Chapter 1 Thinking Critically With Psychological Science

Question 0

Why, after friends start dating, do we often feel that we knew they were meant to be together?

Answer 0

We often suffer from hindsight bias–after we’ve learned a situation’s outcome, that outcome seems familiar and therefore obvious.

Question 1

hindsight bias

Answer 1

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon)

Question 2

critical thinking

Answer 2

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

Question 3

How does the scientific attitude contribute to critical thinking?

Answer 3

The scientific attitude combines (1) curiosity about the world around us, (2) skepticism toward various claims and ideas, and (3) humility about one’s own understanding. Evaluating evidence, assessing conclusions, and examining our own assumptions are essential parts of critical thinking.

Question 4

theory

Answer 4

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Question 5

hypothesis

Answer 5

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Question 6

operational definition

Answer 6

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, “human intelligence” may be operationally defined as “what an intelligence test measures”.

Question 7

replication

Answer 7

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Question 8

case study

Answer 8

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Question 9

What does a good theory do?

Answer 9

1. It organizes observed facts.

2. It implies hypotheses that offer testable predictions and sometimes, practical applications.

Question 10

Case studies do not allow us to learn about general principles that apply to all of us. Why not?

Answer 10

Case studies involve only one individual, so we can’t know for sure whether the principles observed would apply to a larger population.

Question 11

naturalistic observation

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Psychologists Matthias Mehl and James Pennebaker gave used Electronically Activated recorders (EARs) to sample naturally occurring slices of daily life. What are the advantaged and disadvantages of naturalistic observation, such and Mehl and Pennebaker used in this study?

Answer 12

The study by Mehl and Pennebaker carefully observes and records naturally occurring behaviors–outside the artificiality of the lab. Because this is not ab experiment, the study does not reveal the factors that influence everyday speech.

Question 13

survey

Answer 13

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Question 14

population

Answer 14

all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn (Note: Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population.)

Question 15

random sample

Answer 15

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Question 16

What is sampling bias, and how do researchers avoid it?

Answer 16

Random sampling helps researchers avoid sampling bias, which occurs when a survey group is not representative of the population being studied.

Question 17

correlation

Answer 17

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

Question 18

correlation coefficient

Answer 18

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Question 19

scatterplot

Answer 19

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 between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation).

Question 20

Negative of positive correlation? The more children and youth use various media, the less happy they are with their lives.

Answer 20

Negative

Question 21

Negative or positive correlation? The more sexual content teens see on TV, the more likely they are to have sex.

Answer 21

Positive

Question 22

Negative or positive correlation? The longer children are breast-fed, the greater their later academic achievement.

Answer 22

Positive

Question 23

Negative or positive correlation? The more income rose among a sample of poor families, the fewer psychiatric symptoms their children experienced.

Answer 23

Negative

Question 24

Length of marriage correlates with hair loss in men. Does this mean that marriage causes men to lose their hair (or that balding men make better husbands)?

Answer 24

In this case, as in many others, a third factor obviously explains the correlation: Golden anniversaries and baldness both accompany aging.

Question 25

experiment

Answer 25

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

Question 26

experimental group

Answer 26

in an experiment, the group that id exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

Question 27

control group

Answer 27

in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Question 28

random assignment

Answer 28

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Question 29

double-blind procedure

Answer 29

an experimental procedure in which both 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.

Question 30

placebo effect

Answer 30

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior causes by the administration of an inert substance of condition, which the recipient assumes in an active agent

Question 31

What measure do researchers use to prevent the placebo effect from confusing their results?

Answer 31

Use of a control group, which is given a placebo and not the real treatment, allows results to be compared to the group that is given the real treatment, thus demonstrating whether real treatment produces better results than belief in that treatment.

Question 32

independent variable

Answer 32

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

Question 33

confounding/third variable

Answer 33

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Question 34

dependent variable

Answer 34

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Question 35

By using random assignment, researchers are able to control for __________ __________, which are other factors besides the independent variable(s) that may influence research results.

Answer 35

confounding variables

Question 36

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?

Answer 36

To determine the drug’s effectiveness, we must compare its effect on those randomly assigned to receive it (the experimental group) with the other half of the participants (control group), who receive a placebo. If we gave the drug to all 1000 participants, we would have no way of knowing if the drug is serving as a placebo or if it id actually medically effective.’

Question 37

mode

Answer 37

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Question 38

mean

Answer 38

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

Question 39

median

Answer 39

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

Question 40

The average of a distribution of scores is the __________. The socre that shows up most often is the __________. The score right in the middle of a distribution (half the scores above it; half below) is the __________.

Answer 40

mean; mode; median

Question 41

range

Answer 41

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Question 42

standard deviation

Answer 42

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Question 43

normal curve (normal distribution)

Answer 43

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes

Question 44

We determine how much scores vary around the average in a way that includes information about the __________ of scores (difference between highest and lowest) by using the __________ __________ formula.

Answer 44

range; standard deviation

Question 45

statistical significance

Answer 45

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

Question 46

culture

Answer 46

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Question 47

informed consent

Answer 47

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Question 48

debriefing

Answer 48

the postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

Question 49

How are human and animal research subjects protected?

Answer 49

Animal protection legislation, laboratory refulation snd inspection? And local ethics committees serve to protect human and animal welfare. At universities, Institutional Review Boards 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.