Learn Before
Example of Lack of Context in Between-Subjects Designs
Birnbaum's 1999 study serves as a classic demonstration of the problems associated with a lack of context in between-subjects designs. When participants rated the number or on a size scale in separate groups, the group rating judged it as mathematically 'larger' than the group rating . Without the context of a within-subjects comparison, participants spontaneously compared to other single-digit numbers and to other three-digit numbers, skewing their relative size judgments.
0
1
Tags
KPU
Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
Related
Random Assignment
Advantages of Between-Subjects Experiments
Independent-Samples t-Test
One-Way ANOVA
Within-Subjects Experiment
Matched-Groups Design
Examples of Between-Subjects Experiments
Example of Lack of Context in Between-Subjects Designs
Combining Between-Subjects and Within-Subjects Designs
Equivalent Groups
Nonequivalent Groups
Which of the following best describes a between-subjects experiment?
In a between-subjects experiment, researchers test each participant across every level of the independent variable to directly compare their individual responses.
A researcher is conducting a between-subjects experiment to test if '8 hours of sleep' versus '4 hours of sleep' affects cognitive performance on a memory task. Arrange the steps of this specific study in the correct chronological order.
A researcher investigates whether a new font improves reading speed. They assign 50 participants to read a text in 'Times New Roman' and another 50 participants to read the same text in 'OpenDyslexic'. Match each aspect of this study to the structural logic of a between-subjects experiment.
You are tasked with creating a research protocol to investigate whether a 'Gamified' exercise app increases user motivation more than a 'Standard' exercise app. To avoid 'carryover effects'—where the experience with one version of the app might influence the user's perception or performance with the other—you decide to implement a between-subjects experiment. Which of the following plans should you develop to successfully fulfill this design requirement?
A researcher is evaluating whether to use a within-subjects or a between-subjects design for a study on a permanent educational intervention. They determine that a(n) _____ design is the only valid choice because the intervention results in an irreversible change, making it impossible for the same participants to serve in both the experimental and control conditions.
An experimental design in which each participant is exposed to only a single level of the independent variable is called a(n) _____ experiment.
A clinical researcher measures each participant's stress level at three time points: before a mindfulness program begins (Week 0), after four weeks of training (Week 4), and after eight weeks of training (Week 8). Every participant completes the same single program. The researcher argues that this is a between-subjects design because each participant is assigned to only one program. This argument is correct.
A researcher studies whether type of reward (monetary payment, verbal praise, or no reward) affects how long elementary school children persist on a difficult puzzle. One group receives money after each puzzle attempt, a second group receives verbal praise, and a third receives nothing. No child participates in more than one condition. Match each term to the description that correctly identifies its role in this study.
A research team wants to test whether a new anti-anxiety drug (Drug A), an established drug (Drug B), or a placebo reduces self-reported anxiety in adults with generalized anxiety disorder. They must design the study and analyze the data responsibly. Arrange the following decisions and actions in the order that best reflects sound research practice for a between-subjects experiment.
Learn After
What was the unexpected finding in Birnbaum's 1999 study when participants rated the size of the number or in separate, isolated groups?
In Birnbaum's 1999 study, different groups of participants were asked to rate the size of either the number 9 or the number 221 on a scale. Match each specific judgment with the internal context that influenced the participants' ratings.
A researcher replicates Birnbaum's (1999) study but uses a within-subjects design where each participant rates both the number 9 and the number 221. Based on the concept of 'lack of context,' this change in design should eliminate the paradoxical finding where 9 is rated as larger than 221.
In Birnbaum's (1999) research, participants in a between-subjects design paradoxically rated the number 9 as 'larger' than the number 221. Arrange the logical stages of the cognitive process and experimental structure that produce this specific finding, starting with the design's initial setup.
A researcher is planning a study to compare the perceived 'intensity' of two different psychological stressors. To avoid the paradoxical findings of Birnbaum's (1999) study—where separate groups rated the number as mathematically 'larger' than due to a lack of shared context—which of the following research plans should the researcher construct?
In Birnbaum's 1999 study on the lack of context in between-subjects designs, the group of participants rating the number judged it as mathematically larger than the group of participants rating the number .
In Birnbaum's (1999) study, one group of participants rated the subjective size of the number and another group rated the number , with no group seeing both. Which of the following best explains why the group rating rated it as significantly 'larger' than the group rating ?
In Birnbaum's (1999) study, participants in separate groups paradoxically rated the number as larger than the number . When evaluating the validity of these subjective ratings, a researcher must recognize that the results were skewed because the between-subjects design failed to provide a shared _____.
Birnbaum's (1999) study used a between-subjects design in which one group rated only the number and another group rated only the number on a size scale. Analyze the study by matching each structural design feature to the specific methodological problem it produces.
When critically evaluating the choice between within-subjects and between-subjects designs, Birnbaum's (1999) findings support the judgment that a between-subjects design's lack of _____ can be a more serious methodological threat than the carryover or order effects that are commonly cited as the primary weakness of within-subjects designs.