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Experimental Psychology 7Th Edition Myers Test Bank Full Chapter PDF
Experimental Psychology 7Th Edition Myers Test Bank Full Chapter PDF
Chapter 8
Chapter Overview
Extraneous variables threaten an experiment’s internal validity when they are
allowed to confound the experiment. In well-designed experiments, only the
independent variable changes systematically across treatment conditions. This chapter
examines four kinds of extraneous variables (physical, social, personality, and context)
and the procedures used to control them.
Physical variables are aspects of the testing conditions that need to be controlled.
Elimination, constancy of conditions, and balancing are three techniques that
researchers use to control physical variables. While elimination is the most effective
strategy since it removes the extraneous variable from the experiment, it is not always
feasible. In these cases, a researcher can either use constancy of conditions or
balancing to ensure that the extraneous variable does not affect the treatment
conditions differently.
199
Chapter 8
Chapter Outline
Physical Variables
Elimination and Constancy
Balancing
Social Variables
Demand Characteristics
Experimenter Bias
Personality Variables
Experimenters
Volunteer Subjects
Context Variables
When the Subjects Select the Experiment
When the Experimenter Selects the Subjects
Some Folklore about Subjects
Summary
Key Terms
Review and Study Questions
Critical Thinking Exercise
Online Resources
Key Terms
DSBalancing Experimenter bias
Constancy of conditions Personality variables
Context variable Physical variables
Cover story Placebo effect
Demand characteristics Rosenthal effect
Double-blind experiment Single-blind experiment
Elimination Social variables
200
Chapter 8
Teaching Suggestions
http://www.wadsworth.com/psychology_d/templates/student_resources/workshops/res_
methd/controls/controls_01.html
Many of the workshops referred to in the last chapter are relevant to the topics of this
chapter as well. For example, this is a workshop on various issues of “Control” in
experiments. Students should learn to answer:
Why is control an important part of experimentation?
What are inclusion and exclusion criteria?
Define the term “double-blind” and explain its usefulness
How can we control a between-subjects design? A within-subjects design?
What are order effects? How can we control for them?
http://www.wadsworth.com/psychology_d/templates/student_resources/workshops/res_
methd/confounds/confounds_01.html
The workshop on “Confounds” should be covered again here as well, as it overlaps with
content of the current chapter. Have students work through it and then ask them the
following:
What good is internal validity in an experiment?
How can you tell if you have construct validity?
What are confounds and why are they bad?
What is differential mortality?
What problems are reduced when you make your study double-blind?
http://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch08_animals/clever_hans.html
http://www.comnet.ca/~pballan/C2P1.htm
Above are just two of many sites that describe Clever Hans, the mathematical horse. No
discussion of demand characteristics or experimenter bias is complete without mention
of Hans.
http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/hawth.html
This page presents a nice description of many of the topics discussed in Chapter 8:
Rosenthal effect, Hawthorne effect, Placebo effects, etc.
201
Chapter 8
Classroom/Homework Exercises
202
Chapter 8
Physical variables are aspects of the testing conditions that need to be controlled.
These include the day of the week, time of day, the testing room, and potential
distractions like noise.
5. You are doing a study at a local school. Because of the way things are scheduled,
you can have one small testing room in the morning and another much larger
testing room in the afternoon. If you have two treatment conditions (A and B), how
can you assign subjects to the testing rooms so that the type of room will not lead
to confounding in your experiment?
Room size is a potentially confounding physical variable. Since you are required to
use two rooms, the best control procedure is balancing. After you randomly assign
subjects to condition A or B, you could randomly assign half of each treatment
group to the small room and half to the large room.
203
Chapter 8
b. What is a double-blind experiment? Would you recommend that she use it?
Why or why not?
204
Chapter 8
8. Dr. L. is planning a large-scale learning experiment. He would like to have 100 rats
in one treatment group and another 100 in the other group. Because he needs so
many rats, he says, “Well, I can’t test all these animals by myself. I’ll ask Dr. P. to
help me. He can run the animals in the one group while I test the animals in the
other group.”
a. Knowing what you know about confounding, is Dr. L.’s solution a good
one? What can happen if one experimenter tests all the subjects in one group
while another tests all the subjects in another group?
Dr. L.’s solution could confound the experiment with experimenter bias since
the two researchers may have different expectations about the treatment
groups’ performance and may not handle the animals in the same manner.
b. Given what you know about balancing procedures, work out a better plan for
Dr. L.
The two researchers should be randomly assigned to run 50 rats from each
treatment group to balance the effects of experimenter bias across both
conditions.
A cover story should be used when there is a risk that subjects will guess the
experimental hypothesis and jeopardize an experiment’s internal validity.
Cover stories should not be used when they are unnecessary or when they
preclude informed consent by misrepresenting an experiment’s potential risks and
benefits.
Since cover stories are a form of deception, they should only be used when
needed to protect internal validity. Experimenters should fully debrief subjects after
their participation in the study.
10. Why is it important that an experimenter behave in the same way toward all
subjects in the experiment?
205
Chapter 8
A double-blind experiment controls for experimenter bias since neither the subjects
nor the experimenter know the treatment the subjects are receiving.
Volunteer subjects are more sociable and score higher in social desirability than
nonvolunteers. They hold more liberal social and political attitudes, tend to be less
authoritarian, and score higher on intelligence tests than nonvolunteers.
These differences could limit the external validity of social psychological and
cognitive studies that may be affected by these subject variables.
12. Find out the names of several experiments that are being conducted in your
department this term. Evaluate each name in terms of its potential to bias the
sample.
13. Think of two things an experimenter could do to safeguard against fatigue effects
during the course of the experiment.
206
Chapter 8
Test Questions
Multiple Choice
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Chapter 8
208
Chapter 8
209
Chapter 8
210
Chapter 8
211
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212
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213
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214
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218
Chapter 8
Short Answer/Essay
1. Suppose you are trying to conduct your experiment, but the room has an
annoying noise. Describe the three strategies for controlling physical variables
that you should use to fix the problem.
2. Which of the three strategies for controlling physical variables is the best?
Second best? Why isn’t the best of the three strategies used all the time?
3. What are physical variables? How can they be controlled? Give an example.
5. What are social variables? Describe the two principal types of social variables.
9. Give an example of the placebo effect. What can be done about this problem?
10. What is meant by a cover story in research? What is its purpose? Why not
always use one?
11. What is experimenter bias? Give an example. What can be done about
experimenter bias?
12. What is the Rosenthal effect? How might this threaten an experiment? Explain.
13. What are people blind to in a “blind” experiment? Who is blind in a double-blind
experiment?
14. Give an example in which a personality variable endangers a study. What can be
done to reduce the effects of personality variables?
15. Which is more likely to affect the results of an experiment: the personality of the
researcher or the personalities of the participants? Justify your answer.
16. What are context variables? How are they different from other types of
extraneous variables?
219
Chapter 8
17. Why is it a problem when subjects select the experiments in which they
participate?
18. Give an example of a problem created by a researcher selecting his or her own
participants.
20. Give an example of an experiment in which there is a social variable that is not
confounding and another example in which there is a physical variable that is
confounding. You may combine the two problems into one experiment if you
wish.
220
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of The boy
mechanic, book 3
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Editor: H. H. Windsor
Language: English
DO
HOW TO CONSTRUCT
ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE MODEL AND TRACK SYSTEM, BOYS’
MOTOR
CAR, PARCEL DELIVERY BICYCLE, AERIAL CABLEWAY, MINIA-
TURE TANK, SAILING CANOE, HOUSEBOAT, SUBMARINE
CAMERA, DIVING TOWER, HAMMOCKS, KITCHEN
FOR HIKERS, ICE YACHT
AND
CHICAGO
POPULAR MECHANICS CO.
PUBLISHERS
Fig. 1 Fig. 2
SECTIONAL SIDE VIEW FRONT VIEW
Fig. 3 Fig. 4
PLAN BRAKE DETAIL
Fig. 5
DETAIL OF SUPPORT C
DETAIL OF STEERING GEAR
The General Arrangement of the Parts DETAIL OF SUPPORT D
is Shown in the Assembly Views, Figs. REAR-AXLE BRACKET E
1, 2, and 3. The Brake Detail, Fig. 4, Fig. 6
should be Considered with Fig. 9,
Shown Separately. The Detail
Construction of the Frame and Body
can be Readily Understood by
Referring to the Assembly Views in
Connection with Fig. 7
Fig. 7
DETAIL OF FRAME AND BODY
A Boys’ Motor Car
HOMEMADE
by P.P. Avery
The construction may be begun with the chassis and the running
gear. Fit the wheels with ⁵⁄₈-in. axles, as shown in the assembly
views, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and detailed in Fig. 4. Fit the ends of the
axles to the hubs of the wheels, providing the threaded ends with
lock nuts. Make the wooden supports for the frame, as detailed in
Fig. 6. The axles are fastened into half-round grooves, cut in the
bottoms of the supports, and secured by iron straps, as shown in
Fig. 4, at A. Make the sidepieces for the main frame 2¹⁄₂ by 3¹⁄₄ in.
thick, and 9 ft. 4 in. long, as detailed in Fig. 7. Mortise the supports
through the sidepieces, and bore the holes for the bolt fastenings
and braces. Glue the mortise-and-tenon joints before the bolts are
finally secured. Provide the bolts with washers, and lock the nuts
with additional jam nuts where needed. Keep the woodwork clean,
and apply a coat of linseed oil, so that dirt and grease cannot
penetrate readily.
Finish only the supporting structure of the chassis in the
preliminary woodwork. Set the front-axle and steering-rigging
supports C and D, and adjust the spacers F between them. Bore the
hole for the kingbolt, as detailed in Fig. 6, and fit the bevel gears and
the fifth wheel G, of ¹⁄₄-in. steel, into place, as shown in Fig. 5. The
gear H is bolted to the axle support. The pinion J is set on the end of
a short ³⁄₄-in. shaft. The latter passes through the support D, and is
fitted with washers and jam nuts, solidly, yet with sufficient play. A
bracket, K, of ¹⁄₄ by 1³⁄₄-in. strap iron, braces the shaft, as shown in
Fig. 3. The end of this short shaft is joined to one section of the
universal coupling, as shown, and, like the other half of the coupling,
is pinned with a ³⁄₁₆-in. riveted pin. The pinion is also pinned, and the
lower end of the kingbolt provided with a washer and nut, guarded by
a cotter pin. Suitable gears can be procured from old machinery. A
satisfactory set was obtained from an old differential of a well-known
small car.
Fig. 8
Detail of the Motor Support: The Engine is Mounted on Reinforced Angle
Irons, and Secured by Clamps and a Supporting Band under the Crank Case
Before fitting the steering column into place, make the dashboard,
of ⁷⁄₈-in. oak, as shown in the assembly view, and in detail in Fig. 7. It
is 19¹⁄₂ in. high and 2 ft. 4 in. wide, and set on the frame and braced
to it with 4 by 4 by 1¹⁄₂-in. angle irons, ¹⁄₄ in. thick. Fit a ⁷⁄₈-in. strip of
wood around the edge of the dashboard, on the front side, as a rest
for the hood, as shown in Figs. 1 and 7, at L. A brass edging protects
the dashboard, and gives a neat appearance. Lay out carefully the
angle for the steering column, which is of ⁷⁄₈-in. shafting, so as to be
convenient for the driver. Mark the point at which it is to pass through
the dashboard, and reinforce the hole with an oak block, or an angle
flange, of iron or brass, such as is used on railings, or boat fittings. A
collar at the flange counteracts the downward pressure on the
steering post. The 12-in. steering wheel is set on the column by a
riveted pin.
The fitting of the engine may next be undertaken. The exact
position and method of setting the engine on the frame will depend
on the size and type. It should be placed as near the center as
possible, to give proper balance. The drawings show a common air-
cooled motor of the one-cylinder type. It is supported, as shown in
Figs. 1 and 3 and detailed in Fig. 8. Two iron strips, B, riveted to 1¹⁄₂
by 1¹⁄₂-in. angle irons, extend across the main frame, and support
the engine by means of bolts and steel clamps, designed to suit the
engine. Cross strips of iron steady the engine, and the clamps are
bolted to the crank case. The center clamp is a band that passes
under the crank case.
The engine is set so that the crankshaft extends across the main
frame. Other methods may be devised for special motors, and the
power transmission changed correspondingly. One end of the
crankshaft is extended beyond the right side of the frame, as shown
in Fig. 3. This extension is connected to the shaft by means of an
ordinary setscrew collar coupling. A block M, Figs. 3 and 7, is bolted
to the frame, and a section of heavy brass pipe fitted as a bearing.
The ignition and oiling systems, carburetor, and other details of the
engine control and allied mechanism, are the same as those used on
the motorcycle engine originally, fitted up as required. The oil tank is
made of a strong can, mounted on the dashboard, as shown in Figs.
1 and 2. It is connected with the crank case by copper tubing. A cut-
out switch for the ignition system is mounted on the dashboard. The
controls used for the engine of the motorcycle can be extended with
light iron rods, and the control handles mounted on the dashboard or
in other convenient position. The throttle can be mounted on the
steering column by fitting an iron pipe around the post and mounting
this pipe in the angle flange at the dashboard. A foot accelerator may
also be used, suitable mountings and pedal connections being
installed at the floor.
In setting the gasoline tank, make only as much of the body
woodwork as is necessary to support it, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and
7. The tank may be made of a can, properly fitted, and heavy
enough, as determined by comparison with gasoline tanks in
commercial cars. The feed is through a copper tube, as shown in
Fig. 1. A small venthole, to guard against a vacuum in the tank,
should be made in the cap. The muffler from a motorcycle is used,
fitted with a longer pipe, and suspended from the side of the frame.
The transmission of the power from the motor shaft to the right
rear wheel is accomplished by means of a leather motorcycle belt,
made by fitting leather washers close together over a bicycle chain,
oiling the washers with neat’s-foot oil. A grooved iron pulley is fitted
on the end of the motor shaft, and a grooved pulley rim on the rear
wheel, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and detailed in Fig. 4. The motor is
started by means of a crank, and the belt drawn up gradually, by the
action of a clutch lever and its idler, detailed in Fig. 9. The clutch
lever is forged, as shown, and fitted with a ratchet lever, N, and
ratchet quadrant, O. The idler holds the belt to the tension desired,
giving considerable flexibility of speed.
The brake is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and detailed in Figs. 4 and 9.
The fittings on the rear wheel and axle are made of wood, and
bolted, with a tension spring, as shown. The brake drum is supported
on iron bands, riveted to the wheel, and to the pulley rim. The brake
arm is connected to the brake wheel by a flexible wire. When the
pedal is forced down, the wire is wound on the brake wheel, thus
permitting of adjustment. The pedal is of iron and fixed on its shaft
with a setscrew. An iron pipe is used as a casing for the central
shaft, the shaft carrying the clutch lever, and the pipe carrying the
brake pedal and the brake wheel. The quadrant O is mounted on a
block, fastened to the main frame. The central shaft is carried in
wooden blocks, with iron caps. A catch of strap iron can be fitted on
the floor, to engage the pedal, and lock the brake when desired.