PSYC 344 - CH. 1
Your friend Gaby loves reading articles about psychology studies in her monthly women's magazine. Which of the following would you tell her?
"Be careful about reading those articles because they may not present findings accurately."
Salma conducts a study and finds that her data do not completely support her theory. Which of the following statements should she avoid saying?
"My data disprove my theory."
Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage. He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse. He conducts a study to test his ideas. Assuming that his data match his theory, which of the following statements should he make?
"The data provide support for my theory."
Which of the following is an example of translational research?
A sports psychologist who uses information on how we emotionally process victory to design an intervention for improving mental stamina during athletic performance
Which of the following is an example of being a producer of research?
Administering an anxiety questionnaire
Students who are interested in being consumers of, but not producers of, research might choose which of the following professors?
An advertising executive
Which of the following is an example of applied research?
An educational psychologist who looks for a way to increase math skills in 8-year-olds
Which of the following is an example of basic research?
An experimental psychologist who examines people's ability to perceive a "sweet" taste
Which of the following is an example of being a consumer of research?
Attending a psychological conference
Which of the following is true of the difference between basic and applied research?
Basic and applied research have different goals.
Scientific journals and magazines are similar in which of the following ways?
Both are trying to inform their readers.
___________________ is the approach of collecting data and using it to develop, support, and/or challenge a theory
Empiricism
RESEARCH STUDY 1.2: Dr. White reads about a new theory that states that depression is caused by increased levels of estrogen in the womb. To test this theory, she conducted a study comparing the level of estrogen in amniotic fluid in individuals who were later diagnosed with depression with the level of those who did not develop depression. Dr. White found no differences between the groups in estrogen levels in the amniotic fluid. What should Dr. White do next?
Evaluate the ways in which her study differed from previous studies that supported this theory
How can you ensure that a popular media article accurately reflects the original research of a scientific study?
Find and read the original scientific article
Dr. Smitherman insists that all his research assistants know how to be producers of research. All of the following relate to this requirement EXCEPT:
He wants to make sure they have previously been participants in research studies
Elliott is double majoring in English and psychology. He plans on being a high school English teacher and is only majoring in psychology because he finds the classes interesting. Which of the following is an important reason for him to be a good consumer of research?
He will probably want to read research related to enhancing his teaching.
Dr. Gonzalez is a peer reviewer for a manuscript submitted to a journal. He is likely to provide comments on which of the following?
How well the research was conducted
Which of the following is true of the relationship between hypotheses and theories?
Hypotheses are used to determine if a theory is accurate.
Which of the following is the reason that scientific journals use peer review?
It ensures that the studies published are of the highest quality.
Which of the following is a reason why it is important to be an effective producer of research?
It is important to know how to interpret the results and graphs of your study.
Which of the following is a reason why it is important to be a knowledgeable consumer of research?
It is important to understand whether the information you read is accurate.
Both James and Thomas have theories that explain why listening to classical music while reading is associated with increased recall of the material. James' theory is much simpler than Thomas'. Thomas created his theory a few months before James did. Which of the following is true?
James' theory would be considered better because it is more parsimonious.
Which of the following is a reason that a journalist may misrepresent a psychology study in a magazine?
Journalists may not personally have the scientific background to understand the study.
Dr. Stewart is an editor of a psychology journal. She wants to ensure that reviewers give honest reviews of the papers they are asked to read. Which of the following could she do to increase the likelihood of honest feedback?
Make sure the peer reviewers are anonymous
Which of the following is a benefit of the peer-review process?
Reviewers' names are kept anonymous so they can be open in their critiques of an article.
RESEARCH STUDY 1.1: Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that there are three fundamental needs that are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is only necessary when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. After Susan collects and analyzes her data, which of the following is the next logical step?
Susan alters or amends the theory to fit her data
Which aspect of the peer-review cycle allows for the greatest amount of honesty in reviews?
The anonymity of the peer reviewers
Nadia submits her article to a scientific journal for publication. Who makes the final decision on whether her article is published in that scientific journal?
The editor of the journal
RESEARCH STUDY 1.1: Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that there are three fundamental needs that are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is only necessary when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. Susan's hypothesis was not completely supported by her data. What does this mean?
The theory may need to be amended
Which of the following is a reason psychological scientists publish their research in scientific journals?
To have their results reviewed by other psychologists
Translational research is best thought of as ______________________ basic research and applied research
a bridge between
RESEARCH STUDY 1.1: Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that there are three fundamental needs that are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is only necessary when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. Susan's prediction that students who have all three needs met will experience greater satisfaction with their psychology class is an example of which of the following?
a hypothesis
Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage. He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse. This is known as:
a theory
RESEARCH STUDY 1.1: Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that there are three fundamental needs that are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is only necessary when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. Deci and Ryan's general statement of how the three needs are related to growth and fulfillment is an example of which of the following?
a theory
Research that is done specifically to solve a practical problem, like increasing memory ability or decreasing symptoms of depression, is known as:
applied research
Research that is done specifically to add to our general understanding of psychology, like distinguishing the components of extraversion or predicting the time it takes a person to determine whether an object is a face or another object, is known as:
basic research
RESEARCH STUDY 1.2: Dr. White reads about a new theory that states that depression is caused by increased levels of estrogen in the womb. To test this theory, she conducted a study comparing the level of estrogen in amniotic fluid in individuals who were later diagnosed with depression with the level of those who did not develop depression. Dr. White found no differences between the groups in estrogen levels in the amniotic fluid. Dr. White publishes her findings in a scientific journal. Who is most likely to read her article?
clinical researchers
RESEARCH STUDY 1.2: Dr. White reads about a new theory that states that depression is caused by increased levels of estrogen in the womb. To test this theory, she conducted a study comparing the level of estrogen in amniotic fluid in individuals who were later diagnosed with depression with the level of those who did not develop depression. Dr. White found no differences between the groups in estrogen levels in the amniotic fluid. In this study, estrogen levels in participants were the ___________________
data
Articles that could be considered journalism:
do not require specialized education to read.
RESEARCH STUDY 1.2: Dr. White reads about a new theory that states that depression is caused by increased levels of estrogen in the womb. To test this theory, she conducted a study comparing the level of estrogen in amniotic fluid in individuals who were later diagnosed with depression with the level of those who did not develop depression. Dr. White found no differences between the groups in estrogen levels in the amniotic fluid. In this study, "depressed individuals will have higher estrogen levels" was the ____________________
hypothesis
Another word for data is a(n)
observation
Occam's razor states that the simplest solution is the best, all things being equal. This speaks to a theory's:
parsimony
Another word for hypothesis is a(n)
prediction
In the theory-data cycle, theories first lead to
questions
A research consumer ________________ scientific results
reads
RESEARCH STUDY 1.2: Dr. White reads about a new theory that states that depression is caused by increased levels of estrogen in the womb. To test this theory, she conducted a study comparing the level of estrogen in amniotic fluid in individuals who were later diagnosed with depression with the level of those who did not develop depression. Dr. White found no differences between the groups in estrogen levels in the amniotic fluid. Another depression researcher reads Dr. White's findings. This new researcher is LEAST likely to:
reject the theory of what causes depression.
The quality of journalists' coverage of a science story will be determined by two factors:
the importance and accuracy of the story.
RESEARCH STUDY 1.2: Dr. White reads about a new theory that states that depression is caused by increased levels of estrogen in the womb. To test this theory, she conducted a study comparing the level of estrogen in amniotic fluid in individuals who were later diagnosed with depression with the level of those who did not develop depression. Dr. White found no differences between the groups in estrogen levels in the amniotic fluid. Based on these results, Dr. White should conclude that:
there may be factors influencing the results that haven't yet been examined that contributed to the results of studies on this topic.
According to the text, the bridge between basic and applied research is known as:
translational research
Vinai learns that people with schizophrenia have a problem labeling their emotions. Using this information, he designs a research study to examine whether teaching patients with schizophrenia to label the emotions of people they see in movie clips helps them to better label their own emotions. Vinai hopes that the findings of this research could then be used to create an intervention to treat schizophrenia. Vinai's study is an example of:
translational research
