Question 1

How wise IS popular wisdom? In Chapter One we pondered how many old sayings have other old sayings that contradict them.For example,a common saying is "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." But we also hear "You are never too old to learn." Now that you have read Chapter Two,design a research study in order to test these sayings.Provide your reasoning in selecting a particular research method,subjects,and other key details.

Accepted Answer

The answer of How wise IS popular wisdom? In Chapter...

Question 2

If you have just completed a research study,your work has just begun! What three things must you do once you have results in hand?

Accepted Answer

The answer of If you have just completed a research...

Question 3

Psychologists follow a code of ethics that has been developed by the APA.Explain the APA code in regard to research with human subjects.What happens when participants must be misled about the true purpose of the study in order to make sure that their responses are natural?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Psychologists follow a code of ethics that...

Question 4

A researcher hypothesizes that adults will respond differently to the same baby depending on how the child is dressed.Her colleague,on the other hand,hypothesizes that boys and girls are treated equally and that only temperamental differences lead to differences in their handling.Design a research study to test their hypotheses.Provided a detailed explanation of how this study would be conducted.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A researcher hypothesizes that adults will respond...

Question 5

What role does mathematical illiteracy play in the misuse of statistics? Illustrate this misuse using the following quote from the text: "Every year since 1950,the number of American children gunned down has doubled."

Accepted Answer

The answer of What role does mathematical illiteracy play in...

Question 6

Which research method did Sigmund Freud rely upon? Analyze what you know about his theory given your understanding of research methods.What are the strengths and limitations of his approach?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which research method did Sigmund Freud rely...

Question 7

In the "Miss Peach" cartoon in the textbook,Ira said that he averaged two baths a day.Explain why averages,such as this one,are sometimes misleading.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In the "Miss Peach" cartoon in the...

Question 8

In Chapter Two we read about the disastrous consequences that can take place when conclusions are drawn solely on the basis of case studies.How does the example of the connection between autism and vaccinations illustrate the importance of the critical thinking guideline,"Don't Oversimplify," discussed in Chapter One?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Chapter Two we read about the...

Question 9

Why is it important to go beyond averages when summarizing data? What other descriptive statistics are used to help interpret data?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is it important to go beyond...

Question 10

Psychologists follow a code of ethics that has been developed by the APA.Describe five reasons that psychologists study animals.Explain the APA code in regard to research with animal subjects.Why has animal research provoked angry disputes?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Psychologists follow a code of ethics that...

Question 11

What makes psychological research scientific? Chapter Two points out the importance of precision in the pursuit of knowledge.How does this principle of good science correspond to the critical thinking guideline,"Define Your Terms," discussed in Chapter One?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What makes psychological research scientific? Chapter Two...

Question 12

Is there a critical period for language? When the sad story of Genie was broadcast over national television,many people wondered what the future would hold for a 13-year-old girl who had survived on minimal physical care.What did psychologists learn about language acquisition through their efforts to teach language to Genie? In what ways does Genie's story illustrate some drawbacks to the case study method?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Is there a critical period for language?...

Question 13

Experiments have long been the method of choice in psychology,but they do have their limitations.Describe the strengths and the weaknesses of experiments.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Experiments have long been the method of...

Question 14

The president of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA)is concerned after reading that during puberty children have increased needs for sleep.She wants to find out if other parents of middle-school children would support a later starting time for school.At one of the Tuesday night meetings,she conducts a survey of the PTA members in order to address this question.When she asks those parents in support of the change to raise their hands,she discovers that 85 percent of the parents support a later starting time.What information has she gained by conducting this survey? What shortcomings exist in her survey?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The president of the Parent Teacher Association...

Question 15

When mental abilities are studied through cross-sectional methods,the results conflict with the findings from longitudinal studies.Explain the basic procedures in each type of study and then provide an example of why each method yields different results.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When mental abilities are studied through cross-sectional...

Question 16

Unlike plays and poems,scientific theories are not judged by how pleasing they are.Instead a theory must be backed by empirical evidence if it is to be taken seriously.Integrate this information from Chapter Two with the critical thinking guideline,"Avoid Emotional Reasoning," that you studied in Chapter One.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Unlike plays and poems,scientific theories are not...

Question 17

When the authors refer to psychologists as scientists,they do not mean that psychologists work with complicated gadgets and machines or wear white lab coats (although some do).The scientific enterprise has more to do with attitudes and procedures than it does with apparatus and apparel.Describe,in detail,the five key characteristics of the ideal scientist.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When the authors refer to psychologists as...

Question 18

For many years,it was thought that a child's fascination with the genitals of an anatomically realistic doll indicated sexual abuse of the child.Using this example,explain why experiments usually require an experimental and a control condition.If you were designing an experiment to test this topic,what would be the independent variable? What would be the dependent variable?

Accepted Answer

The answer of For many years,it was thought that a...

Question 19

Rarely does a psychological study have completely straightforward results.Usually there is some possibility that the difference between two groups could be due to chance.Explain how inferential statistics help us determine how statistically meaningful a study's results are.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Rarely does a psychological study have completely...

Question 20

A psycholinguist wants to know whether children who speak their first words at an earlier age than average also learn to read earlier than other children.Should she conduct a cross-sectional study or a longitudinal study? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A psycholinguist wants to know whether children...

Quiz 2: Exstintion: How Psychologists Do Research