What is a characteristic of structured interviews?

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A. Structured interviews do not yield the same depth of information as a clinical interview because they involve a set of standardized questions that are asked in the same way to all participants. This lack of flexibility may limit the depth and richness of the responses obtained compared to a more open-ended clinical interview. Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because structured interviews are not flexible in question phrasing, do not necessarily bring together a wide range of information on one person, and can provide insights into participants' reasoning behind responses depending on the design of the structured questions.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: According to the information provided in the text box 'CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Immigrant Youths: Adapting to a New Land' on page 32, students who are foreign-born or first-generation Americans often achieve in school as well as or better than students of native-born parents. This implies that they excel academically despite facing challenges related to cultural adaptation and assimilation. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because the provided information specifically highlights the academic achievement of foreign-born or first-generation American students compared to students of native-born parents, not their likelihood of committing delinquent acts, obesity rates, or self-esteem levels.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: An experimental design permits inferences about cause and effect because researchers evenhandedly assign people to treatment conditions. This means that researchers can manipulate certain variables and observe the effects on participants, allowing them to determine causation between variables. This is a key strength of experimental research designs. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because they do not accurately describe the primary purpose or strength of experimental designs. Experimental designs do not focus on gathering information in natural life circumstances (A), looking at relationships between characteristics and behavior (B), or have the limitation of not being able to infer cause and effect (D).

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Drawing the children's names out of a hat is a way to randomly assign them to treatment conditions. Random assignment helps to ensure that any differences in self-esteem that may be observed in the study are not due to pre-existing characteristics of the children. This method helps to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the teacher's use of encouragement and the children's self-esteem. Choice A is incorrect because assigning children based on test scores may introduce bias into the study. Choice B is incorrect as balancing gender is not relevant to the research question. Choice D is incorrect as it introduces a bias by selecting a specific group of children based on a characteristic unrelated to the study objective.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Longitudinal research involves tracking the performance of each person over time. By doing so, researchers can observe common patterns in development among a group of individuals and also identify individual differences in how each person progresses over time. This methodology allows researchers to gather data on the same individuals repeatedly, offering insights into how development unfolds over the lifespan. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because longitudinal research focuses on observing individuals over time rather than studying groups at a single point, randomly assigning participants to treatments, or conducting quasi-experiments.