DrMacIlhenny Wishes to Explore Gender Differences in Language Arts Skills

question 117

Multiple Choice

Dr.MacIlhenny wishes to explore gender differences in language arts skills among elementary school students.She suspects,however,that gender differences in scores on language arts tests may be influenced by sex differences in the number of hours that students spend studying and doing homework each week.Which of the following research strategies should she pursue if she wishes to attribute any gender differences she finds specifically to differences in language ability?

• A) She should match each boy spending a given number of hours studying each week with a girl spending the same number of hours studying each week.
• B) She should manipulate hours of studying or homework as an independent variable.
• C) She should hold hours of studying or homework constant.
• D) She should randomly select the samples of girls and boys used in the study.

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Definitions:

Electroencephalogram

A test that measures and records the electrical activity of the brain using small, flat metal discs attached to the scalp.

Oscilloscope

Specialized device that serves as a sensitive voltmeter, registering changes in voltage over time.

Neocortex

Most recently expanded outer layer (“new bark”) of the forebrain, composed of about six layers of gray matter. Its name is a misnomer, as it actually isn’t newer because it arose at the same time during evolution as other forms of cortex. It is also called isocortex because it is almost always six-layered, with few exceptions.

Fritsch and Hitzig

Fritsch and Hitzig were pioneering neuroscientists known for their research demonstrating the electrical excitability of the cerebral cortex.