The Story of Psychology Chapter 1. What’s in this Chapter? Where did psychology come from anyway?...

The Story of Psychology The Story of Psychology

Chapter 1

What’s in this Chapter?What’s in this Chapter?

• Where did psychology come from anyway? – Schools of thought

• Why do we need psychology? – applications of psychological

knowledge

• So what’s the big deal?– major issues

What is Psychology?What is Psychology?

Psychology

The science of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, feelings)

4 Broad Divisions of 4 Broad Divisions of PsychologyPsychology

• Physical characteristics

• Cognitive activities

• Emotional states

• Environmental factors

Psychological ResearchPsychological Research

• Majority of research is performed on animals

• Animals make useful subjects for the following reasons:1. Longer periods of study2. Shorter life spans3. The “good subject” unaware of experiment

– Cats often used for neurophysiology experiments– Unfortunately, they have been used unethically

(guidelines created to protect)

4. Remarkable similarities in human processes– Explains hunger, thirst, reproduction,/ Provides info on vision,

taste, hearing, and pain perception/Understanding of genetic vulnerability to drug dependence

General Purpose of General Purpose of PsychologyPsychology

• To acquire basic knowledge about behavior

• To apply to specific situations

• To apply to clinical situations

• To apply to society at large

Psychological PerspectivesPsychological Perspectives

• Biological (neuroscience):– Study of the physiological mechanisms in

the brain and nervous system that organize and control behavior

– Interest in BEHAVIOR distinguishes from many other biological sciences

– Focus may range from individual neurons, areas of the brain, or specific fxns like eating, emotion, or learning


• Evolutionary (ethology): – The study of animal behavior in the natural

environment rather than in a lab setting– Focuses on how the natural selection of

traits promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes

– Influenced by Darwin and the emphasis on innate, adaptive, behavior patterns

– European approach to studying behavior founded by animal researchers, Lorenz & Tinbergen

Psychological Psychological PerspectivesPerspectives

• Behavioral Perspective:• How we learn from observable

behavior• Involves what comes before behavior• What comes after the behavior to

reinforce it OR punish it

• Classical conditioning• Operant conditioning• Observation learning


• Behavior genetics:– How much our genes and our

environment influence our individual difference

– To what extent are personality traits, intelligence, sexual orientation, mental disorders, etc. attributable to our genes or environment?

– Nature vs. Nurture field of study!!!!!!


• Psychodynamic (Sigmund Freud):- how behavior springs from unconscious

drives and conflicts- Both a method of treatment and a theory of

the mind- Behavior reflects combinations of conscious

and unconscious influences- Drives & urges within the unconscious

component of the mind influence thought and behavior

- Early childhood experiences shape unconscious motivations


• Cognitive:– How knowledge is encoded,

processed, stored, and retrieved…and used to guide behavior

– Influences Include:• Piaget- studied intellectual development• Chomsky- studied language• Cybernetics- science of information processing


• Social-cultural/cross-cultural:– How behavior and thinking vary across

situations and cultures– Studies differences among people living

in different cultural groups– How are people’s thoughts, feelings and

behavior influenced by their culture?– What are common elements across

culture? – Uses cross-cultural studies to find

cultural universals and relativism


• Humanistic:– View of behavior based on experience

in treating patients– Humanistic Approach

• Dev. By Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers• Behavior reflects innate needs: to be loved, to mate,

etc.• Focus on conscious thinking and self-perception• More positive view than Freud’s

– Self-awareness & free will are emphasized

DiscussionDiscussion

• Describe the expressed emotion/behavior according to each of the current psychological perspectives:

“ I am depressed.”

““All Hands on DECK”All Hands on DECK”

• Current Psychological Perspectives– Turn to page 11 in your textbook– Get your index cards out & make flash

cards of theses terms and use Triggers

History of PsychologyHistory of Psychology

• Stone ages: mental illness was caused by evil spirits, practice known as Trephining was used to treat mental illnesses

• Ancient World (4000BC-500AD):– Greeks & Romans believed evil spirits were – the cause or the gods were punishing people– Hippocrates: Father of Modern Science – believed mental illness had natural causes

• Some traits were inherited; • others by injury to the head


• The Middle Ages (500-1500 AD):Mental Illness was caused by:–Demonic possession–Witchcraft–Heresy

Treatment included:–Imprisonment, torture, death–Blood letting, leaching–Scientific study was forbidden by the church


• Scientic Revolution (17th Century):– Attempts to find physical causes for

psychological traits– Brought about search for natural causes

of biological processes– The scientific method was born

Prescientific PsychologyPrescientific Psychology

• Gave rise to questions such as:– Is the mind connected to the body or

distinct?– Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank

slate filled with experience?

• Socrates & Plato: – viewed the mind as separate from the

body and continuing after death

Prescientific PsychologyPrescientific Psychology• Rene Descartes (1596-1650):

– Agreed with Socrates & Plato– Led to this conclusion with his study of animals and

reflexes– However, thought “animal spirits” were in the

brain fluid flowing through nerves…creating movement/reflexes

• John Locke (1632-1704):– Wrote essay stating that the mind is a Tabula Rasa:

“blank slate”– Rejected Descartes and helped form modern

empiricism, which the idea that knowledge comes through experience thru senses & science based on observation and experimentation

Nature Vs. NurtureNature Vs. Nurture• Nativism: elementary idea that ideas are

innate (nature) inborn, inherited, instinctive

Thus, there is a debate between Nativism and Empiricism, which in psychology is the age

long debate of NATURE Vs. NURTURE

Hint: some blend together in the Behavior Genetics perspective

Ex. Is intelligence determined by our genes or our

experiences? personality?

Psychology as a SciencePsychology as a Science

• Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920):– Est. the 1st psychological laboratory in

Leipzig, Germany– Applied lab techniques to study of the

mind• Study of reaction time to hearing a ball hit a

platform (sensory stimulation) and pressing a telegraph key

– Wrote the 1st psychology textbook– Father of PsychologyFather of Psychology


• Edward Titchener:– Wundt’s student who brought the study of

psychology to the United States– Due to his techniques of studying the mind,

he is linked to Structuralism: the practice of using introspection (looking inward) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

• Charles Darwin:-evolutionary theorist whose big idea was natural selection or the idea that nature selects those organisms best able to survive and reproduce in an environment


• William James:– Thought it was most beneficial to consider

the evolved functions of thoughts and feelings

– Philosophical basis in pragmatism- testing the truth by practical consequences

– Associated with functionalism: school of psychology focused on how mental and behavioral processes function- how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Contemporary Contemporary PsychologyPsychology

Subfields of Psychology:•Basic Research: pure science aimed to increase knowledge base

1. Biological psychologists explore the links between brain and mind

2. Developmental psychologists study the changing abilities from womb to tomb

3. Cognitive psychologists study how we perceive, think, and solve problems

4. Personality psychologists investigate our persistent traits

5. Social psychologists explore how we view and affect one another

Contemporary Contemporary PsychologyPsychology

Subfields of Psychology:•Applied Research: scientific study aimed to solve practical problems

1. Industrial/organizational psychologists study and advise on behavior in the workplace

2. Clinical psychologists study ,assess, and treat people with psychological disorders

3. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who also perform psychotherapy and are licensed to prescribe drugs with treatment; part of branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders

4.2%Elementary and Secondary Schools

6.3%Business and Government

8.5%Other

19.4%Hospitals and Clinics

28.0%Colleges and Universities

33.6%Private Practice

Where Are Psychologists Where Are Psychologists EmployedEmployed

3.0%Personality

3.8%Psychometrics

6.7%Cognitive

8.2%Experimental

9.5%Physiological

10.3%Other

10.6%Health

13.7%Educational

16.1%Social

19.3%Developmental

Research Areas in Research Areas in PsychologyPsychology

0.5%Forensic

0.6%Other

0.9%Clinical Neuropsychology

5.2%School

6.1%Industrial/Organizational

14.7%Counseling

72.1%Clinical

Professional Professional SpecialtiesSpecialties

Themes in PsychologyThemes in Psychology• Psychology is

– Empirical– Theoretically Diverse– Sociohistorical Context

• Behavior is– Determined by Multiple Causes– Shaped by Cultural Heritage– Influenced by Heredity & Environment

• Experience is– Highly Subjective

Practice TestPractice Test

1. For which of the following is Wilhelm Wundt primarily known?

a. The establishment of the first formal laboratory for research in psychology

b. The distinction between mind and body as two separate entities

c. The discovery of how signals are conducted along nerves in the body

d. The development of the first formal program for training in psychotherapy


2. G. stanley Hall is noteworthy in the history of psychology because he:a. established the first American research laboratory in psychologyb. launched America’s first psychological journalc. was the driving force behind the establishment of the American Psychological Associationd. did all of the above

Practice TestPractice Test3. Which of the following approaches might William James criticize for examining a movie frame by frame instead of seeing the motion in the motion picture?

a. structuralismb. functionalismc. dualismd. humanism


4. Which of the following approaches might suggest that forgetting to pick his mother up at the airport was Henry’s unconscious way of saying that he did not welcome her visit?

a. psychoanalyticb. behavioralc. humanisticd. cognitive


5. Fred, a tennis coach, insists that he can make any reasonably healthy individual into an internationally competitive tennis player. Fred is echoing the thoughts of:

a. Sigmund Freudb. John B. Watsonc. Abraham Maslowd. William James


6. Which of the following is a statement with which Skinner’s followers would agree?

a.Most behavior is controlled by unconscious forcesb.The goal of behavior is self-actualizationc.Nature is more influential than nurtured.Free will is an illusion


7. Which of the following approaches has the most optimistic view of human nature

a. humanismb. behaviorismc. psychoanalysisd. structuralism


8. Which of the following historical events created a demand for clinicians that was far greater than the supply?

a. World War Ib. the Depressionc. World War IId. the Korean War


9. Which of the following is not an important interest of the positive psychology movement?

a. positive institutions and communities

b. positive symptoms in mental disorders

c. positive subjective experiencesd. positive individual traits


10. The study of the endocrine system and genetic mechanisms would most likely be undertaken by a:

a. clinical psychologistb. physiological psychologistc. social psychologistd. educational psychologist

Practice TestPractice Test11. The fact that psychologists do not all agree about the nature and development of personality demonstrates:a.that there are many ways of looking at the same phenomenonb.The fundamental inability of psychologists t work together in developing a single theoryc.The failure of psychologists to communicate with one anotherd.The possibility that personality may simply be incomprehensible

Practice TestPractice Test12. A multifactorial causation approach to

behavior suggests that

a. most behaviors can be explained best by single-cause explanations

b. Most behavior is governed by a complex network of interrelated factors

c. Data must be subjected to rigorous statistical analysis in order to make sense

d. Explanations of behavior tend to build up from the simple to the complex in a hierarchical manner

Practice TestPractice Test13. Psychology’s answer to the

question of whether we are born or made tends to be:

a. we are bornb. we are madec. we are both born and maded. neither


14. In regard to changing answers on multiple-choice tests, research indicates that _____ changes tend to be more common than other types of changes.

a.Wrong to rightb.Right to wrongc.Wrong to wrong


15. Critical thinking skills:a. are abstract abilities that cannot be identifiedb. usually develop spontaneously without any instructionc. usually develop spontaneously without any instructiond. need to be deliberately taught, because they often do not develop by themselves with standard content instruction

Chapter 2: The Chapter 2: The Research Enterprise of Research Enterprise of

PsychologyPsychology

Example of Hindsight Bias

• Fact:Psychologists have found

that separation strengthens romantic attraction “absence makes the heart grow fonder”

Psychologists have found that separation weakens attraction “out of sight-out of mind”

What we strive for is:What we strive for is:

• Science: A process that combines rationalism and empiricism.

– Rationalism: uses existing ideas and the principles of logic to develop new valid ideas.•How we develop a theory.

– Empiricism: Gaining knowledge by observing events. •How we test the validity of the theory.

The Need for The Need for Psychological SciencePsychological Science

• Critical Thinking •thinking that does

not blindly accept arguments and conclusions

•examines assumptions

•discerns hidden values

•evaluates evidence•assesses conclusions

The Amazing Randi—Skeptic

Hypothesis: Students who study over a span of 3 weeks before a test perform better than those who wait until the night before

MethodData Collection Analysis

Report Findings

Steps in a Scientific Steps in a Scientific InvestigationInvestigation

• Theory • an explanation using an integrated set of

principles that organizes and predicts observations

• Hypothesis (Step 1)• a testable prediction• often implied by a theory• gives direction in research

Operational Definition Operational Definition • a statement of procedures (operations) used

to define research variables• Facilitates replication of research• Example:

• intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures, Some theories of intelligence include artistic and musical abilities; others do not and cover spatial reasoning, verbal reasoning, sequencing, etc.

• Example:• Classroom rule SHOW RESPECT: “follow a directive within 5

secs & say yes ma’am”

• Replication• repeating the essence of a research study

to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

• usually with different participants in different situations

• Meta-analysis• Combination of statistical results of many

studies of the same question, yielding an estimate of the size and consistency of a variable’s effects

Research Methods Research Methods (Step 2 & 3: Design a study & Collect (Step 2 & 3: Design a study & Collect

Data)Data)

Three types of research methods:

1.Research that describes only (descriptive)

2. Research that describes and predicts behavior (correlational)

3. Research that describes, predicts and explains behavior (experimentation)

Descriptive ResearchDescriptive Research

Psychologists describe behavior using case studies, surveys, and naturalistic

observation

• Example: “Shawna appeared fatigued. She closed her eyes often and only spoke once during the entire 50-minute class period.”

Case Study• observation

technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principals

• Advantages?• Disadvantages?

Is language uniquely human?

• Survey• technique for ascertainingthe self-reported attitudesor behaviors of peopleusually by questioning a representative, randomsample of people• Watch for

•wording effects- heavyor leading words•Social desirability bias- sociallyapproved answers•Response set- responding that is not related to content•Halo effect- overall outside evaluation sways ratings

Additional Survey IssuesAdditional Survey Issues

• False Consensus Effect• tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

• Population• all the cases in a group, from which

samples may be drawn for a study

• Random Sample• a sample that fairly represents a

population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion in the study

Population

Unrepresentative Sample

Not what We WantNot what We Want

Not what We WantNot what We Want

Both show Sampling Bias when the sample is not representative of the populationfrom which is was drawn.

• Naturalistic Observation• observing and

recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Advantages:•Natural real behavior•Natural setting “real world”

Disadvantages:•Unwanted behavior•One time occurrence•Low reliability and validity•Interruption

Naturalistic Naturalistic ObservationObservation

Research that describes Research that describes and predicts behavior and predicts behavior

(Step 4 Analyze & Draw (Step 4 Analyze & Draw Conclusions)Conclusions)

• The Correlational Research method

CorrelationCorrelation

Correlation Coefficienta statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other

Correlation coefficient

Indicates directionof relationship

(positive or negative)

Indicates strengthof relationship(0.00 to 1.00)

r = +.37


• Scatterplot• a graphed cluster of dots, each of which

represents the values of two variables• the slope of the points suggests the

direction of the relationship• the amount of scatter suggests the

strength of the correlation• little scatter indicates high correlation

• also called a scattergram or scatter diagram

• Correlation quantifies the tendency for one measure to covary with another measure.

• When two measures increase or decrease together, they are said to have a positive correlation.

• When one measure increases and the other measure decreases, they are said to have a negative correlation.

• If two measures do not covary consistently, they are said to

have a zero correlation.


Perfect positivecorrelation (+1.00)

No relationship (0.00) Perfect negativecorrelation (-1.00)

Scatterplots, showing patterns of correlations

Shows both the DIRECTION & STRENGTH of how two variableare related


Height and Temperament of 20 Men

123456789

10

11121314151617181920

80636179746962757760

64767166737063716870

75666090604242608139

48697257637530578439

SubjectHeight in

Inches Temperament SubjectHeight in

Inches Temperament


Scatterplot of Height and Temperament

55 60 65 70 75 80 85

959085807570656055504540353025

Temperamentscores

Height in inches


Three Possible Cause-Effect Relationships

(1)Low self-esteem

Depression

(2)Depression

Low self-esteem

Low self-esteem

Depression

(3)Distressing events

or biologicalpredisposition

could cause

could cause

could cause

or

or

and

Illusory CorrelationIllusory Correlation

Illusory Correlation

• the perception of a relationship where none exists

• Prevented by statistical measurement

Conceive Do not conceive

Adopt

Do notadopt

disconfirming evidence

confirming evidence

disconfirming evidence

confirming evidence

Research that describes, Research that describes, predicts and explains predicts and explains (Step 4 (Step 4

Analyze & Draw Conclusions)Analyze & Draw Conclusions)

The Experiment•an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) •by random assignment of participants into the experimental and the control groups controls other relevant factors that may interfere with the results

Experimental ElementsExperimental Elements• Double-blind Procedure

• Helps neutralize experimenter bias• both the research participants and the research

staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo

• commonly used in drug-evaluation studies• Placebo effect

• experimental results caused by expectations alone

• any effect on behavior caused by administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent

Experimental ElementsExperimental Elements

• Experimental Condition• the condition of an experiment that exposes

participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

• Control Condition• the condition of an experiment that contrasts

with the experimental treatment • serves as a comparison for evaluating the

effect of the treatment/eliminates confounding variables

• The experimental treatment is absent

Experimental ElementsExperimental Elements

• Random AssignmentRandom Assignment• assigning participants to experimental

and control conditions by chance• minimizes pre-existing differences

between those assigned to the different groups

Experimental ElementsExperimental Elements• Independent Variable

• the experimental factor that is manipulated• the variable whose effect is being studied

• Dependent Variable • the experimental factor that may change in response to

manipulations of the independent variable • in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process

• Confounding of variables

• When two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects…

• Happens as a result of extraneous variables that seem like they influence the dependent variable (so don’t know if it is the independent variable causing the change)

Research methodsResearch methods

An Experiment: FIGHTING An Experiment: FIGHTING INSOMNIAINSOMNIA

• We want to determine if people who have trouble sleeping (insomnia) can be helped by taking a “sleeping pill” before going to bed.

HYPOTHESISHYPOTHESIS

•X amount of sleeping pills helps the otherwise healthy person with insomnia to sleep better.

SUBJECTSSUBJECTS

• The subjects of the experiment are two groups of people in similar physical health, within the same age range, and with similar sleep problems.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLEINDEPENDENT VARIABLE

• This is the variable that the experimenter changes.

• The experimenter regulates the “medicine,” with one group receiving genuine sleeping pill while the other receives a placebo.

DEPENDENT VARIABLESDEPENDENT VARIABLES

• This is what results from the experimenter’s varying or changing the independent variable.

• The results can vary among better sleep, worse sleep, and about the same amount of sleep.

CONTROLCONTROL• This is the removal of factors other than

the independent variable that might cause the results.

• The experimenter will not use people who are sick, people with severe allergies, or people who are very old.

• Any one of these factors could alter the real effects of the medicine in the average person with insomnia.

CONTROL GROUPCONTROL GROUP

• This group consists of subjects who are like those in the experimental group except that they do not participate in the crucial part of the study.

• The control group in this study consists of those subjects who receive a placebo, thinking it is a sleeping pill.

EXPERIMENTAL GROUPEXPERIMENTAL GROUP

• These are the people who participate in the crucial part of the study.

• The experimental group consists of those subjects who get X amount of sleeping pills.

RESULTSRESULTS

• Hypothesis is incorrect.• We reject the hypothesis that those who

receive the sleeping pill will sleep better.• Subjects taking the sleeping pill over a

period of days will still have insomnia, only worse.

• And the sleep they do get is less restful than the sleep the control group gets.

WHY?WHY?

Because, most tranquilizers and sleeping pills interfere with dreams. They cause the person to feel worse because without dreams, sleep loses much of it’s curative effect.

Dreamland…..

Step 5: Report the Step 5: Report the FindingsFindings

Statistical ReasoningStatistical Reasoning

Our Brand Brand BrandBrand X Y Z

100%

99

98

97

96

95

Percentagestill functioningafter 10 years

Brand of truck


Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z

100%

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Percentagestill functioningafter 10 years

Brand of truck

Measures of Central Measures of Central TendencyTendency

• Mode– the most frequently occurring score in a

distribution

• Mean– the arithmetic average of a distribution– obtained by adding the scores and then

dividing by the number of scores

• Median– the middle score in a chronological distribution– half the scores are above it and half are below

it


Skewed Distribution

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 90 475 710

70

Mode Median Mean

One Family Income per family in thousands of dollars

Measures of VarianceMeasures of Variance• Range

• the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

• Standard Deviation• a computed measure of how much scores vary

around the mean• Statistical Significance

• a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

• IF IT IS STATISTICALLY SIG. IT IS NOT DO TO CHANCE• .05 Significance Level, which means there is a less

than 5 in 100 chances that the result found is due to chance

Ethics in ExperimentationEthics in Experimentation

• American Psychological Association1. Obtain INFORMED CONSENT2. PROTECT from harm and discomfort3. DEBRIEF: Fully explain research afterwards4. CONFIDENTIALITY of participant information5. Procedures with animals must minimize harm6. Host institutions for research must give prior

approval

Additional concerns include beneficence: maximize potential benefits

Peer Review Scientific Peer Review Scientific ArticlesArticles

• Reading & Group Discussion concerning NEW ethics articles

Secret of the Wild ChildSecret of the Wild Child

• Were the experiments performed on Genie worth the risk? ie; already suffered abuse, should she suffer further confinement/used as a test subject/long hours in laboratory setting?

• What were the problems with the experiment with regards to research design, funding, documentation, personal attachments or lack of?

• Important contribution: development of language

• Noam Chomsky (nature) and Eric Linenberg (nature’s window), BF Skinner: Language is learned (nurture) imitation/observation


1. A tentative prediction about the relationship between two variables is:

a. A confounding of variablesb. An operational definitionc. A theoryd. A hypthesis


2. Researchers must describe the actions that will be taken to measure or control each variable in their studies. In order words, they must:a. provide operational definitions of their variables

b. decide if their studies will be experimental or correlational c. use statistics to summarize their findingsd. decide how many subjects should participate in their studies

Practice TestPractice Test3. A researcher found that clients who were

randomly assigned to same sex groups participated more in group therapy sessions than clients who were randomly assigned to coed groups. In this experiment, the independent variable was:

a. The amount of participation in the group therapy session

b. Whether or not the group was coedc. The clients’ attitudes toward group therapyd. How much the clients’ mental health

improved

Practice TestPractice Test4. A researcher wants to see whether a protein-

enriched diet will enhance the maze-running performance of rats. One group of rats are fed the high-protein diet for the duration of the study; the other group continues to receive ordinary rat chow. In the experiment, the diet fed to the two groups of rats is the _________ variable.

a. correlatedb. controlc. dependentd. independent


5. In a study of the effect of a new teaching technique on students’ achievement test scores, an important extraneous variable would be the students’:

a. hair colorb. athletic skillsc. IQ scoresd. Sociability


6. Whenever you have a cold, you rest in bed, take aspirin, and drink plenty of fluids. You can’t determine which remedy is most effective because of which of the following problems?

a.Sampling biasb.Distorted self-report datac.Confounding of variablesd.Experimenter bias


7. A psychologist monitors a group of nursery-school children, recording each instance of helping behavior as it occurs. The psychologist is using:

a. the experimental methodb. naturalistic observationc. case studiesd. the survey method


8. Among the advantages of descriptive/correlational research is (are):

a.It allows investigators to isolate cause and effect

b.It permits researchers to study variables that would be impossible to manipulate

c.It can demonstrate conclusively that two variables are causally related

d.Both a and b


9. Which of the following correlation coefficients would indicate the strongest relationship between two variables?

a..58b..19c.-.97d.-.05


10. When psychologists say that their results are statistically significant, they mean that the results:

a.Have important practical applicationb.The sample is not representative of

the populationc.Two variables are confoundedd.The effect of the independent variable

can’t be isolated


11. Sampling bias exists when:

a.The sample is representative of the population

b.The sample is not representative of the population

c.Two variables are confoundedd.The effect of the independent

variable can’t be isolated

Practice TestPractice Test12. The problem of experimenter bias can be

avoided by:a.not informing participants of the hypothesis of

the experimentb.Telling the subjects that there are no “right” or

“wrong” answersc.Using a research strategy in which neither

subjects nor experimenter know which participants are in the experimental and control groups

d.Having the experimenter use only nonverbal signals when communicating with the participants

Practice TestPractice Test13. Critics of deception in research have assumed

that deceptive studies are harmful to participants. The empirical data on the issue suggest that:

a.Many deceptive studies do produce significant distress for subjects who were not forewarned about the possibility of deception

b.Most participants in deceptive studies report that they enjoyed the experience and didn’t mind being misled

c.Deceptive research seriously undermines subjects trust in others

d.Both a and c are the case

Practice TestPractice Test14. PschINFO is:

a.A new journal that recently replaces Psychological Abstract

b.A computerized database containing abstracts of articles, chapters, and books reporting psychological research

c.A reference book that explains the format and techniques for writing journal articles

d.A computerized database containing information about studies that have not yet been published


15. Anecdotal evidence:

a.Is often concrete, vivid, and memorable

b.Ends to influence peoplec.Is fundamentally flawed and

unreliabled.Is all of the above

Homework ReviewHomework Review

1. In an experiment, which of the following variables refer to the outcome that is measured by the experimenter?

(a) independent(b) dependent(c) control(d) random(e) Stimulus

2. Drawing a random sample of people from a town for an interview study of social attitudes ensures that

(a) each person in town has the same probability of being chosen for the study(b) an equal number of males and females are selected for interviews(c) the study includes at least some respondents from every social class in town(d) the study will uncover widely differing social attitudes among the

respondents (e) the sample will be large enough even though some people may refuse to be interviewed

3. A researcher asks elementary, junior high, senior high, and college students to define the term “cheating”, and analyzes differences in their definitions across age groups. This is an example of which type of study?

(a) longitudinal

(b) sequential

(c) cross-sectional

(d) case study

(e) observational

4.Which of the following research methods is being used if the same subjects are tested at two, four, and six years of age?

(a) Cross-cultural

(b) Longitudinal

(c) Cross-sectional

(d) Correlation

(e) Projective

5.The most distinctive characteristic of the experimental method is that it

(a) studies a few people in the great depth

(b) studies subject in their natural environment

(c) is an efficient way to discover how people feel

(d) seeks to establish cause-effect relationships.

(e) provides a chronological basis for reaching conclusions.

6. In Experimental psychology, a significant difference refers to a

(a) difference not likely due to chance

(b) difference not likely due to faulty design

(c) result that indicates a correlation equal to 1.0

(d) result that departs from previous findings

7. A double-blind control is essential for which of the following?

(a) a study comparing the IQ test scores of children from different educational systems

(b) a study of relationships among family members

(c) an experiment to determine the effect of a food reward on the bar-pressing rate of a rat

(d) assessment of treatment designed to reduce schizophrenic symptoms

(e) a survey of drug use among teenagers

• 8. A psychologist using the method of naturalistic observation would

a. carefully design controlled situations in which to observe behavior.

b. rely on observations of subjects' responses to questionnaires.

c. observe behavior as it happens outside the laboratory or clinic.

d. make records of the behavior of clients treated in therapy.

9. A teacher believes that one group of children is very bright and that a second is below average in ability. Actually, the groups are identical, but the first group progresses more rapidly than the second. This demonstrates

a. the self-fulfilling prophecy.

b. the placebo effect in a natural experiment.

c. observer bias in naturalistic observation.

d. the ethical problems of field experiments.

10. Subjects are said to be assigned randomly when

a. they are assigned to experimental and control groups from a sample which is representative of the larger population.

b. they each have an equal chance of being assigned to either the experimental or control group.

c. they are assigned to experimental and control groups so that the groups differ on some critical variable before the experiment begins.

d. neither the experimenter nor the subject knows whether the subject is in the experimental or control group.

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The Story of Psychology Chapter 1. What’s in this Chapter? Where did psychology come from anyway?...

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