Chapter 2

Question 1

Sylvester collegian

Answer 1

a 76-year-old man who had been having trouble with his right knee for 5 years. His doctor diagnosed arthritis but had no treatment that would help. However, this physician told Colligan about an experimental study conducted by Dr. J. Bruce Moseley. The treatment worked. Two years after the surgery, Colligan reported that his knee had not bothered him since the surgery. However, Dr.Moseley did not actually perform surgery, only made some cuts around Colligan’s knee

Question 2

Placebo

Answer 2

An inactive substance or condition that has the appearance of
an active treatment and that may cause improvement or change
because of people’s belief in the placebo’s efficacy.

Question 3

The more a placebo resembles an effective treatment, the _____ the placebo effect.

Answer 3

Stronger

Question 4

Nocebo effect

Answer 4

Adverse effect of a placebo.

Question 5

When participants are led to believe that a treatment might worsen symptoms, the _____ effect can be as strong as the ______ effect

Answer 5

Nocebo; placebo

Question 6

Double-blind design

Answer 6

An experimental design in which neither the subjects nor those who dispense the treatment condition have knowledge of who receives the treatment and who receives the placebo.

Question 7

Single-blind design

Answer 7

A design in which the participants do not know if they are receiving the active or inactive treatment, but the providers are not blind to treatment conditions.

Question 8

T/F: placebos may be considered ethical

Answer 8

True

Question 9

Why were Americans so seemingly obsessed with fiber in the 1980s?

Answer 9

One reason for this obsession was the belief that a high-fiber diet could reduce one’s risk for cancer, particularly colon cancer.

Question 10

Correlational studies

Answer 10

Studies designed to yield information concerning the degree of relationship between two variables.

Question 11

Correlation coefficient

Answer 11

Any positive or negative relationship between two variables. Correlational evidence cannot prove causation, but only that two variables vary together.

Question 12

Correlations that are closer to ______ (either positive or negative) indicate stronger relationships than do correlations that are closer to _____.

Answer 12

1.00; 0.00

Question 13

Cross-sectional studies

Answer 13

Research designs in which subjects of different
ages are studied at one point in time.

Question 14

Longitudinal studies

Answer 14

Research designs in which one group of partici- pants is studied over a period of time.

Question 15

Experimental group

Answer 15

In an experiment or clinical trial, the group of participants who receive an active treatment.

Question 16

Control group

Answer 16

In an experiment or clinical trial, the group of participants who do not receive an active treatment. The control group serves as a comparison to the experimental group

Question 17

Independent variable

Answer 17

In an experiment or clinical trial, the variable that represents the presumed cause of an effect or outcome.

Question 18

Dependent variable

Answer 18

In an experiment or clinical trial, the variable that represents the effect or outcome of interest.

Question 19

Ex post facto design

Answer 19

A scientific study in which the values of the
independent variable are not manipulated, but selected by the experimenter after the groups have naturally divided themselves.

Question 20

Subject variable

Answer 20

A variable chosen (rather than manipulated) by a researcher to provide levels of comparison for groups of subjects.

Question 21

Epidemiology

Answer 21

A branch of medicine that investigates the various factors that contribute either to positive health or to the frequency and distribution of a disease or disorder.

Question 22

Risk factor

Answer 22

Any characteristic or condition that occurs with greater frequency in people with a disease than it does in people free from that disease.

Question 23

Prevalence

Answer 23

The proportion of a population that has a disease or disorder at a specific point in time.

Question 24

Incidence

Answer 24

A measure of the frequency of new cases of a disease or disorder during a specified period of time.

Question 25

Retrospective studies

Answer 25

Longitudinal studies that look back at the history of a population or sample.

Question 26

Case-control studies

Answer 26

Retrospective epidemiological studies in which people affected by a given disease (cases) are compared with others not affected (controls).

Question 27

Prospective studies

Answer 27

Longitudinal studies that begin with a disease-free group of subjects and follow the occurrence of disease in that population or sample.

Question 28

Self-selection

Answer 28

A condition of an experimental investigation in which subjects are allowed, in some manner, to determine their own placement in either the experimental or the control group.

Question 29

Clinical trial

Answer 29

A research design that tests the effects of medical treatment. Many clinical trials are randomized controlled trials that allow researchers to determine whether a new treatment is or is not effective.

Question 30

Meta analysis

Answer 30

A statistical technique for combining results of several studies when these studies have similar definitions of variables.

Question 31

What is a famous example of an epidemiological study?

Answer 31

the Alameda County Study in California, an ongoing prospective study of a single community to identify health practices that may protect against death and disease.

Question 32

Absolute risk

Answer 32

A person’s chances of developing a disease or disorder independent of any risk that other people may have for that disease or disorder.

Question 33

Relative risk

Answer 33

The risk a person has for a particular disease compared with the risk of other people who do not have that person’s condition or lifestyle.

Question 34

epidemiologists use the concepts of ______, _______, and _______.

Answer 34

Risk factor; prevalence; incidence

Question 35

During the past 50 years, however, researchers have used nonexperimental studies to establish a link between _____ ______ and ______ _______, especially CVD and lung cancer.

Answer 35

Cigarette smoking; several diseases

Question 36

What are the 7 conditions that must be met for epidemiologists to draw conclusions that a causal relationship exists?

Answer 36

1. a dose–response relationship must exist between a possible cause and changes in the prevalence or incidence of a disease. 2. the prevalence or incidence of a disease should decline with the removal of the possible cause. 3. the cause must precede the disease 4. a cause-and-effect relationship between the condition and the disease must be plausible 5. research findings must be consistent. 6. the strength of the association between the condition and the disease must be relatively high. 7. the existence of appropriately designed studies.

Question 37

Theory

Answer 37

A set of related assumptions from which testable hypotheses can be drawn. (Chapter 2)

Question 38

The role of theory in health psychology

Answer 38

1. a useful theory should generate research—both descriptive research and hypothesis testing. 2. a useful theory should organize and explain the observations derived from research and make them intelligible. 3. a useful theory should serve as a guide to action, permitting the practitioner to predict behavior and to implement strategies to change behavior.

Question 39

Reliability

Answer 39

The extent to which a test or other measuring instrument yields consistent results.

Question 40

Validity

Answer 40

Accuracy; the extent to which a test or other measuring instrument measures what it is supposed to measure.

Question 41

What are placebos, and how do they affect research and treatment?

Answer 41

A placebo is an inactive substance or condition that has the appearance of an active treatment and that may cause participants to improve or change because of a belief in the placebo’s efficacy.

Question 42

How does psychology research contribute to health knowledge?

Answer 42

First is its long tradition of techniques to change behavior. Second is an emphasis on health rather than disease. Third is the development of reliable and valid measur- ing instruments. Fourth is the construction of useful theoretical models to explain health-related research. Fifth is various research methods used in psychology.

Question 43

How has epidemiology contributed to health knowledge?

Answer 43

Epidemiology has contributed the concepts of risk factor, prevalence, and incidence.

Question 44

How can scientists determine if a behavior causes a disease?

Answer 44

Seven criteria are used for determining a cause- and-effect relationship between a condition and a disease: (1) A dose–response relationship must exist between the condition and the disease (2) the removal of the condition must reduce the prevalence or incidence of the disease (3) the condition must precede the disease (4) the causal relationship between the condition and the disease must be physiologically plausible (5) research data must consistently reveal a relationship between the condition and the disease (6) the strength of the relationship between the condition and the disease must be relatively high (7) the relationship between the condition and the disease must be based on well-designed studies.

Question 45

How do theory and measurement contribute to health psychology?

Answer 45

Theories are important tools used by scientists to (1) generate research, (2) predict and explain research data, and (3) help the practitioner solve a variety of problems. Health psychologists use a variety of measurement instruments to assess behaviors and theoretical concepts. To be useful, these psychometric instruments must be both reliable and valid.