AP Psychology : Influential Experiments and Methods
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology
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Example Questions
Example Question #21 : Research And Testing
A researcher wants to run a study to find out whether people who drink water are happier than people who drink soda. She happens to know which subjects are assigned water and which are assigned soda and therefore subconsciously treats the water subjects nicer. If those nicer-treated water subjects are then found to be happier, which experimental error is this?
Placebo Effect
Order Effects
Experimenter Bias
Participant Bias
Confounding Variable
Experimenter Bias
Experimenter bias is when the experimenter affects the results of their own study because of their expectations.
Confounding variable is when a variable besides the IV affects the DV in a systematic way that makes it hard to tell what the IV’s effect is on the DV.
Participant bias is when the participant accidentally affects the results of the study by doing or saying what they think the experimenter wants them to do or say rather than what they naturally would.
The placebo effect occurs when a participant does not have the treatment but has effects from believing that they had the treatment.
Order effects occur when the order of the tasks in a study affects the outcomes.
Example Question #1521 : Ap Psychology
A researcher wants to run a study to figure out whether people who drink water are happier than people who drink soda. If a subject who gets water believes that people who drink water are happier and therefore acts happier, which experimental error is this?
Confounding Variable
Participant Bias
Placebo Effect
Order Effects
Experimenter Bias
Participant Bias
Participant bias is when the participant accidentally affects the results of the study by doing or saying what they think the experimenter wants them to do or say rather than what they naturally would.
Experimenter bias is when the experimenter affects the results of their own study because of their expectations.
A confounding variable is a variable besides the IV affects the DV in a systematic way that makes it hard to tell what the IV’s effect is on the DV.
The placebo effect occurs when a participant does not have the treatment but has effects from believing that they had the treatment.
Order effects occur when the order of the tasks in a study affects the outcomes.
Example Question #21 : Influential Experiments And Methods
A researcher wants to run a study to figure out whether people who drink water are happier than people who drink soda. When the drinks are given to the subjects, all the water is put in blue cups and all the soda is put in red cups. What kind of experimental error is the change in color?
Participant Bias
Experimenter Bias
Placebo Effects
Confounding Variable
Order Effects
Confounding Variable
A confounding variable is a variable besides the IV affects the DV in a systematic way that makes it hard to tell what the IV’s effect is on the DV.
Participant bias is when the participant accidentally affects the results of the study by doing or saying what they think the experimenter wants them to do or say rather than what they naturally would.
Experimenter bias is when the experimenter affects the results of their own study because of their expectations.
The placebo effect occurs when a participant does not have the treatment but has effects from believing that they had the treatment.
Order effects occur when the order of the tasks in a study affects the outcomes.
Example Question #22 : Influential Experiments And Methods
A researcher wants to run a study to figure out whether people who drink water are happier than people who drink soda. In order to figure this out, the researcher tests the happiness of the subjects, has them do a long puzzle to distract them, has them drink either the water or the soda, and then tests their happiness again. If the subjects' happiness goes down because they did the puzzle in between the two happiness tests, what kind of experimental error is this?
Participant Bias
Order Effects
Placebo Effect
Experimenter Bias
Confounding Variable
Order Effects
Order effects occur when the order of the tasks in a study affects the outcomes.
A confounding variable is a variable besides the IV affects the DV in a systematic way that makes it hard to tell what the IV’s effect is on the DV.
Participant bias is when the participant accidentally affects the results of the study by doing or saying what they think the experimenter wants them to do or say rather than what they naturally would.
Experimenter bias is when the experimenter affects the results of their own study because of their expectations.
The placebo effect occurs when a participant does not have the treatment but has effects from believing that they had the treatment.
Example Question #23 : Influential Experiments And Methods
A researcher wants to run a study to figure out whether people who drink water are happier than people who drink soda. If some of the subjects are led to believe that they drank something (when they didn't) and their happiness changes, what experimental error is this an example of?
Participant Effect
Confounding Variable
Experimenter Bias
Order Effects
Placebo Effect
Placebo Effect
The placebo effect occurs when a participant does not have the treatment but has effects from believing that they had the treatment.
Order effects occur when the order of the tasks in a study affects the outcomes.
A confounding variable is a variable besides the IV affects the DV in a systematic way that makes it hard to tell what the IV’s effect is on the DV.
Participant bias is when the participant accidentally affects the results of the study by doing or saying what they think the experimenter wants them to do or say rather than what they naturally would.
Experimenter bias is when the experimenter affects the results of their own study because of their expectations.
Example Question #24 : Influential Experiments And Methods
What is the experimental design term for a study in which the subjects do not know whether they belong to the experimental or control group?
Control
Correlation
Counterbalancing
Single Blind
Double Blind
Single Blind
A single blind experiment is when the subjects do not know all of the information about the study while it is occurring, especially which group (experimental or control) they belong to.
A double blind experiment is when neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental and which are in the control group.
Counterbalancing is when different sets of participants get all of the conditions of the study in different orders so that order effects are accounted for.
Control is the way that experimenters try to minimize the effects of any other variables besides the IV and DV.
Correlation is a number that describes the relationship between two variables.
Example Question #25 : Influential Experiments And Methods
What is the experimental design term for the ways in which experimenters try to minimize the effects of outside factors in a study?
Correlation
Single Blind
Counterbalancing
Double Blind
Control
Control
Control is the way that experimenters try to minimize the effects of any other variables besides the IV and DV.
A double blind experiment is when neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental and which are in the control group.
A single blind experiment is when the subjects do not know all of the information about the study while it is occurring, especially which group (experimental or control) they belong to.
Correlation is a number that describes the relationship between two variables.
Counterbalancing is when different sets of participants get all of the conditions of the study in different orders so that order effects are accounted for.
Example Question #26 : Influential Experiments And Methods
Which of the following describes a study in which neither the experimenters nor the subjects know all of the information about the study, such as who is in the experimental group and who in the control, in order to reduce bias?
Correlation
Control
Counterbalancing
Double Blind
Single Blind
Double Blind
A double blind experiment is when neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental and which are in the control group.
A single blind experiment is when the subjects do not know all of the information about the study while it is occurring, especially which group (experimental or control) they belong to.
Counterbalancing is when different sets of participants get all of the conditions of the study in different orders so that order effects are accounted for.
Control is the way that experimenters try to minimize the effects of any other variables besides the IV and DV.
Correlation is a number that describes the relationship between two variables.
Example Question #27 : History And Research
What is the term for the relationship between two variables?
Counterbalancing
Correlation
Control
Double Blind
Single Blind
Correlation
Correlation is a number that describes the relationship between two variables.
A double blind experiment is when neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental and which are in the control group.
A single blind experiment is when the subjects do not know all of the information about the study while it is occurring, especially which group (experimental or control) they belong to.
Control is the way that experimenters try to minimize the effects of any other variables besides the IV and DV.
Counterbalancing is when different sets of participants get all of the conditions of the study in different orders so that order effects are accounted for.
Example Question #28 : History And Research
Which of the following best describes the difference between basic and applied psychological research?
Basic research is used for simple problems while applied research is used for complex problems
Basic research is more theoretical while applied research is more practical
Basic research is more biological while applied research is more philosophical
Applied research is more theoretical while basic research is more practical
Basic research is used for complex problems while applied research is used for simple problems
Basic research is more theoretical while applied research is more practical
The distinction between basic and applied research does not have to do with the difficulty of the problem or to which branch of psychology it relates. Basic research is more theoretical and focused on understanding a phenomenon, whereas applied research is more focused on solving a real-world problem.
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