18.1 Chapter 1: Introduction to the Science of Psychology

show what you know

1. behavior; mental processes
2. d. control
3. Common sense is a collection of knowledge that any reasonably smart person can pick up through everyday experiences and casual observations. Findings from psychology, however, are based on meticulous and methodical observations of behaviors and mental processes, as well as data analysis. Many people respond to psychological findings with hindsight bias, or the feeling as if they knew it all along. If the results of a study seem obvious, someone may feel as if she “knew it all along,” when in reality she wouldn’t have predicted the outcome ahead of time.

1. d. introspection
2. b. behavioral
3. a. natural selection
4. Answers will vary. Sociocultural and biopsychosocial perspectives are similar in that both examine how interactions with other people influence behaviors and mental processes. Cognitive and biological perspectives differ in that the cognitive perspective focuses on the thought processes underlying behavior, while the biological perspective emphasizes physiological processes.

1. b. critical thinking
2. Pseudopsychology
3. Astrology is a great example of a pseudopsychology, an approach to explaining and predicting behavior and events that appears to be psychology but lacks scientific support. If you search the scientific literature for empirical, objective studies supporting astrological claims, you will have a very difficult time finding any. Another sign astrology is a pseudoscience is that its predictions are often too broad to refute. Let’s say an astrologer predicts that a friend or close family member will soon need your kind words and support. Such a prediction would likely apply to the great majority of people, as family members and friends often look to each other for strength. Such a prediction would always seem to come true, because the probability of its occurrence is almost 100%.

1. An opinion is a belief or attitude that is not based on research, and may completely result from personal experiences, often without any scientific evidence to support it. Theories synthesize research observations and can be used to explain phenomena and make predictions that are testable with the scientific method. Theories are often well-established bodies of principles that rest on a solid foundation of evidence.
2. d. operational definition
3. a. theory

1. variables
2. c. representative sample
3. A representative sample has members with characteristics similar to those of the target population. Characteristics to consider could include gender, age, socioeconomic status, and so forth. Without a representative sample, one should not generalize the study findings to the larger population.

1. c. Descriptive research
2. a. naturalistic observation.
3. positive correlation
4. Descriptive research explores and describes behaviors. This approach is excellent for investigating unfamiliar topics. A researcher conducting such a study has few or no specific expectations about outcomes, and may use his findings to direct future research. A critical weakness of descriptive research is that it cannot uncover cause-and-effect relationships.

1. d. cause-and-effect relationship
2. a. dependent
3. b. whether the child was alone or with others.
4. In a double-blind study, neither the participants nor the researchers working directly with those participants know who is getting the treatment and who is getting the placebo. This type of study is designed to reduce expectations and biases that can arise when either participants or experimenters know what they’ve received or distributed. This use of deception is necessary so that neither experimenter nor participant consciously or unconsciously alters their behaviors, that is, unknowingly changes the outcome of the experiment.

1. a. Informed consent
2. b. debriefing.
3. Answers will vary: “Pacifiers and Emotional Health”; “Pacifiers and Empathy”; “Binkie Psychology”

1. b. applied research.
2. a. Common sense
3. c. the nature side of the nature–nurture issue.
4. d. functionalism.
5. d. Humanistic psychology
6. b. critical thinking
7. c. the scientific method
8. a. Inferential statistics
9. c. variables.
10. d. an equally likely chance of being picked to participate.
11. c. relationships among variables.
12. b. case study
13. d. independent; dependent
14. a. double-blind
15. b. experimental group
16. A thorough review of the literature informs us about what has been learned in the past. Without doing a literature search, we may find ourselves redoing a study that has already provided the answers we seek. In addition, it may help us develop research questions, move in new directions, and deepen our understanding of psychological phenomena.
17. Answers will vary. Possible answer may include: The treatment group could be told to write a lie, while the control group is instructed to write something truthful. The researcher could determine if other factors change the pressure and strokes of handwriting. She may include a treatment group to measure the effects of sleepiness, for example. In this instance, the treatment group would include those who get little sleep and the control group would include those who get an average amount of sleep.
18. The most accurate data are likely to come from participants who answer written questions in private. Those answering in face-to-face interviews are not always forthright with their answers, or they may be uncomfortable or embarrassed to reveal the truth.
19. Answers will vary. Look for studies on topics that would be very hard for researchers to manipulate in an ethical manner (for example, breast feeding, amount of television watched, attitudes).
20. Answers will vary. Some possibilities include showing the children a different cartoon; changing the ages of the children, including children of different ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds; determining whether they are hungry prior to participating; and so on.