Psych Questions Chapter 1
What is an unrepresentative sample, and how do researchers avoid it?
An unrepresentative sample is a group that does not represent the population being studied. Random sampling helps researchers form a representative sample, because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included.
How are animal and human research participants protected?
Animal protection legislation, laboratory regulation and inspection, and local ethics committees serve to protect animal and human welfare. At universities, ethics committees screen research proposals. Ethical principles developed by international psychological organizations urge researchers using human participants to obtain informed consent, to protect them from harm and discomfort, to treat their personal information confidentially, and to fully debrief all participants.
In defending their experimental research with animals, psychologists have noted that A. advancing the well-being of humans justifies animal experimentation. B. animal research is subject to codes of ethics that ensure the animals' health, safety, and comfort. C. animal experimentation sometimes helps animals as well as humans. D. all of these statements are correct.
D. all of these statements are correct
How do psychologists use case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys to observe and describe behavior, and why is random sampling important?
Descriptive methods, which include case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys, show us what can happen, and they may offer ideas for further study. The best basis for generalizing about a population is a representative sample; in a random sample, every person in the entire population being studied has an equal chance of participating. Descriptive methods cannot show cause and effect because researchers cannot control variables.
How did psychology continue to develop from the 1920s through today?
Early researchers defined psychology as "the science of mental life." In the 1920s, under the influence of John B. Watson and the behaviorists, the field's focus changed to the "scientific study of observable behavior." Behaviorism became one of psychology's two major forces well into the 1960s. However, the second major force of Freudian psychology, along with the influences of humanistic psychology and cognitive psychology, revived interest in the study of mental processes. Psychology is now defined as the science of behavior and mental processes.
_____ _____ refers to our tendency to perceive events as obvious or inevitable after the fact.
Hindsight bias
To explain behaviors and clarify cause and effect, psychologists use _____.
experiments
"Nurture works on what nature endows." Describe what this means, using your own words.
The environment (nurture) has an influence on us, but that influence is constrained by our biology (nature). Nature and nurture interact. People predisposed to be very tall (nature), for example, are unlikely to become Olympic gymnasts, no matter how hard they work (nurture).
Why is replication important?
When other investigators are able to replicate an experiment with the same (or better) results, scientists can confirm the result and become more confident of its reliability.
In 1879, in psychology's first experiment, _____ _____ and his students measured the time lag between hearing a ball hit a platform and pressing a key.
Wilhelm Wundt
What were some important milestones in psychology's early development?
Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychological laboratory in 1879 in Germany. Two early schools were structuralism and functionalism.
From the 1920s through the 1960s, the two major forces in psychology were _____ and _____ psychology.
behaviorism; Freudian
Nature is to nurture as
biology is to experience.
The school of _____ focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.
functionalism
William James would be considered a(n) ________. Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener would be considered ________.
functionalist; structuralists
A psychologist treating emotionally troubled adolescents at a local mental health agency is most likely to be a(n)
clinical psychologist.
By using random assignment, researchers are able to control for _____ , which are other factors besides the independent variable(s) that may influence research results.
confounding variables
A psychologist conducting basic research to expand psychology's knowledge base would be most likely to
observe 3- and 6-year-olds solving puzzles and analyze differences in their abilities.
You wish to survey a group of people who truly represent the country's adult population. The best way to ensure this is to question a _____ sample of the population, in which each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
representative
The _____ perspective in psychology focuses on how behavior and thought differ from situation to situation and from culture to culture, while the _____ perspective emphasizes observation of how we respond to and learn in different situations.
social-cultural; behavioral
The school of _____ used introspection to define the mind's makeup
structuralism
The _____ _____ describes the enhanced memory that results from repeated retrieval (as in self-testing) rather than from simple rereading of new information.
testing effect
Here are some recently reported correlations, with interpretations drawn by journalists. Knowing just these correlations, can you come up with other possible explanations for each of these? A. Alcohol use is associated with violence. (One interpretation: Drinking triggers or unleashes aggressive behavior.) B. Educated people live longer, on average, than less-educated people. (One interpretation: Education lengthens life and enhances health.) C. Teens engaged in team sports are less likely to use drugs, smoke, have sex, carry weapons, and eat junk food than are teens who do not engage in team sports. (One interpretation: Team sports encourage healthy living.) D. Adolescents who frequently see smoking in movies are more likely to smoke. (One interpretation: Movie stars' behavior influences impressionable teens.)
(a) Alcohol use is associated with violence. (One interpretation: Drinking triggers or unleashes aggressive behavior.) Perhaps anger triggers drinking, or perhaps the same genes or child-raising practices are predisposing both drinking and aggression. (Here researchers have learned that drinking does indeed trigger aggressive behavior.) (b) Educated people live longer, on average, than less-educated people. (One interpretation: Education lengthens life and enhances health.) Perhaps richer people can afford more education and better health care. (Research supports this conclusion.) (c) Teens engaged in team sports are less likely to use drugs, smoke, have sex, carry weapons, and eat junk food than are teens who do not engage in team sports. (One interpretation: Team sports encourage healthy living.) Perhaps some third factor explains this correlation — teens who use drugs, smoke, have sex, carry weapons, and eat junk food may be "loners" who do not enjoy playing on any team. (d) Adolescents who frequently see smoking in movies are more likely to smoke. (One interpretation: Movie stars' behavior influences impressionable teens.) Perhaps adolescents who smoke and attend movies frequently have less parental supervision and more access to spending money than other adolescents.
What does a good theory do?
1. It organizes observed facts. 2. It implies hypotheses that offer testable predictions and, sometimes, practical applications. 3. It often stimulates further research.
What advantage do we gain by using the biopsychosocial approach in studying psychological events?
By incorporating different levels of analysis, it can provide a more complete view than any one perspective could offer.
Which is not one of the descriptive methods psychologists use to observe and describe behavior? A. A case study B. A phone survey C. Correlational research D. Naturalistic observation
C. Correlational research
We cannot assume that case studies always reveal general principles that apply to all of us. Why not?
Case studies involve only one individual or group, so we can't know for sure whether the principles observed would apply to a larger population.
How can critical thinking help you evaluate claims in the media, even if you're not a scientific expert on the issue?
Critical thinking examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. In evaluating a claim in the media, look for any signs of empirical evidence, preferably from several studies. Ask the following questions in your analysis: Are claims based on scientific findings? Have several studies replicated the findings and confirmed them? Are any experts cited? If so, research their background. Are they affiliated with a credible university, college, or institution? Have they conducted or written about scientific research?
What are positive and negative correlations, and why do they enable prediction but not cause-effect explanation?
In a positive correlation, two factors increase or decrease together. In a negative correlation, one item increases as the other decreases. A correlation coefficient can describe the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables, from +1.00 (a perfect positive correlation) through zero (no correlation at all) to -1.00 (a perfect negative correlation). A correlation can indicate the possibility of a cause-effect relationship, but it does not prove the direction of the influence, or whether an underlying third factor may explain the correlation.
How do the scientific attitude's three main components relate to critical thinking?
It equips us to be curious, skeptical, and humble in scrutinizing competing ideas or our own observations. This attitude carries into everyday life as critical thinking, which puts ideas to the test by examining assumptions, appraising the source, discerning hidden biases, evaluating evidence, and assessing conclusions.
In two recent studies, sexual hook-ups positively correlated with college women's experiencing depression; delaying sexual intimacy correlated with positive outcomes such as greater relationship satisfaction and stability (Fielder et al., 2014; Willoughby et al., 2014). Do these findings mean that sexual restraint causes better outcomes?
It might. But in this case, as in many others, causation might work the other way around (more depressed people are more likely to hook up), or some third factor, such as lower impulsivity, might underlie both sexual restraint and psychological well-being.
How did the cognitive revolution affect the field of psychology?
It recaptured the field's early interest in mental processes and made them legitimate topics for scientific study.
In the early twentieth century, ________ redefined psychology as "the science of observable behavior."
John B. Watson
How does our everyday thinking sometimes lead us to a wrong conclusion?
Our everyday thinking can be perilous because of three phenomena: hindsight bias, overconfidence, and a tendency to perceive order in random events. Hindsight bias (also called the "I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon") is the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it. Overconfidence in our judgments results partly from our bias to seek information that confirms them. These tendencies, plus our eagerness to perceive patterns in random events, lead us to overestimate our intuition. Although limited by the testable questions it can address, scientific inquiry can help us overcome our intuition's biases and shortcomings.
How has our understanding of biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing shaped contemporary psychology?
Our growing understanding of biology and experience has fed psychology's most enduring debate. The nature-nurture issue centers on the relative contributions of genes and experience, and their interaction in specific environments. Charles Darwin's view that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies led to evolutionary psychology's study of our similarities because of our common biology and evolutionary history, and behavior genetics' focus on the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. Cross-cultural and gender studies have diversified psychology's assumptions while also reminding us of our similarities. Attitudes and behaviors may vary somewhat by gender or across cultures, but because of our shared human kinship, the underlying processes and principles are more similar than different. Psychology's traditional focus on understanding and treating troubles has expanded with positive psychology's call for more research on human flourishing and its attempt to discover and promote traits that help people to thrive.
Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works?
People's self-reports varied, depending on the experience and the person's intelligence and verbal ability.
What is contemporary psychology's position on the nature-nurture issue?
Psychological events often stem from the interaction of nature and nurture, rather than from either of them acting alone.
How do theories advance psychological science?
Psychological theories are explanations that apply an integrated set of principles to organize observations and generate hypotheses—predictions that can be used to check the theory or produce practical applications of it. By testing their hypotheses, researchers can confirm, reject, or revise their theories. To enable other researchers to replicate the studies, researchers report them using precise operational definitions of their procedures and concepts. If others achieve similar results, confidence in the conclusion will be greater.
What measures do researchers use to prevent the placebo effect from confusing their results?
Research designed to prevent the placebo effect randomly assigns participants to an experimental group (receives the real treatment) or to a control group (receives a placebo), using a double-blind procedure (neither those who receive nor those who administer the treatment know who gets the placebo versus the actual treatment). A comparison of the results will demonstrate whether the real treatment produces better results than belief in that treatment.
Can laboratory experiments illuminate everyday life?
Researchers intentionally create a controlled, artificial environment in the laboratory in order to test general theoretical principles. These general principles help explain everyday behaviors.
What event defined the start of scientific psychology?
Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory.
Why do psychologists study animals, and what ethical guidelines safeguard human and animal research participants? How do human values influence psychology?
Some psychologists are primarily interested in animal behavior; others want to better understand the physiological and psychological processes shared by humans and other species. Government agencies have established standards for animal care and housing. Professional associations and funding agencies also establish guidelines for protecting animals' well-being. The APA ethics code outlines standards for safeguarding human participants' well-being, including obtaining their informed consent and debriefing them later. Psychologists' values influence their choice of research topics, their theories and observations, their labels for behavior, and their professional advice. Applications of psychology's principles have been used mainly in the service of humanity
What does the acronym SQ3R stand for?
Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, and Review
What are psychology's levels of analysis and related perspectives?
The biopsychosocial approach integrates information from three differing but complementary levels of analysis: biological, psychological, and social-cultural. This approach offers a more complete understanding than could usually be reached by relying on only one of psychology's current perspectives (neuroscience, evolutionary, behavior genetics, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and social-cultural).
In the experiment on the effects of perceived ethnicity on availability of rental housing, what was the independent variable? The dependent variable?
The independent variable, which the researchers manipulated, was the set of ethnically distinct names. The dependent variable, which they measured, was the positive response rate.
How can psychological principles help you learn and remember?
The testing effect shows that learning and memory are enhanced by actively retrieving, rather than simply rereading, previously studied material. The SQ3R study method—survey, question, read, retrieve, and review—applies principles derived from memory research. Four additional tips are (1) distribute your study time; (2) learn to think critically; (3) process class information actively; and (4) overlearn.
What is natural selection?
This is the process by which nature selects from chance variations the traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.
What are the characteristics of experimentation that make it possible to isolate cause and effect?
To discover cause-effect relationships, psychologists conduct experiments, manipulating one or more factors of interest and controlling other factors. Using random assignment, they can minimize confounding variables, such as preexisting differences between the experimental group (exposed to the treatment) and the control group (given a placebo or different version of the treatment). The independent variable is the factor the experimenter manipulates to study its effect; the dependent variable is the factor the experimenter measures to discover any changes occurring in response to the manipulations. Studies may use a double-blind procedure to avoid the placebo effect. Psychological scientists must design studies and choose research methods that will best provide meaningful results.
Why, when testing a new drug to control blood pressure, would we learn more about its effectiveness from giving it to half of the participants in a group of 1000 than to all 1000 participants?
We learn more about the drug's effectiveness when we can compare the results of those who took the drug (the experimental group) with the results of those who did not (the control group). If we gave the drug to all 1000 participants, we would have no way of knowing whether the drug is serving as a placebo or is actually medically effective.
Why, after friends start dating, do we often feel that we knew they were meant to be together?
We often suffer from hindsight bias—after we've learned a situation's outcome, that outcome seems familiar and therefore obvious.
What are psychology's main subfields?
Within the science of psychology, researchers may conduct basic research to increase the field's knowledge base (often in biological, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social psychology) or applied research to solve practical problems (in industrial-organizational psychology and other areas). Those who engage in psychology as a helping profession may assist people as counseling psychologists, helping people with problems in living or achieving greater well-being, or as clinical psychologists, studying and assessing people with psychological disorders and treating them with psychotherapy. (Psychiatrists also study, assess, and treat people with disorders, but as medical doctors, they may prescribe drugs in addition to psychotherapy.) Community psychologists work to create healthy social and physical environments (in schools, for example).
Knowing that two events are correlated provides
a basis for prediction
As scientists, psychologists
are willing to ask questions and to reject claims that cannot be verified by research.
Theory-based predictions are called _____.
hypotheses
A researcher wants to determine whether noise level affects workers' blood pressure. In one group, she varies the level of noise in the environment and records participants' blood pressure. In this experiment, the level of noise is the
independent variable
A study finds that the more childbirth training classes women attend, the less pain medication they require during childbirth. This finding can be stated as a (positive/negative) correlation.
negative
Negative or positive correlation? The more children and youth used various media, the less happy they were with their lives
negative
Negative or positive correlation? The more income rose among a sample of poor families, the fewer psychiatric symptoms their children experienced
negative
In a double-blind procedure,
neither the participants nor the researchers know who is in the experimental group or control group.
To test the effect of a new drug on depression, we randomly assign people to control and experimental groups. Those in the control group take a pill that contains no medication. This is a _____.
placebo
Negative or positive correlation? The less sexual content teens saw on TV, the less likely they were to have sex
positive
Negative or positive correlation? The longer children were breast-fed, the greater their later academic achievement
positive
A mental health professional with a medical degree who can prescribe medication is a
psychiatrist
The laboratory environment is designed to
re-create psychological forces under controlled conditions.
