Correlational Research
In a study, researchers find that more people buy candy as Halloween approaches. What type of correlation do we have between amount of candy bought and number of days until Halloween?
negative correlation
In an experiment, a researcher tests whether different types of Halloween candy affect children’s excitement levels. What are the independent and dependent variables in this study?
Independent: type of candy
Dependent: children's excitement
What are the 3 criteria needed to establish causality?
covariance, temporal precedence, and internal validity
what is usually the most important effect uncovered in a factorial design?
interaction effect
What is the key difference between true and quasi experiments?
quasi experiments don't use random assignment
A researcher discovers that towns with more Halloween decorations also report more trick or treaters. What can we NOT conclude from this correlation?
While there is a correlation, it does not imply causation; other factors could influence both variables.
In a Halloween-themed study, researchers put participants in two groups: one that watches a horror movie and one that watches a comedy. What can they do to ensure that the groups are comparable and to eliminate bias in the results?
random assignment
In an experiment testing whether spooky decorations increase children's excitement at a Halloween party, if the decorations are put up at different times for different groups, what threat to internal validity is introduced?
Environmental effects
If a multivariate experimental design reveals that the combination of dim lighting and eerie music significantly enhances fear levels more than either factor alone, what type of effect does this illustrate?
interaction effect (synergistic interaction)
In a quasi-experimental study examining the impact of a Halloween safety program on child safety, if one school implements the program while another similar school does not, what is a potential threat to internal validity in this design?
selection bias
A study finds a correlation between the number of haunted houses in an area and the amount of money spent on costumes. What might be a third variable affecting this relationship?
The overall popularity of Halloween in the area
A Halloween party planner wants to test if different lighting styles (dim, bright, and colored) affect the mood of the guests. How should the planner structure the experiment to control for extraneous variables?
keep all other conditions (like music, food, and activities) constant across the different lighting styles
In an experiment assessing the effectiveness of candy giveaways on trick-or-treat turnout, if the survey is conducted only on the night of Halloween, what threat to internal validity might arise?
history threat
A researcher wants to explore how spooky decorations, themed snacks, and ghost stories affect the excitement levels of children at a Halloween event. How many different main effects and interactions can be examined?
7 (3 main effects, 3 2-way interactions, 1 3 way interaction)
A community organizes Halloween festivities and measures participant satisfaction before and after the event. What quasi-experimental design is being used, and is this a good design?
a one group pretest-posttest design, not a great design.
If a researcher wants to investigate the relationship between the amount of candy collected by trick-or-treaters and their age, what r value might they expect to find?
any negative value between 0 and -1
In a study examining the effects of costume types on social interaction, researchers setup the study so that neither the participants nor the researchers know which costumes are being tested. What is method this called?
double-blind method
A researcher investigates the impact of different Halloween-themed activities on community bonding but fails to account for pre-existing community ties among participants. What specific threat to internal validity does this oversight represent
maturation threat
In a graph, which pattern of lines represents no interaction between two independent variables?
parallel lines
What are two good reasons to conduct a quasi experiment?
good construct validity of IV (real world event)
good external validity
A researcher finds a strong correlation between the frequency of social media posts about spooky decorations and the number of "likes" received. What method could the researcher use to further investigate the causality of this correlation?
Conduct an experiment by manipulating the frequency of decoration posts and controlling for other variables to observe the effect on likes.
A psychologist is studying the impact of horror film exposure on sleep quality among participants who frequently watch horror movies versus those who do not. What are the independent variables and what do we call this design?
Horror film exposure and frequency of horror movie watching
2 x 2 factorial design
A researcher studies the impact of a haunted house experience on participants' fear levels but allows participants to choose whether they are in the haunted house group or not. What threat to internal validity is this introduce, and how would it be fixed?
Selection bias
Random assignment
True or false: a factorial design could include one between subjects factor and one within subjects factor.
True- this is called a mixed design
A researcher conducts a quasi-experimental study to evaluate the effects of a Halloween parade on local businesses' sales, comparing sales data from the parade year with data from the previous year. What is a significant limitation of this design regarding causal inferences?
history effects; inability to control for confounding variables; other factors (such as economic changes or local events) occurring between the two years could influence sales, making it difficult to attribute any changes directly to the Halloween parade.