Psych Scenarios

Case study

A journalist "shadows" three former presidents in the four weeks immediately following their departure from office. The journalist tries to learn everything possible about the now-former president's thoughts, feelings, and activities during those four weeks.

Survey

A psychologist studies how sudden changes in people's income affect their happiness. The psychologist sent out a list of questions to the top 20 lottery winners of all time. The winners answer the questions and mail back their form.

Social desirability

A recent nationwide survey found that only 2% of teens have tried shoplifting.

Sampling Bias

A researcher interested in how the public feels about Hollywood gossip publishes a survey in National Enquirer and asks readers to email in their responses.

Experiment

A science professor develops an activity to help students understand different research designs. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the activity, the professor uses the activity in one science class. In another science class, he gives a lecture on research designs. The professor then compares exam scores between the classes to see if the students who participated in the activity learned more about research designs than the students who listened to the lecture.

Schizotypal

Alex wandered into the party, but didn't stay long. The "negative forces" in the room were unsettling to his "psychic soul-spot." The few guests he spoke to felt somewhat uneasy being with this aloof "space cadet."

Working

Alicia is trying to solve a math problem. She attempts to use an old formula with a slight change to solve the problem and is successful.

Deductive reasoning

All products of ABC shop are sold at discounted rates today. The eraser was sold today in the shop hence it must have a discount. What is this known as?

Survey

Almost every time I take my Kia Sportage to the dealer for an oil change, someone contacts me a few days later to ask questions about my perceptions of the service.

Prejudice

Amir regularly tells his friends that he hates "those people." He claims that they are lazy and that they are taking over his neighborhood. Jim is one of "those people." Jim is experiencing what concept?

Positive reinforcement

Amy's parents gave her $50 because she got an "A" on her physics midterm. This is an example of

Naturalistic observation

Animal care experts at the Columbus Zoo spend a lot of time watching and recording the behavior of the animals. Any changes in the animals' behavior might indicate an illness or problem that requires attention.

true

(t/f) An entomologist wants to determine if temperature changes how many times a cricket chirps. Temperature is the independent variable and number of times the cricket chirps is the dependent variable.

true

(t/f) Ben & Jerry believe that eating ice cream makes you smarter. The company researchers decide to test this out. They split their subjects into two groups. One group eats ice cream 3 times a week for 4 weeks, the other groups has cookies (and no ice cream) 3 times a week for 4 weeks. An IQ test is administered every week. The independent variable is ice cream consumption. The dependent variable is IQ scores.

false

(t/f) Health researcher are creating a study to test if exercise improves your mood. They create a rigorous exercise regimen for half of their participants. The other half of their participants surf the web. They have both sets of their participants fill out a mood survey before and after their assigned activity. The independent variable is mood. The dependent variable is exercise.

false

(t/f) I posted a 2 1/2 minute YouTube video in the NEWS section about a study using Capuchins monkeys who see and respond to unfair treatment and because of this often refuse to continue performing their tasks, i.e., give the researcher a rock to get a reward of either cucumber or grape. The independent variable is Fairness and the dependent variable is the Reward (cucumber/grape).

false

(t/f) Many parents want to know if playing the video game, Grand Theft Auto, makes their children more aggressive. Level of aggressiveness is the independent variable. Playing Grand Theft Auto is the dependent variable.

false

(t/f) You want to see if playing music makes plants taller. Plant growth is the independent variable and music is the dependent variable.

mental set

Nancy, a three-year old, enters a store by pushing a door open. Every time she comes to a door after that, she pushes the door expecting it to open even though many doors open by pulling rather than pushing. What is this an example of?

Compulsive

Connor arrived at the party exactly on time. He made a point of speaking to every guest for five minutes. He talked mostly about technology and finance, and avoided any inquiries about his feelings or personal life. He left precisely at 10 PM because he needed to keep to his schedule and had work to do at home.

Histrionic

Gabriela danced into the party and immediately became the center of attention. With sweeping gestures of her arms and dramatic displays of emotion, she boasted about her career as an actress in a local theater group. During a private conversation, a friend inquired about the rumors that she was having some difficulties in her marriage. In a furious outburst, she loudly denied any problems and claimed that her marriage was "as wonderful and charming as ever." Shortly thereafter, while drinking her second martini, she fainted and had to be taken home.

mental representation

Gabrielle teaches her fourth-grade students about abstractions such as beauty and justice. Which of the above can aid the students' understanding of such abstractions?

Semantic

In school, Naomi is asked to name the first president of the United States and answers, "George Washington."

Priming

Ivan went to the Billy Joel concert in Syracuse recently. When his friend asked him what is one of his favorite songs, the first song that came to his mind was Billy Joel's song, "Piano Man."

Procedural

Jake is baking blueberry muffins and goes through the following steps while watching his favorite TV show: he preheats the oven, mixes all the ingredients in the order in which they are presented, greases the muffin pan, places the batter in separate cups, places the pan in the oven, and then sets the timer.

Schizoid

Juan wasn't invited to the party. No one really knows him very well because he rarely talks. In fact, he spends most of his time alone at home reading.

Short-term

Kai got to the copier and realized he forgot the copy code again. He ran down the hall and asked the assistant for the copy code. She told him the numbers and he ran back to the copier repeating the numbers in his head until he was able to punch them in.

Episodic

Mandy is reminiscing with her friends about her most memorable birthday, her sweet 16 birthday party.

Confounding Variables

Professor Vaidya thinks that her students do better on tests on Mondays than on Fridays. She gives one of her classes (Class A) all of their tests on Mondays and one of her classes (Class B) all of their tests on Fridays. Then she compares grades to see which one did better.

Altruism

Recently on the news, a man witnessed another man have a seizure and fall onto the tracks in front of an oncoming subway train. The man watching jumped onto the tracks, moved the other man to the center and laid down on top of him pressing him down to the ground, saving his life, as the train passed over them.

confirmation bias

Vivian likes to talk to those who second her opinions. When someone contradicts her, she retorts that they have half-baked knowledge about things and then ignores them. Which of the phenomena is associable with Vivian?

Obedience

When I am in any class, the teacher is the boss. I follow their instructions because they are the authority figure. This best illustrates which concept?

Representativeness heuristic

When Samantha meets Brenda, who has a laidback attitude and long hair, she promptly concludes that Brenda is Californian even before interacting with her. However, there are many English who have a laidback attitude and long hair. What is Samantha's initial judgment based on?

Groupthink

When smart people, working together in groups, make really stupid decisions because no one was questioning each other. This illustrates which concept?

Conformity

When the hippies of the 1960's counterculture were rejecting the ways of their parents, they went off and did the same things as nearly everyone else in their group—they bathed irregularly, they smoked pot, the took LSD, and all listened to the same music as each other. They were "guilty" of which idea?

Negative reinforcement

You don't give your friend a dirty look if she behaves nicer to you. This is an example of

Negative reinforcement

You don't lose your temper if your friend meets you on time. This is an example of

False alarm

You pull a passenger aside because you believe you see a weapon, but when you open his bag, you realize it is a hair dryer. You apologize and allow him to continue on to his plane.

Hit

You pull a woman aside because you see a square object with wires and think it may be a bomb. You open her bag and see that it is a bomb. She is promptly arrested.

Dispositional Attribution Theory

You see a person on the news who is arrested for disorderly conduct while picketing a city council meeting. You think to yourself, "She's a troublemaker, serves her right." What concept does this illustrate?

Miss

You see a small box with wires in a bag and assume it is an iPhone and headphones. You let the person through. Later that afternoon, you realize that the person who was on a plane threatening to blow it up was the same person who came through your lane. The item you thought was an iPhone was a bomb.

Positive reinforcement

You tell lots of jokes and your friends laugh hysterically. This is an example of

Positive punishment

Your doctor congratulates you every week that you don't smoke a cigarette. This is an example of

Cognitive dissonance

Your older cousin likes to drink wine. She is pregnant and feels bad when she has a couple glasses of wine.

Negative punishment

Your teacher took two points off your participation grade because you used your cellphone in class. This is an example of

Ingroup/outgroup bias

A classmate is a Yankees fan. He wears Yankees T-shirts and brags about them all the time. You and your friends are all Red Sox fans so you treat him poorly as a result of your not agreeing with his team of choice. This best illustrates which concept?

visual imagery

Anna and Johanna visit their hometown after a long time. They are surprised to find the old local library razed to erect a mall. Johanna remarks that she still is able to see their library where they frequented as children. She even vividly sees the librarian greeting them as they enter. This is an example of ________________.

Correct rejection

As you are perusing a large bag through the X-ray machine, you see the shape of an object that looks like a gun. As it passes, you realize it is a hair dryer and you let the passenger through without stopping her.

Narcissistic

Ashish spent most of the time talking about his trip to Europe, his new Mercedes, and his favorite French restaurants. People seemed bored being around him, but he kept right on talking. When he made a critical remark about how one of the women was dressed - and hurt her feelings - he could not apologize for his obvious blunder. He tried to talk his way around it, and even seemed to be blaming her for being upset.

divergent thinking

Asked to list the possible uses of a brick, Amit comes up with numerous possible answers. Amit is performing ________________.

Paranoid

Before entering, Hadley watched the party for several minutes from outside through the window. Once she went in, she seemed very uncomfortable. When people tried to be nice to her, she looked guarded and distrustful. People quickly became uncomfortable with her habit of finding fault with everything little thing you said or did. She seemed to be picking fights with people. She didn't stay very long at the party.

Experiment

City planners wonder whether people are more likely to exercise if their neighborhoods have sidewalks. In cooperation with local builders, the city paves sidewalks in two new neighborhoods and doesn't pave sidewalks in two other neighborhoods (to avoid ethical dilemmas, the city promises to pave the sidewalks in those neighborhoods at the end of the study). Throughout the following year, trained observers visit all four neighborhoods and record how many people are exercising outside (e.g., walking, biking, playing with the children).

Illusory correlation

Coach Sutton believes that his baseball players perform much better during a game if they wear Nike socks.

Flashbulb

During a recent trip to the Kennedy Space Center, Jeff's father saw a picture of the Space Shuttle Challenger. He told Jeff and his friend, Kyle, that he remembers looking up at a TV that was in a hotel lobby where he was staying on business and saw the Shuttle explode. There was a long plume of white smoke and everyone in the lobby went silent.

Attitude

Leanne is ecstatic when she is riding her bike. She believes that biking is the best hobby and the best exercise. She is an enthusiastic member of several cycling clubs and writes a cycling blog. She knows all about famous cyclists, such as Kristin Armstrong.

Availability heuristic

Liam goes to a music store. Not knowing which ones to buy, he ends up buying discs of movies whose trailers he often sees on television assuming them to be good. This is an example of ________________.

Borderline

Lina paraded into the party drunk and continued to drink throughout the night. Laughing and giggling, she flirted with many of the men and to two of them expressed her "deep affection." Twice during the evening she disappeared for almost half an hour, each time with a different man. After a violent argument with one of them, because he took "too long" to get her a drink, she locked herself into the bathroom and attempted to swallow a bottle of aspirin. Her friends encouraged her to go home, but she was afraid to be alone in her apartment.

Dependent

Paige promised the hostess that she would bake some desserts and come over early to help set up for the party. During the party, Paige never left her side, even to go to the bathroom. When the hostess asked if she would stay to clean up, Paige was afraid to say no in case she would be mad at her and not want to be friends.

metacognitive thinking

Paul usually remains convinced of his views. He seldom ever questions his own thinking, while readily dismissing others' claims though they may be based on conclusive proofs. He never bothers to verify or validate his beliefs through proofs and evidences, which often contradict his perspectives. In the context of the example, which of the following does Paul lack?