Hi Annette- I concur with the others. The best answer would be "C". I suspect that your students chose "B" because they thought the second measure was subjective rather than objective.
-Don. Don Allen Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-323-5871 ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Friday, March 14, 2008 6:54 am Subject: [tips] help with exam item To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> > Either I am losing my mind or something is wrong. I used the > following item on an exam. Not one student picked the answer I > thought was "correct". I believe originally the item came from a > test bank (which I no longer have) that accompanies the Cozby > research methods text. Every single one of my students picked the > same answer and it's not the answer I thought was best. > > Can I call on tipsters to tell me which answer they think is > correct and why? I will later tell you which answer I thoughtw as > correct and why. > > 1. Two researchers tested the hypothesis that college students’ > grades and stress are related. One researcher operationally > defined stress as the number of minutes spent arguing with others. > The other researcher defined stress as the amount of tension at > any point in time measured on a 10-point scale. Which of the > following statements is accurate? > a. Because their hypotheses are identical, the two > researchers should have similar results. > b. The only valid definition is the number of minutes > spent arguing with others because it is the only > objective measure. > c. The difference in operational definitions of stress > could lead to quite different results. > > Thanks > > Annette > > > Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > University of San Diego > 5998 Alcala Park > San Diego, CA 92110 > 619-260-4006 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
