Self Test: IVs, DVs,

1
Self Test IVs, DVs, Designs

• Psychological Research Methods

2
Your task, should you choose to accept it

• For each of the following examples drawn from the
  literature, identify
• The type of research (experimental,
  quasi-experimental, correlational, descriptive)
• The variables (IVs, Subject variables, DVs)
• Answers follow each example
• IVs are in Red
• Subject variables are in Purple
• Levels of the IVs or subject variable are in Blue
• DVs (or whatever is being measured) are in Green

3

• You want to know if there is a difference in
  postpartum depression based on how the woman
  gives birth (i.e., delivering through natural
  childbirth at home, versus delivering through
  natural childbirth at a hospital, versus having a
  Caesarean section). You measure the new mothers
  level of depression twice, immediately after
  delivery and again three months after the birth.
  (Adapted from van Son et al., 2005)

4

• You want to know if there is a difference in
  postpartum depression based on how the woman
  gives birth (i.e., delivering through natural
  childbirth at home, versus delivering through
  natural childbirth at a hospital, versus having a
  Caesarean section). You measure the new mothers
  level of depression twice, immediately after
  delivery and again three months after the birth.
  (Adapted from van Son et al., 2005)

5

• You are interested in whether age influences
  dreams, specifically how childrens dreams change
  when they enter adolescence. You study a group of
  children before they enter adolescence and again
  during adolescence. You measure how realistic the
  dreams are and the level of self-involvement of
  the dreams. (Adapted from Strauch, 2005)

6

• You are interested in whether age influences
  dreams, specifically how childrens dreams change
  when they enter adolescence. You study a group of
  children before they enter adolescence and again
  during adolescence. You measure how realistic the
  dreams are and the level of self-involvement of
  the dreams. (Adapted from Strauch, 2005)

7

• You are consulting with the local police
  department to determine if the way police lineups
  are conducted affects the eyewitnesses
  confidence. You design a study in which
  participants view a crime and then come to the
  police station to identify the suspect in the
  crime. One third of the participants view the
  police lineup with an interviewer that knows who
  the correct suspect is. One third of the
  participants view the police lineup with an
  interviewer that does not know who the correct
  suspect is. One third of the participants view
  the lineup alone. (Adapted from Garrioch,
  Brimacombe, 2001).

8

• You are consulting with the local police
  department to determine if the way police lineups
  are conducted affects the eyewitnesses
  confidence. You design a study in which
  participants view a crime and then come to the
  police station to identify the suspect in the
  crime. One third of the participants view the
  police lineup with an interviewer that knows who
  the correct suspect is. One third of the
  participants view the police lineup with an
  interviewer that does not know who the correct
  suspect is. One third of the participants view
  the lineup alone. (Adapted from Garrioch,
  Brimacombe, 2001).

9

• You have been hired to do research for a lobby
  group that is in support of casino gambling.
  Their goal is to inform voters about the effects
  (or lack there of) of casino gambling on
  communities. A group opposed to casino gambling
  has made claims that in counties where gambling
  is legal there is an increase in divorce and
  suicide. You decide to test this claim. You
  gather data on the number of divorces per year
  and the number of suicides per year in counties
  that allow gambling and in counties that do not
  allow gambling and you compare the two types of
  counties. (Adapted from Nichols et al., 2004)

10

• You have been hired to do research for a lobby
  group that is in support of casino gambling.
  Their goal is to inform voters about the effects
  (or lack there of) of casino gambling on
  communities. A group opposed to casino gambling
  has made claims that in counties where gambling
  is legal there is an increase in divorce and
  suicide. You decide to test this claim. You
  gather data on the number of divorces per year
  and the number of suicides per year in counties
  that allow gambling and in counties that do not
  allow gambling and you compare the two types of
  counties. (Adapted from Nichols et al., 2004)

11

• Concerned with the high rates of divorce and
  infidelity in this country, you decide to do some
  research on possible factors that might
  contribute to these issues. You collect a sample
  of individuals and divide them into three
  categories base on income. You measure how much
  people intend to marry, believe in no sex before
  marriage, and approve of cohabitation. Are there
  differences between the three groups for these
  variables? (Adapted from Karney, Bradbury,
  2005).

12

• Concerned with the high rates of divorce and
  infidelity in this country, you decide to do some
  research on possible factors that might
  contribute to these issues. You collect a sample
  of individuals and divide them into three
  categories base on income. You measure how much
  people intend to marry, believe in no sex before
  marriage, and approve of cohabitation. Are there
  differences between the three groups for these
  variables? (Adapted from Karney, Bradbury,
  2005).

13

• You are working with seriously ill individuals
  and are wondering whether being spiritual and/or
  being religious helps with managing the patients
  illnesses. You have four groups of patients
  (spiritual, religious, religious and spiritual,
  neither religious nor spiritual). You measure the
  patients search for meaning and the degree of
  positive influence the patients belief system
  has on their illness. Is there a difference
  between the groups? (Adapted from Bussing et al.,
  2005)

14

• You are working with seriously ill individuals
  and are wondering whether being spiritual and/or
  being religious helps with managing the patients
  illnesses. You have four groups of patients
  (spiritual, religious, religious and spiritual,
  neither religious nor spiritual). You measure the
  patients search for meaning and the degree of
  positive influence the patients belief system
  has on their illness. Is there a difference
  between the groups? (Adapted from Bussing et al.,
  2005)

15

• You want to change the eating habits of fourth
  grade students and are hoping that these changes
  can be long term. You measure the number of
  fruits and vegetables the kids eat. Then you have
  them play a 10-session individually focused
  psychoeducational multimedia game with many
  meal/environment specific behavioral change
  techniques incorporated into the programming.
  You again measure the number of fruits and
  vegetables the kids eat. As a follow up, you
  measure the kids a third time one year later.
  (Adapted from Cullen et al., 2005).

16

• You want to change the eating habits of fourth
  grade students and are hoping that these changes
  can be long term. You measure the number of
  fruits and vegetables the kids eat. Then you have
  them play a 10-session individually focused
  psychoeducational multimedia game with many
  meal/environment specific behavioral change
  techniques incorporated into the programming.
  You again measure the number of fruits and
  vegetables the kids eat. As a follow up, you
  measure the kids a third time one year later.
  (Adapted from Cullen et al., 2005).

17

• You are familiar with the research that indicates
  that crime patterns change when there is social
  change and modernization within a society. You
  want to explore this further by looking at crime
  in China before and after the move to a market
  economy. For the year before the move and the
  year after the move, you measure economically
  motivated crimes such as larceny, robbery, and
  fraud as well as non-economically motivated
  crimes such as homicide, assault, and rape in
  several cities in China. (Adapted from Liu,
  2005).

18

• You are familiar with the research that indicates
  that crime patterns change when there is social
  change and modernization within a society. You
  want to explore this further by looking at crime
  in China before and after the move to a market
  economy. For the year before the move and the
  year after the move, you measure economically
  motivated crimes such as larceny, robbery, and
  fraud as well as non-economically motivated
  crimes such as homicide, assault, and rape in
  several cities in China. (Adapted from Liu,
  2005).

19

• You are interested on how body image differs
  based on sexual orientation. You have a sample of
  men who have identified themselves as either gay
  or straight. You measure their body image and the
  number of times each week they exercise. (Adapted
  from Kaminski et al., 2005)

20

• You are interested on how body image differs
  based on sexual orientation. You have a sample of
  men who have identified themselves as either gay
  or straight. You measure their body image and the
  number of times each week they exercise. (Adapted
  from Kaminski et al., 2005)

21

• Bed wetting among older children often becomes a
  distressing family event. You are investigating
  techniques used to stop bed wetting in older
  children. You have a sample of families and you
  record the technique that they are using with
  their child that is a frequent bed wetter (verbal
  reprimand, pre-bed toilet use, enuresis alarm).
  On one randomly selected morning, you also record
  whether the target children in these families wet
  the bed the night before. (Adapted from Butler et
  al., 2005)

22

• Bed wetting among older children often becomes a
  distressing family event. You are investigating
  techniques used to stop bed wetting in older
  children. You have a sample of families and you
  record the technique that they are using with
  their child that is a frequent bed wetter (verbal
  reprimand, pre-bed toilet use, enuresis alarm).
  On one randomly selected morning, you also record
  whether the target children in these families wet
  the bed the night before. (Adapted from Butler et
  al., 2005)

23

• As a welfare caseworker, you are concerned about
  the number of injuries children in low income
  families have. You are wondering if there is a
  difference due to family type (i.e., immigrant
  families and families of parents that were born
  in the United States). You want to compare these
  two groups. You record the number of children in
  these two groups brought into the local hospital
  each week for a year. (Adapted from Schwebel et
  al., 2005)

24

• As a welfare caseworker, you are concerned about
  the number of injuries children in low income
  families have. You are wondering if there is a
  difference due to family type (i.e., immigrant
  families and families of parents that were born
  in the United States). You want to compare these
  two groups. You record the number of children in
  these two groups brought into the local hospital
  each week for a year. (Adapted from Schwebel et
  al., 2005)

25

• You have been measuring the beliefs of Americans
  for a long time and just happen to have data from
  right before the terrorist attacks in 2001. You
  want to know if peoples beliefs changed
  following those attacks. You measured peoples
  beliefs about vulnerability, injustice, and
  distrust. (Adapted from Eidelson, Plummer,
  2005).

26

• You have been measuring the beliefs of Americans
  for a long time and just happen to have data from
  right before the terrorist attacks in 2001. You
  want to know if peoples beliefs changed
  following those attacks. You measured peoples
  beliefs about vulnerability, injustice, and
  distrust. (Adapted from Eidelson, Plummer,
  2005).

27

• You are interested in how different forms of
  social connection interact with a persons sex to
  influence their feelings of loneliness. You have
  a group of participants and you classify their
  style of connectedness (relational, aloof,
  moderate). You also identify their sex (male,
  female). (Adapted from Hawkley et al., 2005)

28

• You are interested in how different forms of
  social connection interact with a persons sex to
  influence their feelings of loneliness. You have
  a group of participants and you classify their
  style of connectedness (relational, aloof,
  moderate). You also identify their sex (male,
  female). (Adapted from Hawkley et al., 2005)

29

• You know that while reward is effective in
  changing behavior when used properly, people also
  respond to it differently, with some people being
  very responsive while others are much less
  responsive. A better understanding of this could
  lead to breakthroughs for understanding addictive
  behaviors. You decide to test whether asymmetries
  in brain functioning are associated with how
  responsive people are to rewards. (Adapted from
  Pizzagalli et al., 2005)

30

• You know that while reward is effective in
  changing behavior when used properly, people also
  respond to it differently, with some people being
  very responsive while others are much less
  responsive. A better understanding of this could
  lead to breakthroughs for understanding addictive
  behaviors. You decide to test whether asymmetries
  in brain functioning are associated with how
  responsive people are to rewards. (Adapted from
  Pizzagalli et al., 2005)

31

• People tend to hold onto cherished beliefs, even
  when faced with solid evidence that demonstrates
  the belief to be false. One example of this is
  peoples belief in the power and value of having
  high self-esteem, while research indicates that
  people with high self-esteem have lower grades
  than people with average self-esteem and people
  with high self-esteem are more prejudiced and
  less kind than people with lower self-esteem. You
  want to know if how people use their cherished
  beliefs and how much they think about their
  beliefs influences how valuable they think those
  beliefs are. Half of you participants are asked
  to explain their belief in God while the other
  half are asked to apply their belief in God to
  their own behaviors. You also have half of your
  participants provide only short responses while
  the other half of your participants write lengthy
  essays. (Adapted from Preston, Epley, 2005)

32

• People tend to hold onto cherished beliefs, even
  when faced with solid evidence that demonstrates
  the belief to be false. One example of this is
  peoples belief in the power and value of having
  high self-esteem, while research indicates that
  people with high self-esteem have lower grades
  than people with average self-esteem and people
  with high self-esteem are more prejudiced and
  less kind than people with lower self-esteem. You
  want to know if how people use their cherished
  beliefs and how much they think about their
  beliefs influences how valuable they think those
  beliefs are. Half of you participants are asked
  to explain their belief in God while the other
  half are asked to apply their belief in God to
  their own behaviors. You also have half of your
  participants provide only short responses while
  the other half of your participants write lengthy
  essays. (Adapted from Preston, Epley, 2005)

33

• You are working for a church that is interested
  in reaching out to gay and lesbian couples to
  bring them into the congregation. You think that
  one way to do that is to provide services for
  these couples that they usually cannot get
  elsewhere. You decide to try to determine what
  special services they might need regarding
  conflict in the relationship, the level of
  support that they get from others, and the
  perceived stability of their relationship. Before
  you begin, you need to know if the gay and
  lesbian couples are any different from
  heterosexual couples on these variables. So you
  get three types of couples (gay, lesbian,
  heterosexual) and determine whether there are
  differences between the groups for conflict in
  the relationship, the level of support that they
  get from others, and the perceived stability of
  their relationship. (Adapted from Kurdek, 2005)

34

• You are working for a church that is interested
  in reaching out to gay and lesbian couples to
  bring them into the congregation. You think that
  one way to do that is to provide services for
  these couples that they usually cannot get
  elsewhere. You decide to try to determine what
  special services they might need regarding
  conflict in the relationship, the level of
  support that they get from others, and the
  perceived stability of their relationship. Before
  you begin, you need to know if the gay and
  lesbian couples are any different from
  heterosexual couples on these variables. So you
  get three types of couples (gay, lesbian,
  heterosexual) and determine whether there are
  differences between the groups for conflict in
  the relationship, the level of support that they
  get from others, and the perceived stability of
  their relationship. (Adapted from Kurdek, 2005)

35

• You work with many male clients that are having
  relationship difficulties. You decide to explore
  this issue further to try to figure out why they
  are having difficulties. You have them complete
  Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI) to
  measure how much they try to conform to masculine
  norms. You also have them complete Relationship
  Assessment Scale (RAS), which is a measure of how
  satisfying their relationship is to them. You
  also have each mans partner complete the RAS to
  examine if there is a relationship between CMNI,
  the mens RAS scores and their partners RAS
  scores. (Adapted from Burn, Ward, 2005).

36

• You work with many male clients that are having
  relationship difficulties. You decide to explore
  this issue further to try to figure out why they
  are having difficulties. You have them complete
  Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI) to
  measure how much they try to conform to masculine
  norms. You also have them complete Relationship
  Assessment Scale (RAS), which is a measure of how
  satisfying their relationship is to them. You
  also have each mans partner complete the RAS to
  examine if there is a relationship between CMNI,
  the mens RAS scores and their partners RAS
  scores. (Adapted from Burn, Ward, 2005).

37

• You are interested in the interaction between a
  childs sex and the severity of ADHD symptoms
  (identified as severe or mild) on the childs
  peer interactions (high scores mean the
  relationships are functional and low scores mean
  the relationships are dysfunctional). (Adapted
  from Diamantopoulou et al., 2005)

38

• You are interested in the interaction between a
  childs sex and the severity of ADHD symptoms
  (identified as severe or mild) on the childs
  peer interactions (high scores mean the
  relationships are functional and low scores mean
  the relationships are dysfunctional). (Adapted
  from Diamantopoulou et al., 2005)

39

• Given the weaknesses that you have heard about in
  the American educational system you are concerned
  that American students will not do as well in
  college as international students and thus will
  not be able to find employment in their chosen
  fields. You decide to test this with two types of
  accounting majors. You have a sample of American
  and international accounting students. You assess
  anxiety and accounting performance. (Adapted from
  Hartnett et al., 2004)

40

• Given the weaknesses that you have heard about in
  the American educational system you are concerned
  that American students will not do as well in
  college as international students and thus will
  not be able to find employment in their chosen
  fields. You decide to test this with two types of
  accounting majors. You have a sample of American
  and international accounting students. You assess
  anxiety and accounting performance. (Adapted from
  Hartnett et al., 2004)

41

• Your company is considering reassigning many of
  its employees to be telecommuters with the hope
  that it can save time and money. Your boss has
  asked to research the factors that are associated
  with productivity for telecommuters, such as
  quality of their relationship with their
  managers, attitudes toward telecommuting, and
  social interactions with colleagues. (Adapted
  from Neufeld, Fang, 2005).

42

• Your company is considering reassigning many of
  its employees to be telecommuters with the hope
  that it can save time and money. Your boss has
  asked to research the factors that are associated
  with productivity for telecommuters, such as
  quality of their relationship with their
  managers, attitudes toward telecommuting, and
  social interactions with colleagues. (Adapted
  from Neufeld, Fang, 2005).

43

• You are working for an internet advertising
  company and need to determine the factors that
  are associated with the ability of a company to
  brand consumers (i.e., develop loyalty for a
  particular brand). You design a study in which
  you have people use the internet and you examine
  the relationships between the time since an
  individual saw an ad for a particular brand, the
  size of the ad for the brand as a proportion of
  the computer screen, and how loyal the individual
  is to the brand. (Adapted from Havlena, Graham,
  2004)

44

• You are working for an internet advertising
  company and need to determine the factors that
  are associated with the ability of a company to
  brand consumers (i.e., develop loyalty for a
  particular brand). You design a study in which
  you have people use the internet and you examine
  the relationships between the time since an
  individual saw an ad for a particular brand, the
  size of the ad for the brand as a proportion of
  the computer screen, and how loyal the individual
  is to the brand. (Adapted from Havlena, Graham,
  2004)

45

• Most women will sustain some degree of trauma to
  the genital tract after vaginal birth. You want
  to know if the trauma can be predicted by the
  position that the woman is in when she gives
  birth. You determine the relationship between the
  position that the women is in when she delivers
  and the degree of tissue damage following the
  birth. (Adapted from Soong, Barnes, 2005)

46

• Most women will sustain some degree of trauma to
  the genital tract after vaginal birth. You want
  to know if the trauma can be predicted by the
  position that the woman is in when she gives
  birth. You determine the relationship between the
  position that the women is in when she delivers
  and the degree of tissue damage following the
  birth. (Adapted from Soong, Barnes, 2005)

47

• You want to determine if there are differences in
  specific personality characteristics based on
  whether or not a child is a sex offender. You
  survey a group of juveniles currently in the
  legal system. You record whether their offense
  was a sex offense or not. (Adapted from Freeman
  et al., 2005)

48

• You want to determine if there are differences in
  specific personality characteristics based on
  whether or not a child is a sex offender. You
  survey a group of juveniles currently in the
  legal system. You record whether their offense
  was a sex offense or not. (Adapted from Freeman
  et al., 2005)

49

• You are working with cardiac patients and are
  concerned about how their attitude might affect
  their recovery. You have three groups of cardiac
  patients, those that are pessimists, those that
  are neither pessimists nor optimists, and those
  that are optimists. You compare them on their
  cardiac recovery and their level of depression.
  (Adapted from Bennett, Elliot, 2005)

50

• You are working with cardiac patients and are
  concerned about how their attitude might affect
  their recovery. You have three groups of cardiac
  patients, those that are pessimists, those that
  are neither pessimists nor optimists, and those
  that are optimists. You compare them on their
  cardiac recovery and their level of depression.
  (Adapted from Bennett, Elliot, 2005)

51

• You want to test two methods of relieving chronic
  pain in adolescents. You are also interested in
  whether or not the combination of the two methods
  is better than either method alone. You have half
  of your participants receive either relaxation
  strategies and half serve as a control group. You
  also have half of the participants engage in
  physical activities designed to reduce pain and
  half serve as a control group. (Adapted from
  Merlijn et al., 2005)

52

• You want to test two methods of relieving chronic
  pain in adolescents. You are also interested in
  whether or not the combination of the two methods
  is better than either method alone. You have half
  of your participants receive either relaxation
  strategies and half serve as a control group. You
  also have half of the participants engage in
  physical activities designed to reduce pain and
  half serve as a control group. (Adapted from
  Merlijn et al., 2005)

53

• You are working with physicians to try to prevent
  birth defects and childhood health problems by
  limiting second-hand smoke in the home. You
  develop a simple educational technique for the
  physicians to teach their non-smoking pregnant
  patients that they can then use to get their
  husbands to stop smoking. Some of the women learn
  the technique while others do not. You record
  whether the husbands have stopped smoking 3
  months later. (Adapted from Loke, Lam, 2005)

54

• You are working with physicians to try to prevent
  birth defects and childhood health problems by
  limiting second-hand smoke in the home. You
  develop a simple educational technique for the
  physicians to teach their non-smoking pregnant
  patients that they can then use to get their
  husbands to stop smoking. Some of the women learn
  the technique while others do not. You record
  whether the husbands have stopped smoking 3
  months later. (Adapted from Loke, Lam, 2005)

55

• Working as an educator in the local high school,
  you are interested in the relationship between
  body-mass index (a measure of obesity) and
  physical activity among your students. Do
  students with higher activity levels really have
  lower body-mass index scores? (Adapted from Kimm
  et al., 2005)

56

• Working as an educator in the local high school,
  you are interested in the relationship between
  body-mass index (a measure of obesity) and
  physical activity among your students. Do
  students with higher activity levels really have
  lower body-mass index scores? (Adapted from Kimm
  et al., 2005)

57

• Working with families that have children with
  ADHD, you are concerned that parents beliefs
  about the disorder are related to the types of
  treatments that they seek. (Adapted from Johnston
  et al., 2005)

58

• Working with families that have children with
  ADHD, you are concerned that parents beliefs
  about the disorder are related to the types of
  treatments that they seek. (Adapted from Johnston
  et al., 2005)

59

• You know that there are health benefits (for most
  children) to be breast fed and there are
  detriments to the childs health to live in a
  house with a smoker. You are interested in the
  relationship between breastfeeding and smoking.
  You survey families with infants and record
  whether or not the child is breast fed and
  whether or not there is a smoker in the house.
  (Adapted from Papadimitriou et al., 2005).

60

• You know that there are health benefits (for most
  children) to be breast fed and there are
  detriments to the childs health to live in a
  house with a smoker. You are interested in the
  relationship between breastfeeding and smoking.
  You survey families with infants and record
  whether or not the child is breast fed and
  whether or not there is a smoker in the house.
  (Adapted from Papadimitriou et al., 2005).

61

• Terror management theory states that when death
  is made salient, peoples behavior and psychology
  are different. You want to test this and to
  determine if there is an interaction between
  death salience (salient or not) and a persons
  level of self-esteem (high or low) for how
  neurotic they are. (Adapted from Arndt et al.,
  2005).

62

• Terror management theory states that when death
  is made salient, peoples behavior and psychology
  are different. You want to test this and to
  determine if there is an interaction between
  death salience (salient or not) and a persons
  level of self-esteem (high or low) for how
  neurotic they are. (Adapted from Arndt et al.,
  2005).

63

• Research indicates that individuals that present
  with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome also
  present with other psychiatric symptoms. You are
  wondering if there is a relationship between the
  severity of the irritable bowel symptoms and the
  severity of the psychiatric symptoms. (Adapted
  from Olatunji et al., 2004)

64

• Research indicates that individuals that present
  with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome also
  present with other psychiatric symptoms. You are
  wondering if there is a relationship between the
  severity of the irritable bowel symptoms and the
  severity of the psychiatric symptoms. (Adapted
  from Olatunji et al., 2004)

65

• You are interested in the interaction between sex
  and stress on various forms of aggression. You
  have 50 participants complete measures of
  physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger,
  and hostility when they are in a low stress
  condition or a high stress condition. (Adapted
  from Verona, 2005)

66

• You are interested in the interaction between sex
  and stress on various forms of aggression. You
  have 50 participants complete measures of
  physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger,
  and hostility when they are in a low stress
  condition or a high stress condition. (Adapted
  from Verona, 2005)