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Chapter 2

Practice Test

Practice Test

This activity contains 20 questions.

	Based on her knowledge of ecological systems theory, Dr. Suarez has designed a study to test her prediction that children show better adjustment when their parents work in flexible, family-friendly environments rather than in rigidly structured settings with few family benefits. In research terminology, Dr. Suarez’s prediction is called a(n)   research question. hypothesis. opinion. theory.

	A researcher interested in how teachers respond to children with ADHD goes into several elementary school classrooms to observe teacher-student interactions during daily instructional periods. While there, the investigator records each teacher’s behaviors toward students diagnosed with ADHD. Which method is this researcher using to gather information?   naturalistic observation structured observation structured interview clinical method

	The greatest disadvantage of structured observation is that   participants may not behave the same way in the laboratory as they do in their natural environment. it is more time consuming than other research methods. not all participants have the same opportunity to display the behavior of interest. it permits less control over the research situation than does naturalistic observation.

	Dr. Phan is studying parent–child joint attention during play. He conducts a series of 30-minute observations with a sample of parent–child dyads. During the observations, he records each pair’s joint attention in 20-second intervals. This is an example of   structured sampling. event sampling. response sampling. time sampling.

	Professor Ortiz is conducting a study of children’s peer interactions in the school lunchroom. To expedite the research process, Dr. Ortiz has decided to collect his own observational data since he is already familiar with the study hypotheses. Because he is aware of the purpose of the study and has a personal investment in the outcome, Dr. Ortiz is risking   biased sampling. observer bias. practice effects. observer influence.

	Structured interviews   are more efficient than clinical interviews. are not affected by inaccurate reporting. permit people to display their thoughts in terms that are as close as possible to the way they think in everyday life. provide greater depth of information than clinical interviews.

	Psychophysiological research is useful because   it helps to identify the perceptions, thoughts, and emotions of infants and young children. few environmental factors exert an influence on physiological responses. investigators have established clear causal links between physiological and psychological reactions. interpretation of physiological responses does not require inferential reasoning.

	The clinical method is used to   track developmental changes in behavior using a large number of participants. obtain a detailed picture of one individual’s psychological functioning and life experiences. describe the experiences of a culture or distinct social group. gather data on a behavior of interest in a laboratory setting, in which everyone has an equal opportunity to display the target behavior.

	One limitation of the clinical method is that   it focuses on only one factor that affects development. conclusions cannot be generalized beyond the individual studied. it requires a large sample of participants. it relies on a single source of data, thereby providing a very narrow perspective of development.

	Which of the following researchers is using the ethnographic method?   Researcher A, who brings children into the laboratory to track their mastery of puzzle assembly over time Researcher C, who uses clinical interviews to find out how children reason about everyday moral dilemmas Researcher D, who becomes a teacher’s aide at a culturally diverse preschool to examine the influence of cultural background on children’s make-believe play Researcher B, who observes and records aspects of children’s playground behavior in the natural environment without interacting with the children

	Two observers go into a preschool classroom to simultaneously rate children’s compliance with teacher requests. When their ratings are compared, the two observers show very different judgments of compliance. The observers failed to establish   inter-rater reliability. test–retest reliability. cross-informant reliability. internal validity.

	A test is intended to measure first graders’ mathematical ability, but it also includes numerous word problems. The fact that the test measures verbal ability as well as mathematical ability means that test results may be   correlational. cross-sectional. unreliable. invalid.

	Researchers using a correlational design gather information   through participant observation. in a tightly controlled laboratory setting. using random assignment of participants to treatment conditions. in natural life circumstances.

	The major limitation of correlational design is that   it does not allow inferences about the cause-and-effect relationship between the variables under study. random assignment of participants to treatment conditions does not allow examination of how individual characteristics affect the behavior of interest. it does not provide information about the strength of the relationship between the variables studied. data are collected in a laboratory setting and results may not be applicable to real-world contexts.

	An experimental design permits inferences about cause and effect because   researchers make no effort to alter participants’ experiences. researchers randomly assign participants to the various treatment conditions and closely control changes in the independent variable. participants who share similar characteristics are all grouped together in the same treatment condition. data are gathered in natural life circumstances.

	Imagine that a researcher concludes that 5-year-olds in the 1950s learned more slowly than 5-year-olds do today. Which of the following poses a threat to the accuracy of such a finding?   selective attrition cohort effects biased sampling investigator bias

	A researcher is interested in examining age-related changes in the qualities of children’s peer relationships. To do so, he gathers questionnaire data from children in grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Data are collected at the same point in time for all groups. What type of design did the researcher employ?   longitudinal-sequential cross-sectional longitudinal correlational

	The microgenetic design   enables researchers to measure the relationship between physiological processes and behavior. eliminates threats to research reliability caused by observer bias. emphasizes structured observations of children’s behavior in natural settings. allows researchers to track development as it takes place.

	Which of the following is true of children’s research rights with regard to informed consent?   For children under age 18, only parental consent should be obtained. For children 7 years of age and older, their own informed consent should be obtained in addition to parental consent. Unless the research presents a risk of potential harm to the child, researchers are not required to obtain informed consent from the child or the parent. In most cases, researchers need only obtain the child’s informed consent; parental consent is rarely required.

	To examine the effects of peer victimization on children’s self-esteem, a researcher sets up a study in which children are systematically exposed to negative comments and bullying from peers during their recess period. A short time later, the researcher interviews the children about their experience and asks them to complete a questionnaire. Which research right does this study violate?   nowledge of results protection from harm beneficial treatments privacy

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