Chapter 1: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

Question 0

Humanistic Psychology?

Answer 0

Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth.

Question 1

Behaviorism?

Answer 1

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Question 2

Cognitive Neuroscience?

Answer 2

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Question 3

Psychology?

Answer 3

The science of behavior and mental processes.

Question 4

Nature-Nurture Issue?

Answer 4

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

Question 5

Levels of Analysis?

Answer 5

The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

Question 6

Bio-psychological Approach?

Answer 6

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

Question 7

Basic Research?

Answer 7

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Question 8

Applied Research?

Answer 8

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Question 9

Counseling Psychology?

Answer 9

A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

Question 10

Clinical Psychology?

Answer 10

A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Question 11

Psychiatry?

Answer 11

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.

Question 12

Hindsight Bias?

Answer 12

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-Knew-It-All-Along Phenomenon.)

Question 13

Critical Thinking?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Theory?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Hypothesis?

Answer 15

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Question 16

Operational Definition?

Answer 16

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 17

Replication?

Answer 17

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 18

Case Study?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Survey?

Answer 19

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 20

Population?

Answer 20

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 21

Random Sample?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Naturalistic Observation?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Correlation?

Answer 23

The extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. The correlation coefficient is the mathematical expression of the relationship, ranging from -1 to +1.

Question 24

Illusionary Correlation?

Answer 24

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

Question 25

Experiment?

Answer 25

A research method in which and 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

Random Assignment?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Experimental Group?

Answer 27

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

Question 28

Control Group?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Double-Blind Procedure?

Answer 29

An experimental procedure in which both the research 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 caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

Question 31

Independent Variable?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Dependent Variable?

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Culture?

Answer 33

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

Question 34

SQ3R?

Answer 34

A study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review.

Question 35

What are some important milestones in the development of the science of psychology?

Answer 35

Psychological science’s first laboratory appeared in 1879, launched by William Wundt and his students. The field’s early scholars came from several disciplines and many countries. Psychology began as a “science of mental life.” In the 1920s, under the influence of the behaviorists, it evolved into the “scientific study of observable behavior.” After the cognitive revolution in the 1960s, psychology has been widely defined as the “science of behavior and mental processes.”

Question 36

What is psychology’s historic big issue?

Answer 36

Psychology’s biggest and most enduring concern has been the nature-nurture issue, the controversy over the relative contributions of the influences of genes and experience. Today’s science emphasizes the interaction of genes and experiences in specific environments.

Question 37

What are psychology’s levels of analysis and related perspectives?

Answer 37

The bio-psychological approach integrates information from the biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. Psychologists study human behaviors and mental processes from many different perspectives (including the neuroscience, evolutionary, behavior genetics, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and social-cultural).

Question 38

What are some of psychology’s subfields?

Answer 38

Some psychologists specialize in basic research (often in the subfields of biological, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social psychology). Others, for example, industrial-organizational psychologists practice psychology as a helping profession. Clinical psychologists study, assess and treat (with psychotherapy) people with psychological disorders. Psychiatrists also study, assess, and treat people with disorders, but as medical doctors, they may prescribe drugs in addition to psychotherapy.

Question 39

Why are the answers that flow from the scientific approach more reliable than those based on intuition and common sense?

Answer 39

Common sense often serves us well, but we are prone to hindsight bias (the “I-Knew-it-all-along phenomenon”), a tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it. We also are routinely overconfident of our judgements, thanks partly to our bias to seek information that confirms them. Although limited by the testable questions it can address, scientific inquiry can help us sift reality from illusion and restrain the biases of our unaided intuition.

Question 40

What attitudes characterize scientific inquiry, and what does it mean to think critically?

Answer 40

The three components of the scientific attitude are (1) a curious eagerness to (2) skeptically scrutinize competing ideas and (3) an open-minded humility before nature. This attitude carries into everyday life as critical thinking, which examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses outcomes. Putting ideas, even crazy-sounding ideas, to the test helps us winnow sense from nonsense.

Question 41

How do psychologists use the scientific method to construct theories?

Answer 41

Psychological theories organize observations and imply predictive hypotheses. After constructing precise operational definitions of their procedures, researchers test their hypotheses, validate and refine the theory, and, sometimes, suggest practical applications. If other researchers obtain similar results by replicating the study with different participants and conditions, we can then place greater confidence in the conclusion.

Question 42

How do psychologists observe and describe behavior?

Answer 42

Psychologists observe and describe behavior using individual case studies, surveys among random samples of a population, and naturalistic observations. In generalizing from observations, representative samples are a better guide than vivid anecdotes.

Question 43

What are positive and negative correlations, and why do they enable prediction but not cause-effect explanation?

Answer 43

A positive correlation (ranging from 0 to +1.00) indicates a direct relationship: Two factors rise or decrease together. A negative correlation (ranging from 0 to -1.00), indicates an inverse relationship: As one item increases, the other decreases. An association (sometimes stated as a correlation coefficient) indicates 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. Illusory correlations are random events that we notice and falsely assume are related. Patterns or sequences occur naturally in sets of random data. Our tendency to interpret these patterns as meaningful connections may be an attempt to make sense of the world around us.

Question 44

How do experiments, powered by random assignment, clarify cause and effect?

Answer 44

To discover cause-effect relationships, psychologists conduct experiments, manipulating one or more factors of interest and controlling other factors. Random assignment minimizes preexisting differences between the experimental group (exposed to the treatment) and the control group (given a placebo or different version of the treatment). Studies may use a double-blinded procedure to avoid a placebo effect and researchers’ bias.

Question 45

What are independent and dependent variables, and how do they differ?

Answer 45

An independent variable is the factor you manipulate to study its effect. A dependent variable is the factor you measure to discover any changes that occur in response to these manipulations.

Question 46

Can laboratory experiments illuminate everyday life?

Answer 46

By intentionally creating a controlled, artificial environment in the lab, researchers aim to test theoretical principles. These general principles help explain everyday behaviors.

Question 47

Does behavior depend on one’s culture and gender?

Answer 47

Attitudes and behaviors vary across cultures, but the underlying principles vary much less because of our human kinship. Although gender differences tend to capture attention, it is important to remember our greater gender similarities.

Question 48

Why do psychologists study animals, and is it ethical to experiment on animals?

Answer 48

Some psychologists are primarily interested in animal behavior. Others study animals to better understand the physiological and psychological processes shared by humans. Under ethical and legal guidelines, animals used in experiments rarely experience pain. Nevertheless, animal rights groups raise an important issue: Even if it leads to the relief of human suffering, is an animal’s temporary suffering justified?

Question 49

Is it ethical to experiment on people?

Answer 49

Researchers may temporarily stress or deceive people in order to learn something important. Professional ethical standards provide guidelines concerning the treatment of both human and animal participants.

Question 50

Is psychology free of value judgements?

Answer 50

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.

Question 51

How can psychological principles help you as a student?

Answer 51

Research has shown that learning and memory are enhanced by active study. The SQ3R study method-survey, question, read, rehearse, and review-applies the principles derived from this research.