Exam #1

Question 1

What’s classical conditioning? Who made it?

Answer 1

When a neutral stimulus (such as the sound of a bell) produces a response (becomes CS) after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally produces a response (such as the presentation of food);
After several trials associating the two, the conditioned stimulus (the sound) alone can produce a conditioned response. First studied by Ivan Pavlov.

Question 2

What is Operant conditioning? Law of effect?

Answer 2

Type of learning in which the consequences of an organism’s behavior determine whether it will be repeated in the future. A method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior.

Edward Thorndike (1874–1949) focused on instrumental behaviors and created a puzzle box to show the law of effect.

–Law of effect: Behaviors that are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” tend to be repeated, and those that produce an “unpleasant state of affairs” are less likely to be repeated.

Question 3

What are the basic principles of classical conditioning? Define them all.

Answer 3

Acquisition: Phase of classical conditioning when the CS (saliva) and the US (food) are presented together.
Extinction: Gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the US (food) is no longer presented.
Second-order conditioning: a phenomenon whereby a conditioned stimulus (CS) acquires the ability to elicit a conditioned response (CR) without ever being directly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US).
Spontaneous recovery: Tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period. This means the behavior may occur again after extinction.

Question 4

Generalization of classical conditioning.

Answer 4

Stimulus generalization occurs when a stimulus that is similar to an already-conditioned stimulus begins to produce the same response as the original stimulus does.

Question 5

Research producer vs consumer

Answer 5

Research producer:
-works in a lab
-writes up results & presents them at research meetings

E.g: studying brain anatomy, documenting behavior of dolphins/monkeys, administering personality questionnaires, observing children in school setting, analyzing data, research scientists, professors.

Research consumer:
-read about research to apply it to work, hobbies, relationships, personal growth
E.g: enjoys reading about brain structure, behavior of dolphins or monkeys, personalities of fellow students/behavior of children at school, entrepreneurs, teachers, guidance counselors, police officers, family therapists.
Importance:
-to become savvy consumer of information
-graduate school, writing APA papers
-when reading printed/online news stories based on research
-for future career
-for psychology courses
-evidence-based treatments
Benefits:
-knowing what to invest into
-Evaluate information efficiently

Question 6

Empiricism vs. skepticism

Answer 6

Empiricism (empirical method/research)-using evidence from senses (sight, hearing, touch)/from instruments (thermometers, timers, photographs, weight scales, questionnaires) as the basis for conclusion - knowledge comes from observation.
-empiricists aim to be systematic, rigorous, to make their work independently verifiable by others observers or scientists
-most reliable basis for conclusions when compared with other forms of reasoning (experience/intuition)
Skepticism:
-philosophy that ideas must be evaluated on the basis of careful logic & results from scientific investigations

Question 7

Cupboard vs. Contact Comfort theory

Answer 7

Cupboard theory
-Babies-attached to their mothers because their mothers are a source of food -pleasant feeling of reduced hunger
-would be supported if baby monkeys spent most of their time clinging to wire mother

Contact comfort theory
-Babies-attached to their mothers because their mothers provide the comfort of cozy touch to them-pleasant feeling of comfort
-would be supported if baby monkeys spent most of their time clinging to cloth mother
In real world-impossible to tell why babies get attached to mothers-mothers provide both food & comfort
-Neither theory would be supported if baby monkeys divided their time equally between wire & cloth mothers

Method: tested 2 theories to make 2 specific predictions about monkeys’ interactions-used recorded data
Contact comfort theory was supported - monkeys spend an overwhelming majority of their time with cloth mother and climbed down to wire mother ONLY for nursing
Harlow’s theory supports overwhelming importance of bodily contact as opposed to nourishment

Question 8

Hypothesis (or prediction) vs Theory

Answer 8

Hypothesis - It’s the specific outcome the researcher expects to observe from a particular study, if the theory is accurate.

Theory - set of statements that describes general principles about how variables (measured) relate to one another (on which the practice of an activity is based).

Question 9

Variable vs Constant

Answer 9

Variable - an attribute that varies, having at least two levels, or values. There are 4 kinds of variable: dependent variable, independent variable, manipulated variable and measured.
E.g. “Knowing when news is fake” is the variable, and its levels are knowing when news is fake, and not knowing when fake.

Constant - an attribute that could potentially vary but that has only one level in the study in question.
E.g. “15% of Americans smoke,” nationality is not a variable because everyone in the study is American. In this example, nationality would be a constant.

Question 10

measured vs manipulated variables

Answer 10

A measured variable is one whose levels are simply observed and recorded. Some variables, such as height and IQ, are measured using familiar tools (a ruler, a test).

A manipulated variable is a variable a researcher controls, usually by assigning study participants to the different levels of that variable. For example, a researcher might give some participants 10 mg of a medication, others 20 mg, and still others 30 mg.

Question 11

association vs causal claims common verbs

Answer 11

Association: tied/ linked to, relates, connected to, associated w
Causal: helps, enhances, increases, decreases

Question 12

Positive association vs negative vs zero association

Answer 12

Positive association is an association in which high goes with high and low goes with low;
E.g. - high rates of exercise go with higher levels of pay, and low rates of exercise go with lower levels of pay.

Negative association - high goes with low and low goes with high. E.g. - high rates of coffee go with less depression, and low rates of coffee go with more depression.

Zero association (or no association) - a lack of systematic association between two variables.

Question 13

construct VS external VS statistical validities of frequency claims

Answer 13

Construct validity refers to how well a conceptual variable is operationalized. When you ask how well a study measured or manipulated a variable, you are interrogating the construct validity—be it smiling, smoking, texting, gender identity, food insecurity, or knowing when news is fake. For example, when evaluating the construct validity of a frequency claim, the question is how well the researchers measured their variable of interest. Consider this claim: “39% of teens text while driving.” There are several ways to measure this variable.

External validity - an indication of how well the results of a study generalize to, or represent, individuals or contexts besides those in the study itself. e.g. Gallup researchers had simply asked people who clicked on the Gallup website whether they smiled yesterday, and 74% of them said they did, the researcher cannot claim that 74% of the entire world did.

Statistical validity - The extent to which statistical conclusions derived from a study are accurate and reasonable. Also called statistical conclusion validity. To understand statistical validity, it helps to know that the value we get from a single study is not an objective truth. Instead, it’s an estimate of that value in some population. E.g., for the report claiming that “39% of teenagers text while driving,” researchers interviewed a sample of about 9,000 teen drivers to estimate the behavior of the population of all U.S. teenage drivers.

Question 14

construct VS external VS statistical validities of association claims

Answer 14

Construct validity of association claim - a researcher measures two variables, so you have to assess the construct validity of each variable. For the headline “Study links coffee consumption to lower depression in women,” you should ask how well the researchers measured coffee consumption and how well they measured depression.

External validity - it’s asking whether it can generalize to other populations, as well as to other contexts, times, or places. For example, the association between coffee consumption and depression came from a study of women. Will the association generalize to men?

Statistical validity - considers how strong the estimated association is and how precise that estimate is, and it considers other estimates of the same association. Some associations —such as between education and income—are quite strong. People with bachelor’s degrees usually earn much more money than those with high school degrees—about 66% more income over a 40-year career.

Question 15

construct VS external VS statistical validities of causal claims

Answer 15

Construct validity of causal claim - Take the headline “Pretending to be Batman helps kids stay on task.” First, we could ask about the construct validity of the measured variable in this study. How well was “staying on task” measured? Then we would need to interrogate the construct validity of the manipulated variable. E.g. Was the costume and the question “Is Batman working hard?” the best manipulation of the construct, “pretending to be a hardworking hero”?

Internal validity - This is the priority! Was the study an experiment? Does the study achieve temporal precedence? Does the study control for alternative explanations by randomly assigning participants to groups?

External validity - It is rarely prioritized in an experiment!! The study tested 6-year-old children from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Can this sample generalize to children from other states or other countries? Would it generalize to younger kids?

Statistical validity - To start, we would ask: How large was the difference between the groups? In this example, participants in the Batman condition persisted about 60% of the time, compared with 35% of the time for those in the self-immersed condition— nearly twice as long. That seems a large effect. We can also ask whether this study has been repeated—whether we can consider estimates from multiple studies over time.

Question 16

independent vs dependent variable

Answer 16

the manipulated variable is called the independent variable and the measured variable is called the dependent variable. To support the claim about Batman, the researchers in that study would have had to manipulate the variable “pretending to be Batman” and measure the persistence variable. To manipulate a variable means to assign participants to be at one level or the other. White and colleagues asked all 90 kids to do a slow-paced, boring computer task.

Question 17

experimental method vs non-experimental

Answer 17

Two major problems with the nonexperimental method
- Difficult to tell the direction of cause and effect, which variable causes the other.
- When the relationship between variables is studied, researchers generally conceptualize them as having a cause-and-effect relationship.

The independent variable in a study is the variable believed to be the cause of the effect to the dependent variable.
- A researcher manipulates the independent variable and measures the resulting change in the dependent variable.

Question 18

Informed consent/child assent vs Coercion

Answer 18

*Coercion: Procedure that limits an individual’s freedom to consent (ex: boss asks you to participate)

*Assent: Agreement by a minor in which a written consent form signed by a parent or guardian is required

Autonomy issues- free and informed decisions.

Researcher’s obligation to explain the study to potential participants in everyday language and give a chance to decide on participation.

Written document-outlines procedures, risks, benefits, including statement about any experimental treatment, informs which parts of the provided data will be private & confidential and which will NOT.

-2 copies: for researcher & participant

-not necessary when study is NOT likely to cause harm & takes place in an educational setting

Question 19

Unconditioned stimulus VS conditioned stimulus

Answer 19

Conditioned stimulus- stimulus that is initially neutral and produces no reliable response in an organism.
Conditioned reflexes consist of a conditioned stimulus (CS), such as the footsteps, producing a conditioned response (CR), salivation.

Unconditioned stimulus-reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism.
Unconditioned reflexes are formed by an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) producing an unconditioned response (UCR).

Question 20

Positive vs negative reinforcement (ask)

Answer 20

Positive reinforcement involves adding something pleasant to encourage a behavior.
For example, treating a child to an ice cream cone when he stays quiet and obedient during a shopping trip.

Negative reinforcement - occurs when something unpleasant or uncomfortable is removed or taken away in order to increase the likelihood of the desired behavior.
E.g. removing restrictions from a child when she does follow the rules. Something unpleasant (a set of restrictions) is removed to encourage the child’s good behavior (following the rules).

Question 21

Positive vs negative punishment (Ask)

Answer 21

Positive punishment is an attempt to influence behavior by adding something unpleasant. Positive punishment looks to remove or decrease a “bad” behavior.
For example, spanking a child when he throws a tantrum is an example of positive punishment.

Negative Punishment: The act of removing a pleasant stimulus with the aim of decreasing undesired behavior.
For example: Doing extra household chores for not taking the dog for the morning walk. E.g: taking phone away.

Question 22

Zimbardo’s prison experiment design; findings guards vs prisoners.

Answer 22

Design - What the researchers did:
- Mock prison
- Randomly assigned ½ to be guards, ½ to be prisoners

How the participants responded (within days):
■Guards treated prisoners poorly, inflicted (imposed) punishment;
■Prisoners became rebellious or depressed.

Findings - Guards
◻Used filthy language with prisoners; harassed and intimidated them
◻Made humiliating comments to prisoners (e.g., “Prisoner 2354, go over and tell prisoner 2578 that you love him.”)
◻Raucously awakened all prisoners in the middle of the night
◻Frequently used push-ups as punishment for minor offenses;
◻Appeared to enjoy their sadistic control over the prisoners;
◻Shot a fire extinguisher (ice-cold CO2) at prisoners;
- Placed prisoners in solitary confinement for entire nights
Sample: 24 college-age men selected among volunteers.

Findings - Prisoners
◻Quickly became obedient and conformed to the rules set by the guards.
◻Showed clear and early signs of trauma and depression, including crying and profound depression. Begged to be paroled (for freedom).
◻Agreed to forfeit (pay) all payment in exchange for release.
◻Planned and staged a “rebellion” that involved tearing off uniform numbers, cursing the guards etc.

Question 23

What’s the “Theory-data Cycle”?

Answer 23

collect data to test, change, update theories-take systematic steps to solve a problem
See pic.

Question 24

What are the ways that intuition is biased?

Answer 24

present bias (Failing to think about what we CANNOT see), confirmation bias (Focusing on the event we like best), being swayed by a good story, accepting conclusion because it makes sense/feels natural), availability heuristic (Persuaded by what comes easily to mind)

Question 25

Present bias?

Answer 25

A bias in intuition, in which people incorrectly estimate the relationship between an event and its outcome, focusing on times the event and outcome are present, while failing to consider evidence that is absent and harder to notice.
E.g: expressed frustration-felt better, people text me when I think about them

Question 26

Features of a good scientific theory

Answer 26

1. supported by data (large quantity & variety of data)

-consistent with observations of the world
-conduct multiple studies, using a variety of methods to address different aspects

2. Falsifiable

-leads to hypothesis that, when tested, could FAIL to support theory
-researchers must take risks, including being prepared to accept data that does NOT support their theory
E.g: Harlow’s-if monkeys spent more time on wire mother than the cloth mother; If students in the mindfulness training group had shown lower GRE scores than those in the nutrition group, the theory of mindfulness and attention would not have been supported.

3. Have parsimony (extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources).

-supposed to be simple
-sets a standard for theory-data cycle
E.g: Harlow’s theory-contact comfort drives attachment more than food does
-when data CONTRADICT theory - theory changes to accommodate data
E.g: Harlow’s theory-contact comfort drives attachment more than food does especially in the early months of life

4. Do NOT prove anything (weight of evidence)

Question 27

Confirmation bias

Answer 27

The tendency to consider only the evidence that supports our hypothesis, including asking only the questions that will lead to the expected answer. We “cherry- pick” the information we take in—seeking and accepting only the evidence that supports what we already think.

E. g. Those who were told in the study their IQ was low spent more time looking at articles that criticized the validity of IQ tests and vice versa.

Question 28

availability heuristic?

Answer 28

a bias in intuition, in which people incorrectly estimate the frequency of something, persuaded on instances that easily come to mind rather than using all possible evidences in evaluating a conclusion.
- Wrongly estimate how often something happens-vivid, memorable, recent events.
E.g: shark attacks seem frequent but are rare-think more-inflate the risks, “always” hit the red lights, students always use phones in class, how often kid leaves bike in rain, number of Muslim women on campus (see wearing hijabs)-stand out

Question 29

What are sections of APA paper?

Answer 29

1) Abstract
-concise summary of article (120 words)
-briefly describes study’s hypothesis, method & major results
-helps to decide whether article describes searched research

2) Introduction
-1st few paragraphs explain topic of study
-middle paragraphs lay out background for research: What theory is tested? What past studies found?
Why is study important?
-final paragraph states specific research questions, foals?, hypotheses

3) Literature review- meta analysis

4) Methods
-explains in detail how researchers conducted study
-contains info about participants, materials, procedure, apparatus
-gives enough detail that could be repeated without asking questions

5) Results
-describes quantitative & qualitative results of the study, including statistical tests used to analyze data
-provides tables & figures that summarize key results

6) Discussion
-1st paragraph summarizes research question & methods & indicates how well results of study
supported hypothesis
-discusses study’s importance
-discuss alternative explanations for their data & pose questions raised by research
E.g: new hypothesis, creative & unusual method to test a familiar hypothesis, unique participants

7) References
-full bibliographic listing of all sources authors cited-readers can locate studies/look for additional articles

Question 30

What’s validity?

Answer 30

refers to the appropriateness of a conclusion or decision, and in general, a claim is reasonable, accurate, and justifiable.

There are 4 kinds of validities: construct validity, external validity, internal validity and statistical validity.

Question 31

Why does the method of manipulating one variable and measuring the other help scientists make causal claims?

Answer 31

For one thing, manipulating the independent variable—the causal variable—ensures that it comes first. By manipulating the children’s perspective first and then measuring persistence, White and colleagues ensured temporal precedence in their study. In addition, when researchers manipulate a variable, they have the potential to control for alternative explanations; that is they can ensure internal validity. When the White team were investigating children’s persistence, they ensured that the children in all three conditions were about the same age.

Question 32

Milgram’s obedience experiment.

Answer 32

▶Study of the phenomenon of obedience to an authority figure

▶Participants- 40 males (20-50yrs of age)

▶Recruited through newspaper ads and direct mail

▶2 confederates (actors) - one man acting as an experimenter and another man as the experimenter.

▶Participants told to administer shocks after the learner made a mistake.

*Told to increase voltage after each error

*Believed other man was actually getting shocked

*65% of participants continued to deliver shocks all the way up to 450 volts

*Every participant continued to at least 300 volts, when the confederate became silent.

*Once the experimenter was finished the participants were told truth and met the confederate.

*Milgram went on to conduct another study in which the participant was in the same room and rate of obedience dropped, so they administered less shock.

Question 33

What are the 3 main principles of Belmont report doc?

Answer 33

Belmont report developed as a result of Tuskegee study
-applied within US
● Principle of respect for persons (autonomy) - participants are treated as autonomous and free to decide whether want to participate - entitled to informed consent (info about project, its risks & benefits).
People with less autonomy (children, prisoners, people with intellectual/developmental disabilities) entitled to special protection in regards to informed consent-may NOT understand procedures to provide an informed consent, susceptible to force (coercion)
-unduly influence (incentive too attractive to refuse like too much money)

● Principle of beneficence - research should bring benefits with minimal risks, as determined by a risk-benefit analysis.
-protect participants from harm & ensure participants’ well-being
-if studying only one ethnic group - demonstrate that problem is prevalent in that group/institution.
E.g: violates if studying prisoners, only because they are convenient group, acceptable if study institutionalized people for tuberculosis as tuberculosis prevalent in institutions.

● Principle of justice - benefits and risks of research should be assigned fairly when selecting research subjects.
- sample research participants from the same population that benefits from research
-balance between people who participate in research.
-participants-kinds of people who would benefit from results.

Question 34

5 APA ethical principles

Answer 34

1. Beneficence and Nonmaleficence

• maximize benefits and minimize any possible harmful effects of participation.

-do NOT cause suffering

-conduct research that benefits society

2. Fidelity and Responsibility

-establish relationships of trust

• say what you mean and do what you say: honor appointment, provide compensation or credit for participation, etc.

-accept responsibility for professional behavior in research, teaching, clinical practice

E.g: psychologist teaching cannot serve as therapist to students/must avoid sexual relationships with clients

3. Integrity

• don’t steal and cheat or engage in fraud, or intentional misrepresentation of fact (Ex: do not fabricate data)

-be accurate, truthful, honest as researcher, teacher, practitioner in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology.

E.g: professors are obligated to teach accurately, therapists must stay current on empirical evidence for therapeutic techniques

4. Justice

-treat all groups of people fairly

-equal quality in the processes, procedures and services being conducted by psychologists

-sample research participants from the same population that benefits from research

5. Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity

-people-anonymous agents

-protect people’s rights to privacy, consent for treatment/research, confidential treatment

-avoid coercion (force) of populations less able to give informed consent

-be aware of biases on the work

• respect cultural, individual, and role differences

Question 35

IRB- categories of risk (ask)

Answer 35

Any institution that receives federal funds must have an IRB that is responsible for reviewing research at that institution. IRB – make sure that experiment is ethical and protects institutions

Research conducted by students, faculty and staff must be reviewed by the IRB (5 members)

Exempt (free) research: Risk free

*Ex: observations, anonymous surveys, no informed consent needed

Minimal risk: Risk of harm is no greater than risk encountered in daily life or routine tests

*Ex: recording routine data from adult participants such as height, weight & hearing

Greater than minimal risk research

*Thorough review conducted by the IRB

Question 36

Animal research? Which institution?

Answer 36

Laws and ethical guidelines require that animals involved in research be cared for properly and prohibit cruel treatment.

Institutions engaged in animal research must have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

*Composed of minimum one scientist, one veterinarian, and a community member.

Question 37

Plagiarism. What are its kinds?

Answer 37

Misrepresenting another’s work as your own

Word-for-word plagiarism: Writer copies a section of another person’s work word-for-word without providing quotation marks or a citation.

Paraphrasing plagiarism: Words are indirectly copied, but the ideas are copied without attribution.

Question 38

What are the kinds of fraud?

Answer 38

Data fabrication

-researchers invent data that fit their hypothesis instead of recording what happened (or running the study at all)

Data falsification

-researchers influence the study’s results by selectively deleting observations from a data set or by influencing research subjects to act in a hypothesized way.

E.g: Professor Stipel from Tilburg University-changed occasional data points (data falsification) typing in databases to fit his & his students’ hypothesis (data fabrication), which led to measles outbreaks caused by fraudulent study that suggested link between vaccine and autism.

Data fabrication/falsification is a problem:

-cast a shadow over careers of adjacent colleagues

-harm psychology’s reputation

Researchers fabricate data:

-convinced of hypotheses-data that does NOT support-inaccurate-to coincide with intuition rather than formal observations.

Report to Office Research Integrity (if federally funded), scientist’s institution.

Question 39

Zimbardo’s prison experiment design; findings guards vs prisoners.

Answer 39

Design - What the researchers did:

• Mock prison
• Randomly assigned ½ to be guards, ½ to be prisoners

How the participants responded (within days):

■Guards treated prisoners poorly, inflicted (imposed) punishment;

■Prisoners became rebellious or depressed.

Findings - Guards

◻Used filthy language with prisoners; harassed and intimidated them

◻Made humiliating comments to prisoners (e.g., “Prisoner 2354, go over and tell prisoner 2578 that you love him.”)

◻Raucously awakened all prisoners in the middle of the night

◻Frequently used push-ups as punishment for minor offenses;

◻Appeared to enjoy their sadistic control over the prisoners;

◻Shot a fire extinguisher (ice-cold CO2) at prisoners;

• Placed prisoners in solitary confinement for entire nights

Sample: 24 college-age men selected among volunteers.

Findings - Prisoners

◻Quickly became obedient and conformed to the rules set by the guards.

◻Showed clear and early signs of trauma and depression, including crying and profound depression. Begged to be paroled (for freedom).

◻Agreed to forfeit (pay) all payment in exchange for release.

◻Planned and staged a “rebellion” that involved tearing off uniform numbers, cursing the guards etc.

Question 40

Asch line study- design and findings

Answer 40

Normative social influence:

• influence from the desire to avoid others’ disapproval and social sanctions (ridicule, barbs, ostracism).

Line judgment study (Asch, 1956):

• They had 3 lines, and they had men looking on line if it’s the same length and they used confederates, but participants didn’t know that. Confederates pick a line, which is wrong to check conformity of the participant.
• 75% of participants conformed at least once.
• Overall, participants conformed 33% of the time.
• When you are alone and only with confederate without public, participants conform less.
• They gave a participant a friend, who picked correct answer, so it dropped conformity.

Question 41

operational definition (or variable)

Answer 41

The specific way in which a concept of interest is measured or manipulated as a variable in a study.
When testing hypotheses with empirical research, they create operational definitions of variables, also known as operational variables.
E.g: conceptual-spending time socializing; research - asked participants how often do they spend an evening alone, socialize with friends, see relatives in a typical week.

Question 42

Why does the method of manipulating one variable and measuring the other help scientists make causal claims?

Answer 42

For one thing, manipulating the independent variable—the causal variable—ensures that it comes first. By manipulating the children’s perspective first and then measuring persistence, White and colleagues ensured temporal precedence in their study. In addition, when researchers manipulate a variable, they have the potential to control for alternative explanations; that is they can ensure internal validity. When the White team were investigating children’s persistence, they ensured that the children in all three conditions were about the same age.

Question 43

Experimental control

Answer 43

Extraneous variables kept constant.
- controlled by researcher
Experimental controls are techniques that researchers utilize to minimize the effects of extraneous experience and environmental variables as well as to strengthen the inference that changes in the dependent variable are due to the independent variable

Question 44

Nuremberg code?

Answer 44

-ten-point set of ethical principles
-developed in result of World War II
- Nuremberg Trials revealed the horror of medical experiments conducted on victims in Nazi-occupied Europe and resulted in the Nuremberg Code.
-NOT a formal law
-influences ethical research laws of many countries