Test 1 chapters 1-4

Falsifiability

A characteristic of a theory implying that if the hypothesis is not supported, the theory is wrong

Hypothesis

A prediction based on a theory about what will happen in a new study

Stefan wants to make a causal claim in his dissertation. Which of the following is necessary?

He must conduct an experiment

What does it mean that behavioral research is probabilistic?

Inferences drawn fom behavioral research are not expected to explain all cases

Compared with doing a generic Internet search, why is a library database such as PsycINFO a superior way to find scientific sources?

It searchs only psychology and related fields

If you wanted to study a causal link between exercise and sleep, how would you answer the following questions: What are the conceptual variables? How could you operationalize them? In your study, which variable is manipulated and which is measured?

More exercise and more sleep More exercise is heart rate up above their average resting rate for 30 minutes more than their average time of exercise per day. More sleep will be measured by an hour and 30 minutes extra from their average nightly time of sleep. The manipulated variable is more exercise The variable being measured is how long a person sleeps at night

Suppose you want to test the causal claim about chewing gum improving your mood and focus. How could you design an experiment to test this claim? What would the variables be? Would each be manipulated or measured? What results would you expect? Sketch a graph of the outcomes you would preict. Would your experiment satisfy the three criteria for supporting a causal claim?

One could design an experiment by having two groups of people monitoring their moods and focus for 2 weeks. Group A does nothing different from their normal schedule for the 2 weeks. They just monitor their mood and focus in the mornings and in the evenings. Group B does nothing for their first week expect monitoring their mood and focus in the mornings and in the evening. The second week, group B will chew gum for 30 minutes and then monitor their mood and focus. They will do this in the morning and in the evening. The variables would be chewing gum and improvement of mood and focus. The chewing gum variable is manipulated, and the improvement of mood and focus is being measured. I would expect that group B will have higher ratings of mood and focus in week 2 than in week 1. Also I would expect that group B would have a higher rating of mood and focus compare it both of the groups week 2.

Basic Research

Research conducted to learn about a phenomenon or process

Applied Research

Research conducted to solve a practical problem

Which of the following is true of the distinction between scientific journals and popular magazines?

Scientific journal articles are peer-reviewed; popular magazine articles are not

Which of the following is NOT a research claim?

Teens spend too much time texting and driving

There are a number of ways to gain information that could form your beliefs: experience, intuition, authority, and empirical research. Which method seems to be the most sound for believing true things? Why is it better than the others?

The best method to find the most reliable research is looking for empirical research. Empirical research is peer reviewed. Peer reviewed means that professionals in the field of the research read over the research and made sure it was sound. People also won't believe in something unless they see it. Empirical research shows the argument and the evidence for the argument. 3/5*

The word "prove" when applied to science has become a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Why is it that a single study cannot "prove" a theory to be correct or incorrect? How do scientists decide which theories to utilize and which to abandon?

The reason why just one scientific study cannot prove anything is that it is impossible for science to prove anything. Science cannot prove anything because scientists do research experiments that can have bias and flaws. Scientists are human too, and everyone makes mistakes. These mistakes can end up overlooked for some time also. Scientists decide to lean toward and utilize theories if there is a lot of research studies that are proving the theory right. It also helps when these articles are peer reviewed because if other scientists or professionals review the research, they can find some of the flaws in it. One reason why scientists abandon theories is if the research methods weren't done correctly. We looked at an article about dogs not liking being hugged in class, and at first it looked like a solid argument. We looked at where that article got its research from, and the research study that they were basing their argument on was done with a bunch of google images of dogs being hugged.

Theory

The simplest possible explanation of a group related observation

Empiricism

Using evidence from senses or instruments for the basis of conclusions

Vanessa claims that she sleeps better when she falls asleep to music. She has a comparison group because she has noticed that she does not listen to music every night, only when she remembers to charge her iPod. She typically remembers to charge her iPod on nights when she is able to finish studying earlier. What problem do you see in Vanessa's reasoning about sleeping better to music?

Vaness may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner

Which of the following is a problem presented by the availability heuristic?

We do not examine all of the evidence, only what we can quickly think of.

When reading an empirical journal article "with a purpose," which two questions should you ask yourself as you read? To this end, which section should you read first in order to quickly answer these questions?

When reading an empirical journal the two questions that one should ask themselves as they read are what is the argument, and what is the evidence to support the argument? The section one should read first to answer these questions quickly is the discussion because it talks about the argument and the results. 4/5*

A psychiatrist is testing a drug that treats depression. He has given the drug to all of his patients, and all of them have experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms. Although this is interesting, his experience is limited because he does not have:

a comparison group that did not receive the drug

When examining the statistical validity of a frequency claim, one should look for the:

margin of error estimate

Which of the following could be an independent variable in a causal claim?

one that is manipulated

Which of the following is a dependent variable?

one that is measured

Which of the following is NOT a section or subsection commonly found in an empirical journal article?

outcomes