Psychology in the Real World
A student says,
"I know energy drinks improve concentration because they always work for me."
As a psychologist, why is this not sufficient evidence?
What is anecdotal evidence?
This specialized cell is considered the basic building block of the nervous system and is responsible for sending and receiving information throughout the body.
What is a neuron?
A student hears the Canvas notification and immediately feels anxious, even before opening the message.
This type of learning best explains the student's reaction.
What is classical conditioning?
A psychologist makes an educated, testable prediction that students who sleep at least eight hours before an exam will perform better than students who sleep less.
What is a hypothesis?
One psychologist believed learning occurs through associations, while another believed learning occurs through consequences.
Name both psychologists.
Who are Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner?
Before accepting a viral TikTok claim that "listening to classical music makes everyone smarter," psychologists would first question the claim and look for scientific evidence.
What is scientific skepticism?
(I will also accept, what is empiricism?)
After practicing the piano every day for six months, Maya notices she can play songs much more easily than when she first started. This ability of the brain to adapt and strengthen connections is known as...
What is neuroplasticity?
A professor begins giving students participation points for contributing to class discussions. By mid-semester, participation has doubled.
This principle of learning best explains the increase in participation.
What is positive reinforcement?
Researchers want to determine whether listening to music affects exam performance.
The factor they manipulate is whether students study with or without music.
What is the independent variable?
A student begins setting two alarms every morning because they are tired of oversleeping and missing class.
The behavior of setting two alarms increases because it helps the student avoid an unpleasant outcome.
What is negative reinforcement?
Researchers discover that students who sleep more tend to earn higher GPAs. This principle reminds psychologists not to conclude that one variable caused the other.
What is correlation is not causation?
A soccer player suffers an injury and begins having difficulty making decisions, controlling impulses, and planning ahead.
This lobe of the brain was most likely affected.
What is the frontal lobe?
A psychologist develops an explanation for why first-year students struggle to adjust to college. Over the next ten years, dozens of studies continue to support that explanation.
The well-supported explanation is best described as a...
What is a theory?
A psychologist wants to know whether exercise reduces stress among college students. Before beginning the study, participants are randomly assigned to either exercise for 30 minutes a day or continue their normal routine.
Why is random assignment important in this study?
What is reducing bias and creating equivalent groups?
A child first receives praise for picking up one toy, then for cleaning half the room, and eventually only for cleaning the entire room.
This learning process is called...
What is shaping?
A psychologist clearly defines "academic success" as earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher before beginning a study.
What is an operational definition?
This chemical messenger helps neurons communicate and is commonly associated with reward, motivation, and pleasure.
What is dopamine?
(I will accept a neutrotansmitter)
A fitness app sends users encouraging messages every time they complete a workout. Users begin exercising more consistently.
Identify both the type of conditioning and the specific principle being used.
What is operant conditioning and positive reinforcement?
A researcher is studying whether tutoring improves exam scores.
One group attends tutoring sessions.
Another group does not.
The second group exists so researchers have something to compare the results against.
What is a control group?
A child was bitten by a dog several years ago. Now, whenever they see any dog, they immediately feel afraid—even friendly dogs.
Identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR.
What is the UCS? Being bitten by the dog
What is the UCR? Fear/pain from being bitten
What is the CS? Seeing a dog
What is the CR? Feeling afraid when seeing a dog
A research team repeats the exact same study at five different universities to determine whether the findings are consistent.
What is replication?
A student pulls their hand away immediately after touching a hot stove.
Which two parts of the nervous system work together to make this rapid response possible?
What are the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system?
(May accept spinal cord and pns)
NYU wants to reduce excessive phone use during class.
As a team of psychologists, identify three concepts from this unit that would help you understand or address this behavior.
What is operant conditioning?
What is dopamine?
What is classical conditioning?
What is empiricism?
What is a hypothesis?
What is an experiment?
What is an operational definition?
A psychologist wants to know whether drinking coffee improves memory. They recruit 25 students from their own psychology class, allow each student to decide whether they want coffee, and then compare memory scores.
Identify two weaknesses of this study.
What is sampling bias?
What is the lack of random assignment?
What is self-selection bias?
What is a small sample size?
A social media app sends notifications at unpredictable times, making users check their phones repeatedly throughout the day.
Which learning principle is the company relying on?
What is variable-ratio reinforcement?