42 CHAPTER 1
- C a s e s t u d i e s a re d e t a i l e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f o n e s u b j e c t ,
whereas surveys involve asking standardized questions of
large groups of people that represent a sample of the popula-
tion of interest.
- Information gained from case studies cannot be applied to other
cases. People responding to surveys may not always tell the
truth or remember information correctly.
- 7 Explain how researchers use the correlational
technique to study relationships between two or more
variables.
- Correlation is a statistical technique that allows researchers
to discover and predict relationships between variables of
interest.
- Positive correlations exist when increases in one variable are
matched by increases in the other variable, whereas negative
correlations exist when increases in one variable are matched by
decreases in the other variable.
- Correlations cannot be used to prove cause-and-effect
relationships.
- 8 Identify the steps involved in designing an
experiment.
- Experiments are tightly controlled manipulations of vari-
ables that allow researchers to determine cause-and-effect
relationships.
- The independent variable in an experiment is the variable that
is deliberately manipulated by the experimenter to see if related
changes occur in the behavior or responses of the participants
and is given to the experimental group.
- The dependent variable in an experiment is the measured
behavior or responses of the participants.
- The control group receives either a placebo treatment or
nothing.
- Random assignment of participants to experimental groups
helps control for individual differences both within and between
the groups that might otherwise interfere with the experiment’s
outcome.
- 9 Recall two common sources of problems in an
experiment and some ways to control for these effects.
- Experiments in which the subjects do not know if they are in
the experimental or control groups are single-blind studies,
whereas experiments in which neither the experimenters nor
the subjects know this information are called double-blind
studies.
- An experiment studying the effect of negative stereotypes on
test performance of athletes found that exposure to negative ste-
reotypes prior to taking a test resulted in poorer performance by
athletes than the performance of athletes whose exposure came
after the test.
Ethics of Psychological Research
- 10 Identify some of the common ethical guidelines
for doing research with people.
- Ethical guidelines for doing research with human beings include
the protection of rights and well-being of participants, informed
consent, justification when deception is used, the right of partic-
ipants to withdraw at any time, protection of participants from
physical or psychological harm, confidentiality, and debrief-
ing of participants at the end of the study. Researchers are also
responsible for correcting any undesirable consequences that
may result from the study.
- 11 Explain why psychologists sometimes use animals
in their research.
- Animals in psychological research make useful models because
they are easier to control than humans, they have simpler behav-
ior, and they can be used in ways that are not permissible with
humans.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Applying Psychology to Everyday Life: Paying Attention to
Critically About Critical Thinking
- 12 Recall the basic criteria for critical thinking that
people can use in their everyday lives.
- Critical thinking is the ability to make reasoned judgments.
The four basic criteria of critical thinking are that there are
few concepts that do not need to be tested, evidence can vary
in quality, claims by experts and authorities do not automat-
ically make something true, and keeping an open mind is
important.
Test Yourself
Pick the best answer.
- In the definition of psychology, the term behavior means
a. internal, covert processes.
b. outward behavior.
c. overt actions and
reactions.
d. only animal behavior.
- Who is considered to be the father of African American
psychology?
a. Charles Henry Thompson
b. Robert V. Guthrie
c. Francis Cecil Sumner
d. Howard Hale Long
- Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis focused on
a. observable behavior.
b. Gestalt perceptions.
c. introspection.
d. early childhood experiences.
- Which psychologist dared to ignore the whole consciousness issue
and return to a study of scientific inquiry by focusing on observable
behavior?
a. Ivan Pavlov
b. John Watson
c. Sigmund Freud
d. William James
