Experimentation

If a plant is in a room filled with people talking, then it will grow faster than in a silent room. In this study, the type of room is the

• the dependent variable.

• an extraneous variable.

• a placebo.

• the independent variable.

An independent variable in an experiment refers to

• the variable that is held constant across experimental conditions.

• the variable deliberately manipulated by the experimenter.

• the variable that the experimenter believes will change in value because of systematic correlations that exist in the experiment.

• the variable that provides an alternative explanation for the results of the experiment.

The two main types of research methods used in psychology are the

• experimental and descriptive/correlational research methods

• experimental and case study research methods

• descriptive and correlational research methods

• descriptive/correlational and case study research methods

A scientific journal refers to

• a personal diary kept by a scientist.

• a periodical that publishes technical and scholarly articles.

• a detailed record of the daily procedures followed in conducting a study.

• a collection of biographies of famous scientists.

Laura answered a series of written questions that asked about her attitudes and opinions on a number of current issues. The method of data collection that was being used in this case was

• a standardized psychological test.

• archival research.

• direct observation.

• a questionnaire.

A researcher interested in studying individuals' attitudes toward "animal rights issues" would MOST likely conduct

• a case study.

• a survey.

• a correlation.

• a naturalistic observation.

Which of the following techniques is most likely to prove useful in determining why one particular child is afraid to go to school?

• experiment

• descriptive study

• naturalistic observation

• case study

Which research method involves a researcher engaging in careful observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects?

• criterion-based induction

• case studies

• surveys

• naturalistic observation

Researchers studying the effects of sleep deprivation tested the physical coordination skills of 25-year-old males who had been sleep deprived for either 24, 36, or 48 hours. In this study, the dependent variable would be

• The age of the participants

• The physical coordination skills of the men in the study

• The length of time the participants had been sleep deprived

• The type of physical coordination task the researchers use

Any measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviors that are controlled or observed in a study are called

• hypothesis

• correlations

• variables

• confounds