Chapter 2

Question 1

What does being a psychologist mean?

Answer 1

Being a psychologist means being a scientist who studies psychology.

Question 2

Why do psychologists use the scientific method?

Answer 2

The scientific method allows psychologists to gain knowledge about mind and behavior, making psychology a science.

Question 3

What are the five steps that comprise the scientific method?

Answer 3

1. Observing some phenomenon
2. Formulating hypotheses and predictions
3. Testing through empirical research
4. Drawing conclusions
5. Evaluating the theory.

Question 4

What is the empirical method?

Answer 4

The empirical method involves gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning.

Question 5

What is the difference between a theory and a hypothesis?

Answer 5

A theory is a broad idea that explains observations, while a hypothesis is an educated guess derived from a theory that can be tested.

Question 6

What does a theory tell us?

Answer 6

Theories tell us about the relationships between variables on a conceptual level and can be used to make predictions about future observations.

Question 7

What is a variable?

Answer 7

A variable is anything that can change, including experiences like happiness, gratitude, aggression, and belongingness.

Question 8

What is an operational definition?

Answer 8

An operational definition provides an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study.

Question 9

What is replication and why is it important?

Answer 9

Replication means repeating a study and getting the same results, which is essential for scientific conclusions.

Question 10

What is the difference between direct replication and conceptual replication?

Answer 10

Direct replication involves doing the study precisely as it was originally conducted, while conceptual replication uses different methods or samples.

Question 11

What is a meta-analysis?

Answer 11

A meta-analysis is a statistical procedure that summarizes a large body of evidence from research literature on a particular topic.

Question 12

What are the three types of research most commonly used by psychologists?

Answer 12

1. Descriptive research
2. Correlational research
3. Experimental research.

Question 13

What is the goal of descriptive research?

Answer 13

The goal of descriptive research is to identify problems and reveal important information about people’s behaviors and attitudes.

Question 14

What are the different descriptive research methods?

Answer 14

Observation, interviews and surveys, and case studies.

Question 15

What is the correlation coefficient?

Answer 15

The correlation coefficient expresses the degree of relation between two variables, indicating its strength and direction.

Question 16

What is the third variable problem?

Answer 16

The third variable problem occurs when a variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two other variables.

Question 17

Why does correlation not equal causation?

Answer 17

Correlation indicates that two variables change together, but it does not imply that one causes the other.

Question 18

What is the difference between cross-sectional design and longitudinal design?

Answer 18

Cross-sectional design measures variables at a single point in time, while longitudinal design involves obtaining measures over multiple waves over time.

Question 19

What is the definition of an experiment?

Answer 19

An experiment is a carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables believed to influence some other variable.

Question 20

What is random assignment?

Answer 20

Random assignment is the assignment of participants to experimental groups by chance, reducing preexisting differences between groups.

Question 21

What is the difference between independent and dependent variables?

Answer 21

Independent variables are manipulated by the experimenter, while dependent variables may change as a result of the manipulation.

Question 22

What is a confederate in an experiment?

Answer 22

A confederate is a person given a role to play in an experiment to help manipulate the social context.

Question 23

What is the difference between the experimental group and the control group?

Answer 23

The experimental group receives the treatment, while the control group is treated identically except for the manipulated factor.

Question 24

What is a quasi-experimental design?

Answer 24

A quasi-experimental design is similar to an experiment but does not randomly assign participants due to ethical or practical reasons.

Question 25

What is the difference between reliability and validity?

Answer 25

Reliability refers to the consistency of a finding, while validity refers to the soundness of the conclusions drawn from an experiment.

Question 26

What is external validity?

Answer 26

External validity is the degree to which an experimental design reflects real-world issues it is supposed to address.

Question 27

What is internal validity?

Answer 27

Internal validity is the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are genuinely due to the manipulation of the independent variable.

Question 28

What is experimenter bias?

Answer 28

Experimenter bias is the influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of the research.

Question 29

What is a demand characteristic?

Answer 29

A demand characteristic is any aspect of a study that communicates to participants how the experimenter wants them to behave.

Question 30

What is research participant bias?

Answer 30

Research participant bias is the influence of participants' expectations on their behavior during an experiment.

Question 31

What is the definition of placebo effect?

Answer 31

The placebo effect is a phenomenon where the expectation of participants produces an outcome rather than actual treatment.

Question 32

What is a double-blind experiment?

Answer 32

A double-blind experiment is one in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know who is in the experimental or control group until results are calculated.

Question 33

What is the difference between a population and a sample?

Answer 33

A population is the entire group about which conclusions are drawn, while a sample is the subset chosen for study.

Question 34

What is a random sample?

Answer 34

A random sample gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected.

Question 35

What are the two most common physical research settings?

Answer 35

Laboratory and natural settings.

Question 36

What are the pros and cons of laboratory settings?

Answer 36

Pros: Control over aspects of the situation. Cons: Participants may behave unnaturally and may not represent diverse backgrounds.

Question 37

What may intimidate individuals unfamiliar with university settings?

Answer 37

The idea of 'helping science' may be intimidating.

Question 38

What are some challenges in examining aspects of the mind and behavior?

Answer 38

Some aspects are difficult, if not impossible, to examine in the laboratory.

Question 39

What impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on lab experiments?

Answer 39

Many in-person lab experiments became impossible, leading researchers to move to online formats.

Question 40

What is naturalistic observation?

Answer 40

Naturalistic observation is the observation of behavior in a real-world setting.

Question 41

What are descriptive statistics?

Answer 41

Mathematical procedures used to describe and summarize sets of data in a meaningful way.

Question 42

What are the three measures of central tendency?

Answer 42

Mean, Median, and Mode.

Question 43

How do you find the mean?

Answer 43

The mean is found by adding all the scores in a dataset and dividing by the number of scores.

Question 44

How do you find the median?

Answer 44

The median is the middle score in a sample after ranking scores from highest to lowest.

Question 45

How do you find the mode?

Answer 45

The mode is the most common score in a sample, found by identifying the score that repeats most frequently.

Question 46

What are measures of dispersion?

Answer 46

Descriptive statistics that provide information about how much the scores in a sample differ from one another.

Question 47

What is the range?

Answer 47

The range is the difference between the highest and lowest scores.

Question 48

What is standard deviation?

Answer 48

A measure of dispersion that indicates how much the scores in a sample differ from the mean.

Question 49

What does the range tell us?

Answer 49

The range is a simplistic estimate of variability and can be misleading.

Question 50

What does standard deviation indicate?

Answer 50

It tells us how much scores vary, on average, around the mean.

Question 51

What are inferential statistics?

Answer 51

Mathematical methods used to indicate whether the data support a research hypothesis.

Question 52

What is the purpose of an IRB?

Answer 52

The IRB evaluates the ethical nature of research conducted at colleges and universities.

Question 53

What are the four key issues addressed by APA ethics guidelines?

Answer 53

1. Informed consent 2. Confidentiality 3. Debriefing 4. Deception.

Question 54

Do researchers need to follow ethical guidelines for animal subjects?

Answer 54

Yes, researchers must follow stringent ethical guidelines for both animal and human subjects.

Question 55

Why are media reports on psychological studies problematic?

Answer 55

Media personnel often lack training in psychological research, leading to misinterpretation of findings.

Question 56

Why should you look at multiple research studies?

Answer 56

No single study provides conclusive answers; conflicting results are common.

Question 57

Why is the source of research study information important?

Answer 57

Studies must undergo peer review for scientific merit before being accepted by the research community.

Question 58

What was Pennebaker’s initial correlational study about?

Answer 58

It compared individuals who lost a spouse to suicide versus those who lost a spouse to an accident.

Question 59

What did Pennebaker’s experimental research show?

Answer 59

Writing about traumatic life events leads to health and well-being benefits.

Question 60

What are the effects of expressive writing on health?

Answer 60

Documenting thoughts and feelings about traumatic events is necessary for health benefits.