The Field of Psychology and its Image Issue
Give an example of a theory that is unfalsifiable and explain why these types of theories are damaging.
(Benjamin Rush, knocking rhymes, Freudian theory, or little green men). unfalsifiable theories can give people inaccurate information that can lead them down the wrong path.
The "broken windows" theory found that people are more likely to participate in criminal acts in an area where social disorder is visually apparent. These findings align with evidence from other studies, this is known as...
Converging evidence
True or False. A correlation between two variables can infer a causal relationship.
a criticism that questions the validity of psychology experiments to the 'real world'
the Freudian problem
his theories are controversial and aren't scientific (are not falsifiable), which devalues the integrity of psychology for those who aren't familiar with the field of psychology
True or False: scientific theories are made from a gradual synthesis of empirical evidence rather than a great leap 'breakthrough' of information.
True
what is the college sophomore problem and how does it relate to replicability?
Many criticize the representativeness of psychological experiments because of a large number of the participants are college sophomores. Replication of experiments helps generalize the findings across different aspects (e.g. socioeconomic factors, family variables. etc.)
A researcher conducts an experiment to measure the effects that caffeine has on productivity. The researcher splits participants into two groups. One group has 0mg of caffeine and is then asked to complete a task. The other is given 100mg of caffeine and is asked to complete the same task.
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What is the control group?
IV= amount of caffeine participants were given
DV= the amount of time participants took on the task
CG= those who didn't have any caffeine
random sampling vs. random assignment
random sampling= drawing a sample from the population that ensures that each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study
random assignment= randomly assigning participants to either a control or experimental group
A developmental psychologist who conducts research to study how different people grow and adapt at different life stages would be characterize to what field of psychology?
basic field
A researcher creates a theory that states that when an individual with schizophrenia is having hallucinations, they are actually witnessing things from a different dimension. What is wrong with this theory?
It's unfalsifiable
The type of water supply
A correlational study where the same group of participants are observed over long periods of time.
Longitudinal study
theory driven research vs. direct applications
theory driven research 'basic research' tests psychological processes that can be generalized to real world situations.
applied research takes the results of the study to directly apply it to a particular situation.(e.g. election polling)
What is the Einstein Syndrome?
A researcher releases a study that claims that baby formula harms the development of the baby. What does this violate?
The connectivity principle
The Homebase Program in New York received criticism from the public, but why was it important for psychological science?
It allowed researchers to use a control group to determine if the program was effective or not
in correlations there are sometimes a third variable problem. What is it and give an example?
When a correlation between variables can be explained by another (third) variable that wasn't accounted for. Examples include: toasters and birth control, Goldberger and Pellagra, private schools and student achievement, SES and college attendance.
What was the point of Hecht (1930s) study on eye adaptations to dark/light light?
To demonstrate indirect application. Studying the different sensitivities in our cones and rods helps us to understand basic visual processes in humans.