Short Answer Assignment #4
Part 1
PURPOSE: This assignment aims to help you better understand graphical depictions of factorial designs, including main and interaction effects.
TASK: Read the following information and prompts, and use your textbook and class notes to answer the following questions.
CRITERIA: You will be successful on this assignment if you can: (a) Provide a correct answer to all of the questions using course concepts and descriptions that are clear to another reader.
INFORMATION:
Scientists test whether the Independent Variable influences the dependent variable.
Scientists test whether the Dependent Variable depends on the independent variable.
When an experiment has TWO independent variables, the results are broken down:
- Main effect of independent variable #1 on the dependent variable
- Main effect of independent variable #2 on the dependent variable
- Interaction effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable
- The results are often summarized graphically when experiments test the effects of two independent variables on a dependent variable. In this homework assignment, you will be asked to interpret graphical results of experiments with two independent variables.
Quick guide for getting correct answers on this assignment:
- x-axis = the independent variable
- y-axis = dependent variable #1 (“IV #1”)
- Key (upper-right) = independent variable #2 (“IV #2”)
- Is there a main effect of IV #1?
- If the average slope of the two lines…
- … is Flat à no main effect of IV #1
- e.g., both are flat, or if they cancel each other out by making an “X”
- … both slope upward or downward = main effect of IV #1
- … is Flat à no main effect of IV #1
- If the average slope of the two lines…
- Is there a main effect of IV #2?
- If the midpoint of the two lines is equal height à no main effect of IV #2
- If the midpoint of one of the lines is higher/lower than the other à there is a main effect of IV #2
- Is there an interaction effect?
- If the lines are parallel, there is NO interaction effect.
- If the lines are NOT parallel, there is an interaction effect.
- Note: The graphs below represent fabricated data. It’s all made up, just for interpretation practice.
ASSIGNMENT:
For each graph, answer the questions. Explain all effects.
Example:
Graph 1
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
Graph 2
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
Graph 3
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
Graph 4
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
Graph 5
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
Graph 6
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
- Graph 7
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
Graph 8
- Dependent Variable:
- Independent Variable 1:
- Independent Variable 2:
- Main effect of IV1:
- Main effect of IV2:
- Interaction Effect:
Part 2
PURPOSE: The purpose of this assignment is to help you practice designing a research study and gain a better understanding of small-N research designs.
TASK: Read the prompts below and answer the following questions that will help you design a series of small-N studies.
CRITERIA: You will be successful on this assignment if you can: (a) Provide a correct answer to all of the questions using course concepts and descriptions that are clear to another reader.
ASSIGNMENT:
Read the prompts and answer the questions:
- Imagine you live in a dormitory with a roommate. This roommate is particularly messy, and you would like to change a behavior of theirs to improve the cleanliness of your shared room.
- Pick a behavior you think would improve the cleanliness of your shared dorm.
- What is an intervention you will use to change your roommate’s behavior?
- Use a stable-baseline design to test your intervention and sketch a graph to show what it would look like if the intervention worked.
- A teacher wants to show that attending after school tutoring improves students quiz grades over the course of a semester.
- Design a multiple-baseline study to support her view.
- Sketch a graph or graphs to show what it would look like if the teacher was right.
- A researcher thinks that starting your day by journaling improves your daily mood.
- Design a reversal study to test the researchers’ hypothesis.
- Sketch a graph to show what it would look like if the researcher was correct.
Part 3
PURPOSE: The purpose of this assignment is to help you practice your research skills while building your understanding pf Psychology’s Replication Crisis.
TASK: Using the UTA library or Google Scholar, find the journal article below. Once you have read the article and have a good understanding of the study, answer the following questions.
CRITERIA: You will be successful on this assignment if you can: (a) Provide a correct answer to all of the questions using course concepts and descriptions that are clear to another reader, (b) demonstrate you have read the article by citing specific facts and information from the article.
ASSIGNMENT:
Using the UTA library or Google Scholar, find the article titled “Psychology, Science, and Knowledge Construction: Broadening Perspectives from the Replication Crisis” and read the first 7 pages up through the sub-heading “Statistical Responses…” Then, answer the questions below.
- How would you summarize psychology’s replication crisis? What is it?
- According to Shrout and Rodgers (2018), what are the major factors that have contributed to the crisis?
- What steps have been taken to address the crisis? Knowing what we know now, how can researchers be proactive about NOT making the crisis worse?
- Can you think of any other steps that can be taken to address the crisis?
- What other thoughts do you have about this issue?