Research Methods Quiz

When we have the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it, it is called:  

• intuition
• hindsight bias
• overconfidence
• perceiving order in random events

A testable prediction is called (a/an):

• operational definition
• theory
• replication
• hypothesis

Which of the following does NOT explain the utility of a theory?

• It organizes a range of self-reports and observations
• It explains causation
• It implies predictions to derive practical applications
• It stimulates further research that may lead to a revised theory

Random sampling:

• represents a given population
• allows each person an equal chance of participating
• allows greater generalizability
• all of the above

In a double-blind procedure, who is unaware of the experimental group assignment?

• The experimenter
• The participants
• Neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware
• Both the experimenter and participants are aware

Which of the following is the most frequently occurring score/s in a distribution?

• Mode
• Mean
• Skew
• Median

Which of the following is a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean?

• Range
• Skew
• Normal curve
• Standard deviation

Mary watches several different species of birds to discover how they feed their young in their habitat, without being intrusive. This would be an example of what type of study?

• Case study
• Naturalistic observation
• Survey
• Experiment

Which of the following would be considered a strong, negative correlation?

• -.23
• .90
• .01
• -.85

In an experiment that looks at the effects of caffeine on alertness in class, one group of students gets caffeinated coffee, another group of students gets water, and a final group of students gets decaffeinated coffee (but thinks it’s caffeinated). This last (decaf) group would be the:

• control group
• placebo group
• experimental group
• confound