survey ANS: D OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Remembering 5. A social psychologist finds a relationship between socioeconomic status and relationship satisfaction in married couples. This study most likely describes which type of research method? a. observational c. experimental b. archival d. correlational ANS: D OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Easy MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 6. Dr. Samanta is interested in how personality changes over adolescence. She enrolls a sample of ten-year-olds and follows them through age seventeen. This kind of study is known as a(n) ________ study. a. observational c. cross-sectional b. longitudinal d. mixed design ANS: B OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Easy MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 7. Experiments are different from other research methods in that they encompass which of the following components? a. self-selection c. random sampling b. two variables d. random assignment ANS: D OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Easy MSC: Analyzing REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 8. The independent variable in an experiment is a. manipulated and is the hypothesized cause of a particular outcome. b. measured and is the hypothesized effect. c. based on self-selection. d. an indication of the degree of the relationship between two variables. ANS: A OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Remembering 9. In an experiment, the control condition a. does not include an independent variable. b. is run before the experimental condition. c. is compared with the experimental condition. d. does not include a dependent variable. ANS: C OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 10. The primary difference between natural experiments and standard experiments is that natural experiments a. do not involve independent variables. b. do not involve dependent variables. c. typically involve random assignment of individuals. d. typically do not involve random assignment of individuals. ANS: D OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Moderate MSC: Analyzing REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 11. Which of the following best describes a research study that randomly assigns people to different conditions and carefully controls all of the other circumstances so that they will be the same across the two conditions? a. experiment c. survey b. correlation d. observation ANS: A OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 12. When random sampling is used, it means that a. participants are equally likely to be assigned to one condition or another. b. every member of a population has an equal chance of being selected. c. some members of a population are more likely than others to be selected. d. participants are assigned to different conditions based on a particular trait or variable. ANS: B OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Remembering 13. Which of the following is the best example of observational research? a. living with a group of people and observing their behavior b. reviewing historical records to find trends in behavior patterns c. examining the relationship between two variables d. recording participants’ responses on questionnaires ANS: A OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 14. Which of the following would be an example of random sampling in a survey study designed to learn more about the student body at a particular college? a. asking students to fill out a survey in a campus magazine and then mailing it to the investigators b. tossing a coin to determine who will be surveyed from a list of all students enrolled c. surveying all customers who visit a particular coffee shop on campus d. surveying fraternity and sorority members on campus ANS: B OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Moderate MSC: Analyzing REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 15. What is one of the most important differences between correlational and experimental research designs? a. Experiments measure the degree of the relationship between two variables. b. Correlations only examine one variable. c. Experiments use random assignment. d. It is impossible to determine cause by doing an experiment. ANS: C OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Moderate MSC: Analyzing REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 16. Which of the following correlations indicates the weakest relationship between two variables? a. 1.0 c. – 0.6 b. 0.8 d. 0.2 ANS: D OBJ: 2.2C DIF: Easy MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 17. Which of the following scatterplot graphs displays the strongest relationship between two variables? a. c. b. ANS: D OBJ: 2.2C d. DIF: Moderate MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 18. Which of the following research methods is the best way to identify a causal relationship between two variables? a. observational c. correlational b. archival d. experimental ANS: D OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Moderate REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 19. An experiment by Darley and Batson (1973) looked at seminary students’ willingness to help. In one condition, participants were made to hurry from one building to another by being told they were late to give a speech, which was part of the study requirements. In the other condition, participants were only told to go over to another building in order to give the speech. Both groups encountered a person lying on the ground on their way to the other building. The experimenter observed the participants from both groups and counted the number of people who stopped to check on the person lying on the ground. It was found that the participants who were in a hurry stopped much less frequently than the participants who were not in a hurry. In this experiment, what was the independent variable? a. being made to hurry from one building to another or not b. the person lying on the ground c. the number of people stopping to check on the person lying on the ground d. going from one building to another ANS: A OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Difficult MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 20. A researcher measures the galvanic skin response (GSR), or degree of sweating, of people holding a clear plastic jar containing a spider. She compares the GSRs of people with spider phobias with the GSRs of people without spider phobias. In this experiment, the galvanic skin response functions as the a. independent variable. c. control condition. b. dependent variable. d. experimental condition. ANS: B OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Moderate MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 21. The problem with self-selection in research is that a. people often choose the experimental condition in which they want to participate. b. people often overestimate their own contributions to the research. c. it makes causal interpretations difficult. d. it violates ethical guidelines. ANS: C OBJ: 2.2C DIF: Difficult MSC: Evaluating REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 22. A study shows that people who watch the local evening news believe the world is more dangerous than people who do not watch the evening news. On the basis of this study, a newspaper reporter concludes that watching the evening news causes people to believe the world is more dangerous than it actually is. This is a flawed conclusion because a. the reporter has a bias because he works for the newspaper. b. it confuses a correlational relationship with a causal relationship. c. it fails to compare evening news viewers with newspaper readers. d. one study does not provide enough evidence to make this type of conclusion. ANS: B OBJ: 2.2C DIF: Difficult MSC: Evaluating REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 23. A biased sample would most likely result in which of the following? a. invalid conclusions based on the survey results b. a violation of ethical principles in research c. valid interpretation of the survey results d. too small a sample size to make a valid conclusion ANS: A OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Moderate REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 24. It is very common for magazines to conduct surveys in which readers voluntarily fill out survey cards and mail the cards to the publisher. The main problem with conducting a survey in this manner is that a. some of these surveys will be lost by the postal service. b. people are not truthful when filling out anonymous surveys. c. mail-in surveys are generally not as effective as surveys conducted over the Internet. d. people who respond to the survey are likely to be different from those who do not respond. ANS: D OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Moderate MSC: Evaluating REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 25. Experiments are the best research method for finding causal relationships between variables because they incorporate ________ and ________ into their design. a. control conditions; self-selection b. control conditions; random assignment c. external validity; dependent variables d. independent variables; informed consent ANS: B OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Moderate REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 26. Random assignment is an important aspect of experiments because it a. allows for more statistically significant results. b. is consistent with institutional review board policies. c. ensures fairness because everyone has an equal chance for selection in the study. d. cancels out individual differences and reduces selection biases between conditions. ANS: D OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Moderate REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 27. If a research group plans to conduct a survey poll about an upcoming presidential election in the United States, what is a best guess regarding the minimum percentage of all likely voters that will be needed to obtain a reasonably accurate estimation of voter opinion, assuming that a random sample is obtained? a. 2 percent c. 50 percent b. 20 percent d. 80 percent ANS: A OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Difficult MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 28. You read the results of a survey that reports that two-thirds of Cosmopolitan readers lost weight by ―going vegan.‖ You should not give the report of this survey much credence because a. Cosmopolitan readers are disinterested in participating in surveys. b. readers were not properly assigned to control and experimental conditions. c. readers who responded to the survey are not likely the same as those who did not. d. Cosmopolitan readers are overly eager to participate in surveys. ANS: C OBJ: 2.2B DIF: Difficult MSC: Evaluating REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 29. Which of the following is a limitation of correlational research? a. We can never be sure about causality. b. The strength of the relationship cannot be inferred. c. Independent variables can be manipulated. d. Self-selection of participants is not a problem. ANS: A OBJ: 2.2C DIF: Difficult MSC: Evaluating REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 30. Which of the following indicates the strongest relationship between variables? a. – 0.9 c. – 0.6 b. + 0.8 d. – 0.2 ANS: A OBJ: 2.2C DIF: Moderate MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 31. An experiment that is set in the real world, and in which the participants themselves are usually unaware that they are participating in a research study, is usually described as a a. longitudinal study. c. field experiment. b. laboratory experiment. d. correlational study. ANS: C OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Easy REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Remembering 32. One of the primary reasons field experiments are conducted is that they a. are logistically very easy to carry out. b. are very high in external validity. c. incorporate a high degree of consistency across conditions. d. usually result in statistically significant results. ANS: B OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Moderate REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 33. Dr. Lee runs a study to test whether people with low self-esteem prefer to spend time with someone who evaluates them more negatively rather than someone that evaluates them more positively. Dr. Lee hopes that this study will contribute to the broader research on self-verification, which argues that people have a strong desire for others to see them in ways consistent with how they see themselves. Dr. Lee’s study tests ________ , whereas the total research on self-verification tests ________. a. internal validity; reliability c. a theory; a hypothesis b. reliability; internal validity d. a hypothesis; a theory ANS: D OBJ: 2.2A DIF: Difficult MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 34. A hypothesis ________ , while a theory ________. a. is tested by a specific study; encompasses a body of related research b. encompasses a body of related research; is tested by a specific study c. is tested scientifically; is not tested scientifically d. is not tested scientifically; is tested scientifically ANS: A OBJ: 2.2A DIF: Easy MSC: Analyzing REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 35. Which of the following is the best example of a correlational research study? a. Researchers assigned participants to do either a stressful task or an easy task and then measured their blood pressure. b. Researchers compared the blood pressure of participants that were trained to reduce stress by meditating and participants that were trained to reduce stress by drawing. c. Researchers measured the stress levels in participants that were given a blood pressure drug and participants that were given a placebo drug. d. Researchers measured the association between participants’ blood pressures and their degrees of chronic stress. ANS: D OBJ: 2.2C DIF: Difficult MSC: Analyzing REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 36. As they walked down the street, participants (unaware they were part of a study) were approached by a confederate posing as a panhandler (i.e., a person begging for money). The confederate asked the participant for either seventy-five cents or for whatever change he or she had handy. The researchers compared how much money participants gave across these two conditions. This is best characterized as which type of research design? a. a field experiment c. a correlational study b. a natural experiment d. a longitudinal study ANS: A OBJ: 2.2D DIF: Difficult MSC: Applying REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas 37. If an experiment produces reliable results, what does this mean? a. There is a low probability of obtaining these results by chance alone. b. The independent variable had a strong effect on the dependent variable. c. It is likely to yield the same results on repeated occasions. d. There is a strong correlation between some measurement and what that measurement is supposed to predict. ANS: C OBJ: 2.3A DIF: Easy REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Remembering 38. When there is a high correlation between a measurement instrument and the outcomes that the instrument is supposed to predict, this instrument is said to be high in a. measurement validity. c. reliability. b. internal validity. d. statistical significance. ANS: A OBJ: 2.3A DIF: Easy REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Remembering 39. If a social psychology experiment is conducted that has very little relation to real-life experiences or situations, this experiment would be low in a. external validity. c. reliability. b. internal validity. d. statistical significance. ANS: A OBJ: 2.3A DIF: Easy REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Understanding 40. When an experiment has poor internal validity, which of the following might be of concern? a. The results of the experiment may not relate to real-world situations. b. It might be difficult to determine if the independent variable was what produced the result. c. The observed results may not be statistically significant. d. The results may not be practically significant. ANS: B OBJ: 2.3A DIF: Moderate REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Understanding 41. Social psychologists will often run pilot studies that are very similar to actual experiments that they intend to run later but that differ in that participants are used as consultants to check that the experiment instructions are understandable, that the scenarios are believable, and so forth. Running a pilot study such as this particularly helps to increase the ________ of an experiment. a. external validity c. measurement validity b. internal validity ANS: B OBJ: 2.3A d. statistical significance DIF: Difficult REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Understanding 42. Random assignment is a crucial component of experiment design. Failing to use random assignment when placing participants into groups would have the strongest effect on the ________ of an experiment. a. external validity c. measurement validity b. internal validity d. statistical significance ANS: B OBJ: 2.3A DIF: Difficult REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Understanding 43. A social psychologist conducts an experiment and finds a statistically significant result. This means that the a. probability of obtaining this finding by chance alone is less than some quantity. b. probability of obtaining this finding by chance alone is greater than some quantity. c. experiment is very high in external validity. d. experiment is very low in external validity. ANS: A OBJ: 2.3B DIF: Difficult REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Understanding 44. High school seniors were given a test that is supposed to predict scholastic performance during the first year of college. When the results were analyzed, however, there was no correlation between the test scores and first-year performance. This is an example of poor a. statistical significance. c. measurement validity. b. reliability. d. internal validity. ANS: C OBJ: 2.3A DIF: Moderate MSC: Applying REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research 45. In an experiment, a statistically significant result depends the most on which two factors? a. the size of the difference between groups and the validity of the experiment b. the size of the difference between groups and the number of cases on which it is based c. the validity of the experiment and the number of cases on which it is based d. the validity of the experiment and the number of dependent variables the study used ANS: B OBJ: 2.3B DIF: Difficult REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Remembering 46. An intervention is a(n) a. debriefing conducted at the conclusion of an experiment. b. punishment delivered to a person. c. effort to change a person’s behavior. d. measure taken by psychologists to minimize bias in study results. ANS: C OBJ: 2.4A DIF: Easy REF: Basic and Applied Science MSC: Remembering 47. A group of social psychologists are working on a research project with the aim of promoting condom use as a way to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. This type of research project is probably best described as ________ science. a. basic c. pseudob. applied d. hard ANS: B OBJ: 2.4A DIF: Moderate MSC: Applying REF: Basic and Applied Science 48. Research in basic science aims to a. solve real-world problems, without concern about understanding the phenomena in its own right. b. understand simple questions in science. c. solve difficult questions in science. d. understand a phenomenon in its own right without concern with real-world issues. ANS: D OBJ: 2.4A DIF: Easy REF: Basic and Applied Science MSC: Remembering 49. The social psychologist Carol Dweck found that people who believe that intelligence is a matter of hard work actually study harder in school and get better grades. She used this finding to design an academic success program targeted for minority junior high school students. What does this illustrate about the connection between basic and applied research? a. Basic research always has to come before applied research. b. Applied research is not useful without also engaging in basic research. c. Basic and applied research should not be conducted by the same person. d. Basic research can lead to theories used to design applied interventions. ANS: D OBJ: 2.4A DIF: Moderate MSC: Analyzing REF: Basic and Applied Science 50. Pooja conducts a study as part of her honors thesis in psychology and finds a surprising result. Before publishing the finding in a psychology journal, Pooja wants to be more confident that it did not happen by chance. What should Pooja consider doing? a. debriefing her participants b. rerunning the study to see if the result replicates c. contacting the IRB d. rerunning the study, this time using deception ANS: B OBJ: 2.4B DIF: Difficult MSC: Applying REF: Basic and Applied Science 51. When a researcher runs the same study a second time to see if he or she gets the same results, he or she is attempting to a. evaluate the internal validity of the study. b. evaluate the external validity of the study. c. replicate the results. d. improve the results. ANS: C OBJ: 2.4B DIF: Easy REF: Basic and Applied Science MSC: Understanding 52. An institutional review board (IRB) has reviewed a study and determined that participating in the study will likely make the participants feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. Could the IRB allow the researchers to begin this study? a. No; making participants uncomfortable is never acceptable. b. Yes; the IRB examines only whether participants will be in physical pain. c. Yes; as long as participants are not overly harmed and the research has significant value. d. No; if any aspects of research studies are harmful in any way, IRBs cannot allow them. ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Ethical Concerns in Social Psychology Research OBJ: 2.5A MSC: Remembering 53. The function of an IRB is to review a. university research spending. b. grant proposals, to ensure that they are financially feasible. c. research proposals and judge the ethical appropriateness of the research. d. the reliability of research findings at the institution. ANS: C OBJ: 2.5A DIF: Easy REF: Ethical Concerns in Social Psychology Research MSC: Remembering 54. A person volunteered to participate in an experiment but was not told anything about what the experiment involved until after it was finished. The failure to inform this person about the experiment violates which ethical principle in research? a. institutional review board c. deception research b. informed consent d. debriefing ANS: B OBJ: 2.5A DIF: Moderate MSC: Applying REF: Ethical Concerns in Social Psychology Research 55. Debriefing participants after an experiment is completed is always an important step in the experimental procedure. However, debriefing is particularly important when a. deception is used. b. an institutional review board has not reviewed the study. c. a monetary reward is given. d. informed consent has not been obtained. ANS: A OBJ: 2.5A DIF: Moderate REF: Ethical Concerns in Social Psychology Research MSC: Remembering SHORT ANSWER 1. Jamal is taking a course in social psychology and learns about the Milgram Experiment, in which the majority of participants administered potentially fatal shocks to another person when an experimenter told them to do so. After class, he thinks to himself that the results are really not that surprising. He most certainly would have guessed that people are willing to hurt others if someone tells them to. Describe what bias to which Jamal is potentially falling prey. ANS: Jamal is falling prey to the hindsight bias. This is the tendency for people to be overconfident about whether they could have predicted a given outcome. DIF: Difficult OBJ: 2.1A REF: The Value of Social Psychology Research MSC: Applying 2. Describe the difference between a natural experiment and a true experiment conducted in the laboratory. ANS: In a natural experiment, a naturally occurring event creates somewhat different conditions (before and after) that can be compared. This comparison can be done with nearly as much rigor as in a true experiment in which the researcher manipulates conditions. A natural experiment differs from a true experiment because there is no random assignment. DIF: Easy OBJ: 2.2D REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Analyzing 3. Describe the following research methods in social psychology: observational, archival, and survey. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method? ANS: Several advantages and disadvantages are acceptable including those outlined below. Observational research involves observing participants at a close range and recording aspects of their behavior. It allows researchers to study people in real-life situations but can often be misleading as the researchers’ presence may alter the situation. Archival research involves examining archives of various kinds. It allows researchers to discover broad patterns of behavior but cannot reveal causal relationships between variables. Survey research involves administering interviews and questionnaires. It may be easy to conduct, but it is also prone to random sampling errors. DIF: Moderate OBJ: 2.2B REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Evaluating 4. What is the goal of correlational research? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this type of research? ANS: Correlational research evaluates whether a relationship exists between two or more variables. Several advantages and disadvantages are acceptable. For example, researchers can rely on correlational methods to evaluate the relationship between variables when it is unethical or impossible to randomly assign participants to conditions. However, correlational research cannot reveal causal relationships between these variables. DIF: Moderate OBJ: 2.2C REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Evaluating 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of experimental research compared with other types of research methods (observational, archival, survey, and correlational)? ANS: Several advantages and disadvantages are acceptable, including the following: As compared to all other research methods, experiments alone allow researchers to determine causal relationships between variables. However, researchers must rely on these other methods when it is impossible or unethical to randomly assign participants to conditions. Moreover, in order to have a carefully controlled experiment, external validity may suffer—meaning that the results of the experiment may not generalize to real-life settings. DIF: Moderate OBJ: 2.2B REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Evaluating 6. Describe the necessary components of a true experiment. ANS: Several answers are acceptable, including the following: A true experiment involves randomly assigning participants to experimental and control conditions. The only difference between these conditions must be the level of the independent variable. DIF: Easy OBJ: 2.2D REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Understanding 7. Why is random sampling so important to conducting research in social psychology? What are some of the potential pitfalls of not having a random sample? ANS: Random sampling is important when researchers are trying to understand the beliefs or attitudes of a particular population. In this process, every person in the population has an equal chance of being chosen. This helps to ensure that the sample tested reasonably captures the proportions of different types of people in the population of interest. If the sample is biased in some way, the proportions of different types of people in the sample may be skewed, and as such, their responses may not do a good job of approximating responses in the population. DIF: Difficult OBJ: 2.2B REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Evaluating 8. Explain the difference between hypotheses and theories. ANS: A hypothesis is a prediction about what will happen under particular circumstances. Typically a hypothesis is tested by a specific study. In contrast, a theory is a body of related propositions intended to describe some aspect of the world. Theories are more general than hypotheses but also typically have the support of empirical data. They may encompass the results of many studies. DIF: Difficult OBJ: 2.2A REF: How Social Psychologists Test Ideas MSC: Analyzing 9. What does it mean when there is a statistically significant relationship between two variables? ANS: A statistically significant relationship between two variables means that the probability of finding that relationship by chance is unlikely (typically less than 5 percent). DIF: Difficult OBJ: 2.3B REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Understanding 10. Describe the types of concerns that an investigator might have about conducting a study with poor external validity. ANS: External validity refers to how closely the experimental setup resembles real-life situations. If a study has low external validity, any conclusions drawn from the research cannot generalize to contexts beyond those of the study itself. DIF: Moderate OBJ: 2.3A REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Understanding 11. Compare and contrast external validity and internal validity. ANS: Both external and internal validity are concerned with whether a study measured something meaningful. External validity focuses on whether the results that emerge during the controlled environment of a research study actually relate to how the processes unfold in other situations. Do the results generalize outside of the laboratory? In contrast, internal validity considers whether the manipulated, or independent, variable is indeed responsible for the results. Was there a confound in the design? Did random assignment work? Did the participants understand the instructions? If either form of validity is lacking, the researchers may not have measured something meaningful. DIF: Difficult OBJ: 2.3A REF: More Concepts for Understanding Research MSC: Analyzing 12. Dr. Gupta reads a colleague’s research report and is very surprised by the results. She decides to run the study herself, using the exact same procedures. Dr. Gupta does not get the same results and confronts her colleague about this issue. Describe the process in which Dr. Gupta is engaging and consider its importance for social psychology and science more generally. ANS: Dr. Gupta is attempting to replicate the results of her colleague’s study. She is running the study a second time, using the original procedures, to confirm whether the same results emerge. This process is important to social psychology, as well as science more generally, as the results of replication attempts suggest whether a finding, particularly a surprising one, should be accepted by the field or be challenged. DIF: Difficult MSC: Applying REF: Basic and Applied Science OBJ: 2.4B 13. Describe the difference between basic science and applied science. ANS: Basic science is research concerned with trying to understand some phenomenon in its own right. Here, the focus is on building theories about the way the world works. In contrast, applied science is research concerned with solving real-world problems. DIF: Difficult MSC: Analyzing REF: Basic and Applied Science OBJ: 2.4A 14. What are the benefits of conducting a debriefing after the conclusion of a study, for both the investigator and the participant? ANS: Debriefing participants involves explaining the purpose of the experiment and the knowledge gained. Several answers regarding the benefits of debriefing are acceptable, including the following: Debriefing is useful for the investigator, particularly during pilot studies, for determining whether the instructions and setup of the study were clear and reasonable. Debriefing is also an opportunity to educate participants regarding the questions studied, the research processes more generally, and how the research may contribute to society. DIF: Moderate OBJ: 2.5A REF: Ethical Concerns in Social Psychology Research MSC: Remembering 15. What is the purpose of an IRB? What must the board consider? ANS: An IRB examines research proposals and makes judgments about their ethical appropriateness. The members of the board must consider both the discomfort and harm caused to participants as well as the value of the scientific information obtained. DIF: Difficult OBJ: 2.5A REF: Ethical Concerns in Social Psychology Research MSC: Understanding