UNIT I Psychology’s History and Approaches MODULES 1 Psychology and Its History 2 Today’s Psychology and Its Approaches 3 Subfields in Psychology From news and popular media portrayals, you might think that psychologists analyze personality, offer counseling, dispense childraising advice, examine crime scenes, and testify in court. Do they? 63 Yes, and much more. Consider some of psychology’s questions that you may wonder about: Have you ever found yourself reacting to something as one of your biological parents would—perhaps in a way you vowed you never would—and then wondered how much of your personality you inherited? To what extent do genes predispose our individual differences in personality? How do home and community environments shape us? Have you ever worried about how to act among people of a different culture, race, gender identity, or sexual orientation? In what ways are we alike as members of the human family? How do we differ? Have you ever awakened from a nightmare and wondered why you had such a crazy dream? Why do we dream? Have you ever played peekaboo with a 6-month-old and wondered why the baby finds your disappearing/reappearing act so delightful? What do babies actually perceive and think? Have you ever wondered what enables school and work success? Does inborn intelligence explain why some people get richer, think more creatively, or relate more sensitively? Or does gritty effort, and a belief that we can grow smarter, matter more? Have you ever become depressed or anxious and wondered whether you’ll ever feel “normal”? What triggers our bad moods —and our good ones? What’s the line between a normal mood swing and a psychological disorder? Psychology is a science that seeks to answer such questions about us all—how and why we think, feel, and act as we do. Unit I Overview Video 64 Module 1 Psychology and Its History LEARNING TARGETS 1–1 Explain how psychology is a science and why the “rat is always right.” 1–2 Describe the three key elements of the scientific attitude and how they support scientific inquiry. 1–3 Explain how critical thinking feeds a scientific attitude, and smarter thinking for everyday life. 1–4 Describe how psychology developed from early understandings of mind and body to the beginnings of modern science. 1–5 Describe some important milestones in psychology’s early development. 1–6 Explain how behaviorism, Freudian psychology, and humanistic psychology furthered the development of psychological science. Once upon a time, on a planet in our neighborhood of the universe, there came to be people. Soon thereafter, these creatures became intensely interested in themselves and in one another: “Who are we? What produces our thoughts? Our feelings? Our actions? And how are we to understand and manage those around us?” 65 A smile is a smile the world around The science of psychology builds from the input of multiple disciplines in many lands. As you will see throughout this book, we’ve come to learn not only of our cultural and gender diversity but also of the similarities that define our shared human nature. People in different cultures vary in when and how often they smile, for example, but a naturally happy smile means the same thing anywhere in the world. 66 Psychology Is a Science 1-1 How is psychology a science, and why is it the “rat is always right”? Underlying all science is, first, a passion to explore and understand without misleading or being misled. Some questions (Is there life after death?) are beyond science. Answering them in any way requires a leap of faith. With many other ideas (Can some people demonstrate ESP?), the proof is in the pudding. Let the facts speak for themselves. AP® EXAM TIP To assist your active learning of psychology, Learning Targets are grouped together at the start of each module and then framed as questions that appear at the beginning of the pertinent section of reading. It helps to keep the question in mind as you read through a section to make sure that you are following the main point of the discussion. Magician James Randi has used a scientific approach when testing those claiming to see glowing auras around people’s bodies: Randi: Do you see an aura around my head? Aura seer: Yes, indeed. Randi: Can you still see the aura if I put this magazine in front of my face? Aura seer: Of course. Randi: Then if I were to step behind a wall barely taller than I am, you could determine my location from the aura visible above my head, right? Randi once told me [DM] that no aura seer had agreed to take this simple 67 test. The Amazing Randi The magician James Randi exemplifies skepticism. He has tested and debunked supposed psychic phenomena. 68 No matter how sensible-seeming or how wild an idea, the smart thinker asks: Does it work? When put to the test, do the data support its predictions? Subjected to such scrutiny, crazy-sounding ideas sometimes find support. During the 1700s, scientists scoffed at the notion that meteorites had extraterrestrial origins. When two Yale scientists challenged the conventional opinion, Thomas Jefferson reportedly jeered, “Gentlemen, I would rather believe that those two Yankee professors would lie than to believe that stones fell from Heaven.” Sometimes scientific inquiry turns jeers into cheers. More often, science becomes society’s garbage disposal, sending crazy-sounding ideas to the waste heap, atop previous claims of perpetual 69 motion machines, miracle cancer cures, and out-of-body travels into centuries past. To sift reality from fantasy, sense from nonsense, verified facts from fake news, therefore requires a scientific attitude: being skeptical but not cynical, open but not gullible. When ideas compete, careful testing can reveal which ones best match the facts. Can astrologers predict your future based on the planets’ position at your birth? Is electroconvulsive therapy (delivering an electric shock to the brain) an effective treatment for severe depression? As we will see, putting such claims to the test has led psychological scientists to answer No to the first question and Yes to the second. Putting a scientific attitude into practice requires not only curiosity and skepticism but also humility—an awareness of our own vulnerability to error and an openness to new perspectives. What matters is not my opinion or yours, but the truths revealed by our questioning and testing. If people or other animals don’t behave as our ideas predict, then so much the worse for our ideas. This humble attitude was expressed in one of psychology’s early mottos: “The rat is always right.” (See Thinking Critically About: The Scientific Attitude.) 70 Critical Thinking 1-3 How does critical thinking feed a scientific attitude, and smarter thinking for everyday life? The scientific attitude—curiosity + skepticism + humility—prepares us to think harder and smarter. This thinking style, called critical thinking, examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. Whether reading a research report or an online opinion, or listening to news or a talk show, critical thinkers ask questions: How do they know that? What is this person’s agenda? Is the conclusion based on anecdote, or on evidence? Does the evidence justify a cause-effect conclusion? What alternative explanations are possible? critical thinking thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. Critical thinkers wince when people make factual claims based on gut intuition: “I feel like climate change is [or isn’t] happening.” “I feel like self-driving cars are more [or less] dangerous.” “I feel like my candidate is more honest.” Such beliefs (commonly mislabeled as feelings) may or may not be true. Critical thinkers are open to the possibility that they might be 71 wrong. Sometimes, they know, the best evidence confirms their intuitions. Sometimes it challenges them and beckons them to a different way of thinking. FYI Throughout the text, important concepts are boldfaced, and important people are underlined. As you study, you can find the key terms with their definitions in a nearby margin and in the Glossary/Glosario at the book’s end. (In the e-book, definitions are always a click away.) You will find a list of each unit’s key contributors in the Unit Review and in Appendix C, Psychological Science’s Key Contributors, at the back of the book. Critical thinking, informed by science, helps clear the colored lenses of our biases. Consider: Does climate change threaten our future, and, if so, is it human-caused? In 2016, climate-action advocates interpreted record Louisiana flooding as evidence of climate change. In 2015, climate-change skeptics perceived North American bitter winter cold as discounting global warming. Rather than having their understanding of climate change swayed by recent weather, critical thinkers say, “Show me the evidence.” Over time, is the Earth actually warming? Are the polar ice caps melting? Are vegetation patterns changing? And is human activity emitting atmospheric CO2 that would lead us to expect such changes? When contemplating such issues, critical thinkers will also consider the credibility of sources. They will also look at the evidence (Do the facts support them, or are they just makin’ stuff up?). They will recognize multiple perspectives. And they will expose themselves to news sources that challenge their preconceived ideas. From a tongue-in-cheek Twitter feed: “ The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they’re true.” Abraham Lincoln Some religious people may view critical thinking and scientific 72 inquiry, including psychology’s, as a threat. Yet many of the leaders of the scientific revolution, including Copernicus and Newton, were deeply religious people acting on the idea that “in order to love and honor God, it is necessary to fully appreciate the wonders of his handiwork” (Stark, 2003a,b) Critical thinking can lead us to surprising findings. Some examples from psychological science: Massive losses of brain tissue early in life may have minimal long-term effects (see Module 12). Within days, newborns can recognize their mother by her odor (see Module 45). After brain damage, a person may be able to learn new skills yet be unaware of such learning (see Modules 31–33). Diverse groups—men and women, old and young, rich and middle class, those with and without disabilities— report roughly comparable levels of personal happiness (see Module 83). “ My deeply held belief is that if a god anything like the traditional sort exists, our curiosity and intelligence are provided by such a god. We would be unappreciative of those gifts . . . if we suppressed our passion to explore the universe and ourselves.” Carl Sagan, Broca’s Brain, 1979 As later modules illustrate, critical inquiry sometimes also debunks popular presumptions. Sleepwalkers are not acting out their dreams (see Module 24). Our past experiences are not all recorded verbatim in our brains; with brain stimulation or hypnosis, one cannot simply replay and relive long-buried or repressed memories (see Module 33). Most people do not suffer from unrealistically low self-esteem, and high self-esteem is not all good (see Module 59). Opposites tend not to attract (see Module 79). In these instances and many others, what psychological scientists have learned is not what is widely believed. 73 Life after studying psychology The study of psychology and its critical thinking strategies have helped prepare people for varied occupations, as illustrated by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (who studied psychology and computer science while at Harvard) and Natalie Portman (who majored in psychology and co-authored a scientific article at Harvard—and on one of her summer breaks was filmed for Star Wars: Episode I). Psychology’s critical inquiry can also identify effective policies. To deter crime, should we invest money in lengthening prison sentences, or increase the likelihood of arrest? To help people recover from a trauma, should counselors help them relive it, or not? To increase voting, should we tell people about the low turnout problem, or emphasize that their peers are voting? What matters is not what we “feel” is true, but what is true. When put to critical thinking’s test—and contrary to common practice— the second option in each of this paragraph’s examples wins (Shafir, 2013). FYI Information sources are cited in parentheses, with name and date. Every citation can be found in the end-of-book References, with complete documentation that follows American Psychological Association (APA) style. Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Were you surprised to learn that psychology is a science? How would you defend that point if someone else now asked you about this? 74 Test Yourself Describe what’s involved in critical thinking. Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 75 Prescientific Psychology 1-4 How did psychology develop from early understandings of mind and body to the beginnings of modern science? To be human is to be curious about ourselves and the world around us. We can trace many of psychology’s current questions back to historic philosophical and physiological approaches. These early thinkers wondered: How does our mind work? How does our body relate to our mind? How much of what we know comes built in? How much is acquired through experience? AP® EXAM TIP Memory research reveals a testing effect: We retain information much better if we actively retrieve it by self-testing and rehearsing. (More on this in Module 2.) To bolster your learning and memory, take advantage of the self-testing opportunities you will find throughout this text. These Check Your Understanding sections will appear periodically throughout each module. The Ask Yourself questions will help you relate the material to your life (making it more memorable). You can check your answers to the Test Yourself review questions in Appendix E. (In the e-book, answers are a click away.) In ancient Greece, the philosopher-teacher Socrates (469–399 B.C.E.) and his student Plato (428–348 B.C.E.) concluded that mind is separable from body and continues after the body dies, and that knowledge is innate —born within us. Unlike Socrates and Plato, who derived principles by logic, Plato’s student Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.) loved data. An intellectual ancestor of today’s scientists, Aristotle derived principles from careful observations. Moreover, he said knowledge is not preexisting (sorry, Socrates and Plato); instead it grows from the experiences stored in our memories. 76 The next 2000 years brought few enduring new insights into human nature, but that changed in the 1600s, when modern science began to flourish. With it came new theories of human behavior and new versions of the ancient debates. A frail but brilliant Frenchman named René Descartes [day-CART] (1595–1650) agreed with Socrates and Plato about the existence of innate ideas and mind’s being “entirely distinct from body” and able to survive its death. Descartes’ concept of mind forced him to wonder, as people have ever since, how the immaterial mind and physical body communicate. A scientist as well as a philosopher, Descartes dissected animals and concluded that the fluid in the brain’s cavities contained “animal spirits.” These spirits, he surmised, flowed from the brain through what we call the nerves (which he thought were hollow) to the muscles, provoking movement. Memories formed as experiences opened pores in the brain into which the animal spirits also flowed. Descartes was right that nerve paths are important and that they enable reflexes. Yet, genius though he was, and standing upon the knowledge accumulated from 99+ percent of our human history, he hardly had a clue of what today’s average 12-year-old knows. Indeed, most of the scientific story of our self-exploration—the story told in this book—has been written in but the last historical eye-blink of human time. “ If I see further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Isaac Newton, writing to a friend in 1676 Meanwhile, across the English Channel in Britain, science was taking a more down-to-earth form, centered on experiment, experience, and commonsense judgment. Francis Bacon (1561–1626) became one of the founders of modern science, and his influence lingers in the experiments of today’s psychological science. Bacon also was fascinated by the human mind and its failings. Anticipating what we have come to appreciate about our mind’s hunger to perceive patterns even in random events, he wrote that “the human understanding, from its peculiar nature, easily supposes a greater degree of order and equality in things than it really finds” (Novum 77 Organuum, 1620). Some 50 years after Bacon’s death, John Locke (1632–1704), a British political philosopher, sat down to write a one-page essay on “our own abilities” for an upcoming discussion with friends. After 20 years and hundreds of pages, Locke had completed one of history’s greatest late papers (An Essay Concerning Human Understanding). In it he famously argued that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa—a “blank slate”—on which experience writes. This idea, adding to Bacon’s ideas, helped form modern empiricism, the idea that what we know comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge. empiricism the idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge. 78 Psychological Science Is Born 1-5 What were some important milestones in psychology’s early development? Psychology’s First Laboratory Philosophers’ thinking about thinking continued until the birth of psychology as we know it. That happened on a December day in 1879, in a small, third-floor room at Germany’s University of Leipzig. There, two young men were helping an austere, middle-aged professor, Wilhelm Wundt, create an experimental apparatus. Their machine measured how long it took for people to press a telegraph key after hearing a ball hit a platform (Hunt, 1993). Curiously, people responded in about one-tenth of a second when asked to press the key as soon as the sound occurred—and in about two-tenths of a second when asked to press the key as soon as they were consciously aware of perceiving the sound. (To be aware of one’s awareness takes a little longer.) Wundt was seeking to measure “atoms of the mind”—the fastest and simplest mental processes. So began the first psychological laboratory, staffed by Wundt and by psychology’s first graduate students. (In 1883, Wundt’s American student G. Stanley Hall went on to establish the first formal U.S. psychology laboratory, at Johns Hopkins University.) 79 Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany. AP® EXAM TIP Every question on the AP® Psychology exam will reflect the fact that psychology is a science built on the tradition of Wundt and his laboratory. Correct test answers are based on what research has revealed, not on “common sense”! Psychology’s First Schools of Thought Flip it Video: structuralism vs. Functionalism Before long, this new science of psychology became organized into different branches, or schools of thought, each promoted by pioneering thinkers. These early schools included structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism, described here (with more on behaviorism in Modules 26–30), and two schools described in later modules: Gestalt psychology (Module 19) and psychoanalysis (Module 55). Structuralism Soon after receiving his Ph.D. in 1892, Wundt’s student Edward Bradford Titchener joined the Cornell University faculty and introduced structuralism. Much as chemists developed the periodic table to classify chemical elements, Titchener aimed to classify and understand elements of the mind’s structure. He engaged people in self-reflective introspection (looking inward), training them to report elements of their experience as they looked at a rose, listened to a metronome, smelled a scent, or tasted a substance. What were their immediate sensations, their images, their feelings? And how did these relate to one another? Alas, structuralism’s technique of introspection proved somewhat unreliable. It required smart, verbal people, and its results varied from person to person and experience to experience. Moreover, we often just don’t know why we feel what we feel and do what we do. Research suggests that people’s recollections 80 frequently err. So do their self-reports about what, for example, has caused them to help or hurt another (Myers, 2002). As introspection waned, so did structuralism. Edward Bradford Titchener (1867–1927) Titchener used introspection to search for the mind’s structural elements. structuralism an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind. introspection the process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one’s own psychological processes. Functionalism Hoping to assemble the mind’s structure from simple elements was rather like trying to understand a car by examining its disconnected parts. Philosopher-psychologist William James thought it would be more fruitful to consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings. Smelling is what the nose does; thinking is what the brain does. But why do the nose and brain do these things? Under the influence of evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, James assumed that thinking, like smelling, developed because it was adaptive—it helped our ancestors survive and reproduce. 81 Consciousness serves a function. It enables us to consider our past, adjust to our present, and plan our future. As a functionalist, James studied down-to-earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment-tomoment streams of consciousness. functionalism an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish. James’ greatest legacy, however, came less from his laboratory than from his Harvard teaching and his writing. When not plagued by ill health and depression, James was an impish, outgoing, and joyous man, who once recalled that “the first lecture on psychology I ever heard was the first I ever gave.” During one of his wise-cracking lectures, a student interrupted and asked him to get serious (Hunt, 1993). He loved his students, his family, and the world of ideas, but he tired of painstaking chores such as proofreading. “Send me no proofs!” he once told an editor. “I will return them unopened and never speak to you again” (Hunt, 1993, p. 145). William James (1842–1910) and Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930) James was a legendary teacher-writer who authored an important 1890 psychology text. He mentored Calkins, who became a pioneering memory researcher and the first woman to be president of the American Psychological 82 Association. James’ writings moved the publisher Henry Holt to offer James a contract for a textbook on the new science of psychology. James agreed and began work in 1878, with an apology for requesting two years to finish his writing. The text proved an unexpected chore and actually took him 12 years. (Why are we not surprised?) More than a century later, people still read the resulting Principles of Psychology (1890) and marvel at the brilliance and elegance with which James introduced psychology to the educated public. Psychology’s First Women James’ legacy stems from his Harvard mentoring as well as from his writing. In 1890, thirty years before American women had the right to vote, he admitted Mary Whiton Calkins into his graduate seminar—over the objections of Harvard’s president (Scarborough & Furumoto, 1987). When Calkins joined, the other students (all men) dropped out. So James tutored her alone. Later, she finished all of Harvard’s Ph.D. requirements, outscoring all the male students on the qualifying exams. Alas, Harvard denied her the degree she had earned, offering her instead a degree from Radcliffe College, its undergraduate “sister” school for women. Calkins resisted the unequal treatment and refused the degree. She nevertheless went on to become a distinguished memory researcher and in 1905 became the first female president of the American Psychological Association (APA)—a national organization of professional and academic psychologists. 83 Formerly male and pale Over the past half century, psychology has shifted from a mostly white, male discipline to one where women now receive most Ph.D.s. Pioneering female psychologists, such as Inez Beverly Prosser (the first African-American woman to receive a psychology Ph.D., in 1933) and Eleanor Gibson (the only woman in this photo from the 1964 Society of Experimental Psychologists—the group that had barred Margaret Floy Washburn), helped pave the way. In 1971, Kenneth Clark became the APA’s first African-American president, and psychology has since then increasingly flourished in diverse communities around the world. The honor of being the first official female psychology Ph.D. later fell to Margaret Floy Washburn, who also wrote an influential book, The Animal Mind, and became the second female APA president in 1921. Her thesis was the first foreign study Wundt published in his psychology journal, but Washburn’s gender barred doors for her, too. She could not join the all-male organization of experimental psychologists (who explore behavior and thinking with experiments), despite its being founded by Titchener, her own graduate adviser (Johnson, 1997). What a different world from the recent past—1997 to 2017—when women were 10 of the 20 elected presidents of the science-oriented Association for Psychological Science. In the United States, Canada, and Europe, most psychology doctorates are now earned by women. 84 Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–1939) The first woman to receive a psychology Ph.D., Washburn synthesized animal behavior research in The Animal Mind (1908). Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself How do you think psychology might change in the future as more women contribute their ideas to the field? Test Yourself What event defined the start of modern scientific psychology? Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works? The school of ______________ used introspection to define the mind’s makeup; ______________ focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 85 Psychological Science Matures 1–6 How did behaviorism, Freudian psychology, and humanistic psychology further the development of psychological science? In psychology’s early days, many psychologists shared with the English essayist C. S. Lewis the view that “there is one thing, and only one in the whole universe which we know more about than we could learn from external observation.” That one thing, Lewis said, is ourselves. “We have, so to speak, inside information” (1960, pp. 18–19). Wundt and Titchener focused on inner sensations, images, and feelings. James also engaged in introspective examination of the stream of consciousness and of emotion. For these and other early pioneers, psychology was defined as “the science of mental life.” AP® EXAM TIP There are lots of important people in psychology. As you study, focus on the significance of their accomplishments. You are more likely to be tested on what a finding means than who discovered it. Behaviorism That definition endured until the 1920s, when the first of two provocative American psychologists appeared on the scene. John B. Watson, and later B. F. Skinner, dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior.” After all, they said, science is rooted in observation: What you cannot observe and measure, you cannot scientifically study. You cannot observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought, but you can observe and record people’s behavior as they are conditioned—as they respond to and learn in different situations. Many agreed, and behaviorism was one of two major forces in psychology well into the 1960s. 86 behaviorism the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). Freudian (Psychoanalytic) Psychology The other major force was Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic psychology, which emphasized the ways our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior. (In later modules, we’ll look more closely at Freud’s teachings, including his theory of personality and his views on unconscious sexual conflicts and the mind’s defenses against its own wishes and impulses.) John B. Watson (1878–1958) and Rosalie Rayner (1898–1935) Working with Rayner, Watson championed psychology as the scientific study of behavior. In a controversial study on a baby who became famous as “Little Albert,” he and Rayner showed that fear could be learned. (More about this in Module 26.) 87 B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) This leading behaviorist rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) The controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced humanity’s self-understanding. Humanistic Psychology As the behaviorists had rejected the early 1900’s definition of psychology, other groups rejected the behaviorist definition. In the 1960s, humanistic psychologists, led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, found both behaviorism and Freudian psychology too limiting. Rather than focusing on conditioned responses or childhood memories, the humanistic psychologists focused on our potential for personal growth. (More about the humanistic psychologists in Module 57.) humanistic psychology a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential. 88 Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Before this course, how would you have characterized the influence of Freudian theories in psychology? Would you have placed this influence in a historical or modern context? Test Yourself From the 1920s to the 1960s, the two major forces in psychology were ______________ and ______________ psychology. Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 89 Module 1 REVIEW 1-1 How is psychology a science, and why is it the “rat is always right”? Psychology’s findings are the result of careful observation and testing, and the so-called “rat” (as in a psychologist’s maze, for example) is always right, because the facts are the facts even when we find them surprising. 1-2 What are the three key elements of the scientific attitude, and how do they support scientific inquiry? The scientific attitude equips us to be curious, skeptical, and humble in scrutinizing competing ideas or our own observations. 1-3 How does critical thinking feed a scientific attitude, and smarter thinking for everyday life? Critical thinking puts ideas to the test by examining assumptions, appraising the source, discerning hidden biases, evaluating evidence, and assessing conclusions. 1-4 How did psychology develop from early understandings of mind and body to the beginnings of modern science? The ancient Greeks—Plato and Aristotle—pondered whether mind and body are connected or distinct, and whether human ideas are innate or result from experience. Descartes and Locke reengaged those ancient debates, with Locke offering his famous description of the mind as a “blank slate” on which experience writes. The ideas of Bacon and Locke contributed to the development of modern empiricism. 90 1-5 What were some important milestones in psychology’s early development? Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychological laboratory in 1879 in Germany. Two early schools of thought in psychology were structuralism and functionalism. Structuralism, promoted by Wundt and Titchener, used self-reflection to learn about the mind’s structure. Functionalism, promoted by James, explored how behavior and thinking function. 1-6 How did behaviorism, Freudian psychology, and humanistic psychology further the development of psychological science? Early researchers defined psychology as “the science of mental life.” In the 1920s, under the influence of John B. Watson and the behaviorists, the field’s focus changed to the “scientific study of observable behavior.” Behaviorism became one of psychology’s two major forces well into the 1960s. The second major force of Freudian psychology, along with the influence of humanistic psychology, revived interest in the study of mental processes. Multiple-Choice Questions 1 1. By seeking to measure “atoms of the mind,” who established the first psychology laboratory? a. Edward Bradford Titchener b. Margaret Floy Washburn c. Wilhelm Wundt d. G. Stanley Hall e. William James 2. Which philosopher proposed that nerve pathways allowed for reflexes? 91 a. Socrates b. René Descartes c. John Locke d. Aristotle e. Plato 3. Who coined the term tabula rasa (blank slate) to help explain the impact experience has on shaping an individual? a. Francis Bacon b. René Descartes c. Edward Bradford Titchener d. Mary Whiton Calkins e. John Locke 4. Which of the following best describes research typical of Wilhelm Wundt’s first psychology laboratory? a. Testing ESP using a wall to observe auras above participants’ head b. Using a brain-scanning device to determine the impact events have on brain function c. Measuring the reaction time between hearing a sound and pressing a button d. Studying helping behavior, based on the premise that people are good e. Making careful observations of animal spirits 5. With which of the following statements would John B. Watson most likely agree? a. Psychology should study the growth potential in all people. b. Psychology should study the unconscious mind. c. Psychology should focus on observable behavior. d. Psychology should study mental thought processes. e. Psychology should study how culture and beliefs impact an individual. Practice FRQs 92 1. Explain why each of the following people were significant in the history of psychology: William James Mary Whiton Calkins Margaret Floy Washburn Answer 1 point: William James was a key proponent of the functionalist school of thought. He authored the first psychology textbook and courageously mentored Mary Whiton Calkins. Page 8 1 point: Mary Whiton Calkins was the first woman to complete the work necessary for a psychology Ph.D. (from Harvard), though she was denied that degree due to her gender. She was a distinguished memory researcher and was the first female president of the American Psychological Association (APA). Page 8 1 point: Margaret Floy Washburn earned the first official psychology Ph.D. She wrote an influential book, The Animal Mind, and was the second female president of the APA. Page 9 2. Analyze how curiosity, skepticism, and humility enable you to distinguish between gut intuition (feeling like you know something) and the scientific attitude (seeking to verify what you know with evidence). (3 points) AP® EXAM TIP FRQ stands for “Free-Response Question.” The AP® exam contains two of these essay-style questions, which count for one-third of your final score. The actual FRQs will be complex, requiring you to integrate knowledge from across multiple modules, like the practice questions you will find at the end of each 93 unit in this text. These simpler “Practice FRQs” that appear at the end of each module, along with a sample grading rubric, will help you get started practicing this skill. 94 Module 2 Today’s Psychology and Its Approaches LEARNING TARGETS 2-1 Describe how contemporary psychology focuses on cognition, biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing. 2-2 Describe the biopsychosocial approach and psychology’s main theoretical perspectives. 2-3 Explain how psychological principles can help you learn, remember, and thrive, and do better on the AP® exam. 95 Contemporary Psychology 2-1 How has contemporary psychology focused on cognition, biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing? Simultaneous with humanistic psychology’s emergence, psychologists in the 1960s pioneered a cognitive revolution. This led the field back to its early interest in cognition—how our mind processes and retains information. Cognitive psychology today continues its scientific exploration of how we perceive, process, and remember information and of how thinking and emotion interact in anxiety, depression, and other disorders. The marriage of cognitive psychology (the science of mind) and neuroscience (the science of brain) gave birth to cognitive neuroscience. This specialty, with researchers in many disciplines, studies the brain activity underlying mental activity. cognitive psychology the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems. cognitive neuroscience the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language). Today’s psychology builds on the work of many earlier scientists and schools of thought. To encompass psychology’s concern with observable behavior and with inner thoughts and feelings, we now define psychology as the science of behavior and mental processes. Let’s unpack this definition. Behavior is anything an organism does—any action we can observe and record. Yelling, smiling, blinking, sweating, talking, and questionnaire marking are all observable behaviors. Mental processes are 96 the internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior—sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. psychology the science of behavior and mental processes. The key word in psychology’s definition is science. Psychology is less a set of findings than a way of asking and answering questions. Our aim, then, is not merely to report results but also to show you how psychologists play their game. You will see how researchers evaluate conflicting opinions and ideas. And you will learn how all of us, whether scientists or simply curious people, can think harder and smarter when experiencing and explaining the events of our lives. Psychology has roots in many disciplines and countries. The young science of psychology developed from the more established fields of philosophy and biology. Wundt was both a philosopher and a physiologist. James was an American philosopher. Freud was an Austrian physician. Ivan Pavlov, who pioneered the study of learning, was a Russian physiologist. Jean Piaget, the last century’s most influential observer of children, was a Swiss biologist. These “Magellans of the mind,” as psychology historian Morton Hunt (1993) called them, illustrate the diversity of psychology’s origins. Like those pioneers, today’s estimated 1+ million psychologists are citizens of many lands (Zoma & Gielen, 2015). The International Union of Psychological Science has 82 member nations, from Albania to Zimbabwe. In China, the first university psychology department was established in 1978; by 2016 there were some 270, not counting AP® Psychology courses now taught in some secondary schools (Zhang, 2016). Moreover, thanks to international publications, joint meetings, and the Internet, collaboration and communication cross borders more than ever. Psychology is growing, and it is globalizing. The story of psychology—the subject of this book—continues to develop in many places, at many levels, 97 with interests ranging from the study of nerve cell activity to the study of international conflicts. Contemporary psychology, shaped by many forces, is particularly influenced by our understanding of biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing. Evolutionary Psychology and Behavior Genetics Are our human traits inherited, or do they develop through experience? This has been psychology’s biggest and most persistent issue. As we have seen, the debate over the nature–nurture issue is ancient. The ancient Greeks debated this, with Socrates and Plato assuming that we inherit character and intelligence and that certain ideas are also inborn, and Aristotle countering that there is nothing in the mind that does not first come in from the external world through the senses. nature–nurture issue the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture. In the 1600s, philosophers rekindled the debate. Locke rejected the notion of inborn ideas, suggesting that the mind is a blank slate on which experience writes. Descartes disagreed, believing that some ideas are innate. Descartes’ views gained support from a curious naturalist two centuries later. AP® EXAM TIP Pay close attention to what your authors, David Myers and Nathan DeWall, are emphasizing as they tell the story of psychology. When they say the nature– nurture issue is the biggest issue in psychology, that’s a sign that it’s likely to be 98 covered on the AP® exam. In 1831, an indifferent student but ardent collector of beetles, mollusks, and shells set sail on a historic round-the-world journey. The 22- year-old voyager, Charles Darwin, pondered the incredible species variation he encountered, including tortoises on one island that differed from those on nearby islands. Darwin’s 1859 On the Origin of Species explained this diversity by proposing the evolutionary process of natural selection: From among chance variations, nature selects traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. Darwin’s principle of natural selection—what philosopher Daniel Dennett (1996) has called “the single best idea anyone has ever had”—is still with us 150+ years later as biology’s organizing principle. Evolution also has become an important principle for twenty-first-century psychology. This would surely have pleased Darwin, who believed his theory explained not only animal structures (such as a polar bear’s white coat) but also animal behaviors (such as the emotional expressions associated with human lust and rage). Charles Darwin (1809–1882) Darwin argued that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies. natural selection the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and 99 reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. The nature–nurture issue recurs throughout this text as today’s psychologists explore the relative contributions of biology and experience. They ask, for example, how are we humans alike because of our common biology and evolutionary history? That’s the focus of evolutionary psychology. And how do we individually differ because of our differing genes and environments? That’s the focus of behavior genetics. A nature-made nature–nurture experiment Identical twins (left) have the same genes. This makes them ideal participants in studies designed to shed light on hereditary and environmental influences on personality, intelligence, and other traits. Fraternal twins (right) have different genes but often share a similar environment. Twin studies provide a wealth of findings—described in later modules—showing the importance of both nature and nurture. evolutionary psychology the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection. behavior genetics the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. 100 We can, for example, ask: Are gender differences biologically predisposed or socially constructed? Is children’s grammar mostly innate or formed by experience? How are intelligence and personality differences influenced by heredity and by environment? Are sexual behaviors more “pushed” by inner biology or “pulled” by external incentives? Should we treat psychological disorders—depression, for example—as disorders of the brain, disorders of thought, or both? Such debates continue. Yet over and again we will see that in contemporary science the nature–nurture tension dissolves: Nurture works on what nature provides. Our species is biologically endowed with an enormous capacity to learn and adapt. Moreover, every psychological event (every thought, every emotion) is simultaneously a biological event. Thus, depression can be both a brain disorder and a thought disorder. Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Think of one of your own unique traits. How do you think that trait was affected by the influences of nature and nurture? Test Yourself How did the cognitive revolution affect the field of psychology? What is natural selection? What is contemporary psychology’s position on the nature–nurture issue? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. Cross-Cultural and Gender Psychology What can we learn about people in general from psychological studies done in one time and place—often with participants from what psychologists have called the WEIRD cultures (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic [Henrich et al., 2010])? As we will see time and again, culture—shared ideas and behaviors that one generation passes on to the next—matters. Our culture shapes our 101 behavior. It influences our standards of promptness and frankness, our attitudes toward premarital sex and varying body shapes, our tendency to be casual or formal, our willingness to make eye contact, our conversational distance, and much, much more. Being aware of such differences, we can restrain our assumptions that others will think and act as we do. culture the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. Culture and kissing Kissing crosses cultures. Yet how we do it varies. Imagine yourself kissing someone on the lips. Do you tilt your head right or left? In Western cultures, in which people read from left to right, about two-thirds of couples kiss right, as in William and Kate’s famous kiss, and in Auguste Rodin’s sculpture, The Kiss. In one study, 77 percent of Hebrew- and Arabic-language right-to-left readers kissed tilting left (Shaki, 2013). It is also true, however, that our shared biological heritage unites us as a universal human family. The same underlying processes guide people everywhere. Some examples: People diagnosed with specific learning disorder (formerly called 102 dyslexia) exhibit the same brain malfunction whether they are Italian, French, or British (Paulesu et al., 2001). Variation in languages may impede communication across cultures. Yet all languages share deep principles of grammar, and people from opposite global hemispheres can communicate with a smile or a frown. People in different cultures vary in feelings of loneliness (Lykes & Kemmelmeier, 2014). But across cultures, loneliness is magnified by shyness, low self-esteem, and being unmarried (Jones et al., 1985; Rokach et al., 2002). “ All people are the same; only their habits differ.” Confucius, 551–479 B.C.E. We are each in certain respects like all others, like some others, and like no other. Studying people of all races and cultures helps us discern our similarities and our differences, our human kinship and our diversity. You will see throughout this book that one’s socially defined gender (as well as one’s biologically defined sex) matters, too. Today’s researchers report gender differences in what we dream, in how we express and detect emotions, and in our risk for alcohol use disorder, depression, and eating disorders. Gender differences fascinate us, and studying them is potentially beneficial. For example, many researchers have observed that women carry on conversations more readily to build relationships, while men talk more to give information and advice (Tannen, 2001). Understanding these differences can help us prevent conflicts and misunderstandings in everyday interactions. But again, psychologically as well as biologically, women and men are overwhelmingly similar. Whether female or male, we learn to walk at about the same age. We experience the same sensations of light and sound. We remember vivid emotional events and forget mundane details. We feel the same pangs of hunger, desire, and fear. We exhibit similar overall intelligence and well-being. The point to remember: Even when specific attitudes and behaviors 103 vary by gender or across cultures, as they often do, the underlying processes are much the same. Positive Psychology Psychology’s first hundred years often focused on understanding and treating troubles, such as abuse and anxiety, depression and disease, prejudice and poverty. Much of today’s psychology continues the exploration of such challenges. Without slighting the need to repair damage and cure disease, Martin Seligman and others (2002, 2005, 2011) have called for more research on human flourishing. These psychologists call their approach positive psychology. They believe that happiness is a by-product of a pleasant, engaged, and meaningful life. Thus, positive psychology uses scientific methods to explore the building of a “good life” that engages our skills and a “meaningful life” that points beyond ourselves. positive psychology the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive. 104 The Biopsychosocial Approach and Psychology’s Theoretical Perspectives 2-2 What is the biopsychosocial approach, and what are psychology’s main theoretical perspectives? Each of us is a complex system that is part of a larger social system. But each of us is also composed of smaller systems, such as our nervous system and body organs, which are composed of still smaller systems— cells, molecules, and atoms. These tiered systems offer complementary outlooks. Consider horrific school shootings. Have they occurred because the shooters have brain disorders or genetic tendencies that cause them to be violent? Because they have observed brutality and mayhem in the media or played violent video games? Because they live in a gun-toting society? Such perspectives are complementary. Together, the biological, psychological, and socialcultural viewpoints form an integrated biopsychosocial approach (Figure 2.1). biopsychosocial approach an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and socialcultural viewpoints. 105 Figure 2.1 Biopsychosocial approach This integrated approach incorporates three viewpoints to offer a more complete picture of any given behavior or mental process. AP® EXAM TIP You will see versions of Figure 2.1 throughout the text. Spend some time right now familiarizing yourself with how the figure’s three viewpoints might contribute to behavior or mental processes, the very stuff of psychology. Within this broad approach, psychology has more focused theoretical perspectives. Each offers a way of looking at a behavior or mental process, 106 yet each by itself is incomplete. Each theoretical perspective described in Table 2.1 asks different questions and has its limits. Together they complement one another. Consider, for example, how they shed light on anger: Someone working from the behavioral perspective might attempt to determine what triggers angry responses or aggressive acts. Someone working from the biological perspective might study brain circuits that cause us to be red in the face and “hot under the collar,” or how heredity and experience influence our individual differences in temperament. Someone working from the cognitive perspective might study how our interpretation of a situation affects our anger and how our anger affects our thinking. Someone working from the evolutionary perspective might analyze how anger facilitated the survival of our ancestors’ genes. Someone working from the humanistic perspective (a historically important approach defined earlier in this unit) might be interested in understanding how angry feelings affect a person’s potential for growth. As we will see, modern-day positive psychology incorporates humanistic psychology’s emphasis on human flourishing. Someone working from the psychodynamic perspective (which evolved from Freud’s psychoanalysis) might view an outburst as an outlet for unconscious hostility. Someone working from the social-cultural perspective might explore how expressions of anger vary across cultural contexts. TABLE 2.1 Psychology’s Theoretical Perspectives Perspective Focus Sample Questions Behavioral How we learn observable responses How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, for example, to lose weight? 107 Biological How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences How do pain messages travel from the hand to the brain? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives? To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression products of our genes? Of our environment? Cognitive How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Solving problems? Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes How does evolution influence behavior tendencies? Humanistic How we achieve personal growth and self-fulfillment How can we work toward fulfilling our potential? How can we overcome barriers to our personal growth? Psychodynamic How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained by unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas? Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures How are we affected by the people around us, and by our surrounding culture? behavioral psychology the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning. biological psychology the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. (Some biological psychologists call themselves 108 behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists.) psychodynamic psychology a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders. social-cultural psychology the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking. AP® EXAM TIP These perspectives will come up again and again throughout your AP® Psychology course, and they likely will be on the exam. You need to become very comfortable with the meaning of terms such as behavioral, cognitive, and psychodynamic. Ask your teacher for clarification if you are the least bit unclear about what the perspectives mean. The point to remember: Like two-dimensional views of a threedimensional object, each of psychology’s perspectives is helpful. But each by itself fails to reveal the whole picture. With perspectives ranging from the biological to the social, psychology relates to many fields. As we will see in Module 3, psychologists may be found in settings ranging from the laboratory to the clinic to the office. They may teach in medical schools, law schools, and high schools, or work in hospitals, factories, and corporate offices. They engage in interdisciplinary studies, such as psychohistory (the study of people’s historical motivations), psycholinguistics (the study of language and thinking), and psychoceramics (the study of crackpots). 1 109 Views of anger How would each of psychology’s theoretical perspectives explain what’s going on here? Psychology also influences modern culture. Knowledge transforms us. Learning about the solar system and the germ theory of disease alters the way people think and act. Learning about psychology’s findings also changes people: They less often judge psychological disorders as moral failings, treatable by punishment and ostracism. They less often regard and treat women as men’s mental inferiors. They less often view and raise children as ignorant, willful beasts in need of taming. “In each case,” noted Morton Hunt (1990, p. 206), “knowledge has modified attitudes, and, through them, behavior.” Once aware of psychology’s well-researched ideas—about how body and mind connect, how a child’s mind grows, how we construct our perceptions, how we learn and remember, how people across the world are alike (and different)—your mind may never again be quite the same. “ Once expanded to the dimensions of a larger idea, [the mind] never returns to its original size.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1809–1894 But bear in mind psychology’s limits. Don’t expect it to answer the ultimate questions, such as those posed by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1904): “Why should I live? Why should I do anything? Is there in life any purpose which the inevitable death that awaits me does not undo and 110 destroy?” Although many of life’s significant questions are beyond psychology, some very important ones are illuminated by even a first psychology course. Through painstaking research, psychologists have gained insights into brain and mind, dreams and memories, depression and joy. Even the unanswered questions can renew our sense of mystery about things we do not yet understand. And, as you will see in Modules 4–8, your study of psychology can help teach you how to ask and answer important questions as you evaluate competing ideas and claims. Psychology deepens our appreciation for how we humans perceive, think, feel, and act. By so doing it can enrich our lives and enlarge our vision. Through this book we hope to help guide you toward that end. As educator Charles Eliot said a century ago: “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends, and the most patient of teachers.” Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself How have your cultural experiences influenced your development? When you signed up for this course, what did you think psychology would be all about? Test Yourself What advantage do we gain by using the biopsychosocial approach in studying psychological events? The___________ ___________ perspective in psychology focuses on how behavior and thought differ from situation to situation and from culture to culture, while the ______________ perspective emphasizes observation of how we respond to and learn in different situations. Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 111 Use Psychology to Become a Stronger Person—and a Better Student 2-3 How can psychological principles help you learn, remember, and thrive, and do better on the AP® exam? Throughout this text, we will offer evidence-based suggestions that you can use to live a happy, effective, flourishing life, including the following: Get a full night’s sleep. Unlike sleep-deprived people, who live with fatigue and gloomy moods, well-rested people live with greater energy, alertness, and productivity. Make space for exercise. Aerobic activity not only increases health and energy, it also is an effective remedy for mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Set long-term goals, with daily aims. Successful people take time each day to work toward their goals, such as exercising or sleeping more, or eating more healthfully. Over time, they often find that their daily practice becomes a habit. Have a “growth mindset.” Rather than seeing their abilities as fixed, successful people view their mental abilities as like a muscle— something that grows stronger with effortful use. Prioritize relationships. We humans are social animals. We flourish when connected in close relationships. We are both happier and healthier when supported by (and supporting) caring friends. Psychology’s research also shows how we can learn and retain information. Many students assume that the way to cement new learning is to reread. What helps even more—and what this book therefore encourages—is repeated self-testing and rehearsal of previously studied material. Memory researchers Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke (2006) call this phenomenon the testing effect. They note that “testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it.” In one of their studies, English-speaking students recalled the meaning of 40 112 previously learned Swahili words much better if tested repeatedly than if they spent the same time restudying the words (Karpicke & Roediger, 2008). Many other studies, including in college classrooms, confirm that frequent quizzing and self-testing boosts students’ retention (McDaniel et al., 2015; Trumbo et al., 2016). testing effect enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning. As you will see in Modules 31–33, to master information you must actively process it. Your mind is not like your stomach, something to be filled passively; it grows stronger only with effort. Countless experiments reveal that people learn and remember best when they put material in their own words, rehearse it, and then retrieve and review it again. The SQ3R study method incorporates these principles (McDaniel et al., 2009; Robinson, 1970). SQ3R is an acronym for its five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, 2 Review. We have organized this book in a way that facilitates your use of the SQ3R study system. SQ3R a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review. To study a module, first survey, taking a bird’s-eye view. Scan the headings, and notice how the module is organized. Before you read each main section, try to answer its numbered Learning Target (for this section: “How can psychological principles help you learn, remember, and thrive, and do better on the AP® exam?”). Roediger and Bridgid Finn (2010) have found that “trying and failing to retrieve the answer is actually helpful to learning.” Those who test their understanding before reading, and discover 113 what they don’t yet know, will learn and remember better. Then read, actively searching for the answer to the question. At each sitting, read only as much of the module (usually a single main section) as you can absorb without tiring. Read actively and critically. Ask questions. Take notes. Make the ideas your own: How does what you’ve read relate to your own life? Does it support or challenge your assumptions? How convincing is the evidence? “ It pays better to wait and recollect by an effort from within, than to look at the book again.” William James, Principles of Psychology, 1890 Having read a section, retrieve its main ideas: “Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning,” says Karpicke (2012). So test yourself. This will not only help you figure out what you know, the testing itself will help you learn and retain the information more effectively. Even better, test yourself repeatedly. We offer many self-testing opportunities throughout each module—for example, in the Check Your Understanding sections. After answering the Test Yourself questions there, you can check your answers in Appendix E at the end of this text and reread as needed. More learning tips To learn more about the testing effect and the SQ3R method, view the 5-minute animation “Make Things Memorable,” at tinyurl.com/HowToRemember. Finally, review: Read over any notes you have taken, again with an eye on the module’s organization, and quickly review the whole module. Write 114 or say what a concept is before rereading to check your understanding. The Module Review provides answers to the learning target questions along with helpful review questions. The Unit Review offers Key Terms and Key Contributors, along with AP® Exam Practice Questions. In addition to learning psychology’s key concepts and key people, you will also need to learn the style of writing that is required for success on the exam. The sample grading rubrics provided for some of the Free-Response Questions (essay-style questions) in the module and unit reviews will help get you started. Four additional study tips may further boost your learning: Distribute your study time. One of psychology’s oldest findings is that spaced practice promotes better retention than massed practice. You’ll remember material better if you space your time over several study periods —perhaps one hour a day, six days a week—rather than cram it into one week-long or all-night study blitz. For example, rather than trying to read an entire module in a single sitting, read just one main section and then turn to something else. Interleaving your study of psychology with your study of other subjects boosts long-term retention and protects against overconfidence (Kornell & Bjork, 2008; Taylor & Rohrer, 2010). Spacing your study sessions requires a disciplined approach to managing your time. At the beginning of this text, Richard O. Straub explains time management in a helpful preface. Learn to think critically. Whether you are reading or in class, note people’s assumptions and values. What viewpoint or bias underlies an argument? Evaluate evidence. Is it anecdotal? Or is it based on informative experiments? (More on this in Module 6.) Assess conclusions. Are there alternative explanations? Process class information actively. Listen for the main ideas and sub-ideas of a lesson. Write them down. Ask questions during and after class. In class, as with your homework, process the information actively, and you will understand and retain it better. As psychologist William James urged a 115 century ago, “No reception without reaction, no impression without . . . expression.” Make the information your own. Relate what you read to what you already know. Tell someone else about it. (As any teacher will confirm, to teach is to remember.) Also, take notes by hand. Handwritten notes, in your own words, typically engage more active processing, with better retention, than does verbatim note taking on laptops (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). Overlearn. Psychology tells us that overlearning improves retention. We are prone to overestimating how much we know. You may understand a module as you read it, but that feeling of familiarity can be deceptively comforting. By using the Check Your Understanding questions, you can test your knowledge and overlearn in the process. Memory experts Elizabeth Bjork and Robert Bjork (2011) offer simple, scientifically-supported advice for how to improve your retention and your grades: Spend less time on the input side and more time on the output side, such as summarizing what you have read from memory or getting together with friends and asking each other questions. Any activities that involve testing yourself—that is, activities that require you to retrieve or generate information, rather than just representing information to yourself—will make your learning both more durable and flexible. (p. 63) Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Of all of these helpful principles, which ones seem most relevant and important for improving your own life and studies? Test Yourself The _____________ _____________ describes the enhanced memory that results from repeated retrieval (as in self-testing) rather than from simple 116 rereading of new information. What does the acronym SQ3R stand for? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 117 Module 2 REVIEW 2-1 How has contemporary psychology focused on cognition, biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing? The cognitive revolution in the 1960s led psychology back to its early interest in the mind, and its current definition as the science of behavior and mental processes. Our growing understanding of biology and experience has fed psychology’s most enduring debate. The nature–nurture issue centers on the relative contributions of genes and experience, and their interaction in specific environments. Charles Darwin’s view that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies led to evolutionary psychology’s study of our similarities because of our common biology and evolutionary history, and behavior genetics’ focus on the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. Cross-cultural and gender studies have diversified psychology’s assumptions while also reminding us of our similarities. Attitudes and behaviors may vary somewhat by gender or across cultures, but because of our shared human kinship, the underlying processes and principles are more similar than different. Psychology’s traditional focus on understanding and treating troubles has expanded with positive psychology’s call for more research on human flourishing and its attempt to discover and promote traits that help people to thrive. 2-2 What is the biopsychosocial approach, and what are psychology’s main theoretical perspectives? The biopsychosocial approach integrates information from three 118 differing but complementary viewpoints: biological, psychological, and social-cultural. This approach offers a more complete understanding than could usually be reached by relying on only one of psychology’s theoretical perspectives (behavioral, biological, cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic, psychodynamic, and social-cultural). 2-3 How can psychological principles help you learn, remember, and thrive, and do better on the AP® exam? The testing effect shows that learning and memory are enhanced by actively retrieving, rather than simply rereading, previously studied material. The SQ3R study method—survey, question, read, retrieve, and review— applies principles derived from memory research and can help you learn and remember material. Four additional study tips are (1) distribute your study time, (2) learn to think critically, (3) process class information actively, and (4) overlearn. Psychological research has shown that people who live happy, thriving lives (1) manage their time to get a full night’s sleep, (2) make space for exercise, (3) have a growth mindset, and (4) prioritize relationships. Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Which of the following is a major issue in modern-day psychology? a. Evolutionary–biological b. Social-cultural–biopsychosocial c. Nature–nurture d. Psychodynamic–cognitive e. Social-cultural–behavioral 2. Which of the following perspectives is most likely to address how the encoding, storing, and retrieval of information might alter our thoughts? 119 a. Evolutionary b. Psychodynamic c. Humanistic d. Cognitive e. Biological 3. Which of the following perspectives would be most likely to examine the unconscious motives of a person who is overly aggressive on the basketball court? a. Psychodynamic b. Social-cultural c. Behavioral d. Evolutionary e. Humanistic 4. Positive psychology, which studies the ideas behind human flourishing, is connected to which psychologist? a. John Locke b. Martin Seligman c. Charles Darwin d. Sigmund Freud e. John Watson Practice FRQs 1. At the end of this course, you will probably be taking the AP® Psychology exam. Explain how you could use the following concepts to help you succeed on that test. Testing effect Spaced practice SQ3R Answer 1 point: Testing effect: Students should frequently test themselves, over 120 the course of the year, on the material they are currently learning as well as the material they have already learned. Page 20 1 point: Spaced practice: Studying should be spaced out over the entire span of the course and not crammed into the last days or hours before the AP® exam. Page 21 1 point: SQ3R: Students should use the Survey-Question-ReadRetrieve-Review method in order to most effectively learn the material for the entire course. This will allow them to process the information on a deeper level and retain it better over the course of the year. Page 20 2. Six months ago, Carlos emigrated from Mexico to the United States. Although fluent in English and an honor student in Mexico, Carlos has had difficulty completing his assignments since moving to the United States. His parents don’t understand why he is not succeeding like he did in his last school. Carlos has quit participating in family traditions. Explain how each of the following psychological perspectives might explain Carlos’ behavior: Psychodynamic Cognitive Social-cultural (3 points) 121 Module 3 Subfields in Psychology LEARNING TARGETS 3-1 Explain the difference between basic and applied psychology. 3-2 Describe what psychologists working in various subfields do, and where they work. Picturing a chemist at work, you may envision a laboratory scientist surrounded by test tubes and high-tech equipment. Picture a psychologist at work and you would be right to envision a white-coated scientist probing a rat’s brain. an intelligence researcher measuring how quickly an infant shows boredom by looking away from a familiar picture. an executive evaluating a new “healthy lifestyles” training program for employees. a researcher at a computer analyzing “big data” from Twitter or Facebook status updates. a therapist actively listening to a depressed client’s thoughts. a traveling academic visiting another culture and collecting data on variations in human values and behaviors. a teacher or writer sharing the joy of psychology with others. 122 “I’m a social scientist, Michael. That means I can’t explain electricity or anything like that, but if you ever want to know about people I’m your man.” The cluster of subfields we call psychology is a meeting ground for different disciplines. “Psychology is a hub scientific discipline,” said Association for Psychological Science past president John Cacioppo (2007). Thus, it’s a perfect home for those with wide-ranging interests. 123 Basic and Applied Psychology 3-1 What is the difference between basic and applied psychology? In its diverse activities, from biological experimentation to cultural comparisons, the tribe of psychology is united by a common quest: describing and explaining behavior and the mind underlying it. There is even a branch of psychology, called psychometrics, devoted to studying the measurement of our abilities, attitudes, and traits. psychometrics the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits. Some psychologists conduct basic research that builds psychology’s knowledge base. We will meet a wide variety of such researchers, including biological psychologists exploring the links between body and mind. developmental psychologists studying our changing abilities from womb to tomb. cognitive psychologists experimenting with how we perceive, think, and solve problems. educational psychologists studying influences on teaching and learning. personality psychologists investigating our persistent traits. social psychologists exploring how we view and affect one another. basic research pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. developmental psychology a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change 124 throughout the life span. educational psychology the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning. personality psychology the study of individuals’ characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. social psychology the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. Psychology: A science and a profession Psychologists experiment with, observe, test, and help modify behavior. Here we see psychologists testing a child, measuring emotion-related physiology, and doing face-to-face therapy. These and other psychologists also may conduct applied research, tackling practical problems. Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists, for example, use psychology’s concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems. In a related subfield , human factors psychologists focus on the interaction of people, machines, and physical environments. (More on this subject in Enrichment Module 82.) applied research scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. 125 industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces. human factors psychology a field of psychology allied with I/O psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use. Psychology is a science but also a helping profession that guides people toward healthier relationships, overcoming anxiety or depression, and raising thriving children. Counseling psychologists help people to cope with challenges and crises (including academic, vocational, and relationship issues) and to improve their personal and social functioning. Clinical psychologists assess and treat people with mental, emotional, and behavior disorders. Both counseling and clinical psychologists administer and interpret tests, provide counseling and therapy, and sometimes conduct basic and applied research. By contrast, psychiatrists, who also may provide psychotherapy, are medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs and otherwise treat physical causes of psychological disorders. counseling psychology a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being. clinical psychology a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders. psychiatry a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who are licensed to provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy. 126 We will study the history of therapy, including the role of pioneer Dorothea Dix, in the Therapy unit. Reformers such as Dix and Philippe Pinel led the way to humane treatment of those with psychological disorders. Dorothea Dix (1802–1887) “I . . . call your attention to the state of the Insane Persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages.” AP® EXAM TIP Take careful note of the fact that psychiatry is a medical specialty. You should be able to summarize the similarities and differences among counseling psychologists, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists for the AP® exam. Rather than seeking to change people to fit their environment, community psychologists work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all (Bradshaw et al., 2009; Trickett, 2009). To prevent bullying, for example, they might consider ways to improve the culture of the school and neighborhood, and how to increase bystander intervention (Polanin et al., 2012). community psychology a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and Psychology’s Main Subfields 3-2 What do psychologists working in various subfields do, and where do they work? If you major in psychology in college, you will graduate with a scientific mindset and an awareness of basic principles of human behavior (biological mechanisms, nature–nurture interactions, life-span development, cognition, psychological disorders, social interactions). This background will prepare you for success in many areas, including business, the helping professions, health services, marketing, law, sales, and teaching. You may even go on to graduate school for specialized training to become a psychology professional. This module provides an overview of some of psychology’s key subfields. Appendix D, Preparing for Further Psychology Studies, provides tips for preparing to earn a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in psychology, with information about the career options that become available at those varying levels of education. FYI The “Basic Research Subfields,” “Applied Research Subfields,” and “The Helping Professions” sections were written by Jennifer Zwolinski (University of San Diego). Let’s look at some of the basic research, applied research, and helping profession subfields (arranged alphabetically), most of which require a graduate degree for entrance. AP® EXAM TIP You are about to read about a lot of career possibilities in psychology. Note the division between basic subfields and applied subfields. The work of some of 129 these specialties is pretty obvious (it’s not that hard to figure out in general what an educational psychologist or a health psychologist might do). Questions about psychology’s specialties have previously been on the AP® exam. Devote extra attention to those specialties that may be unfamiliar to you. Basic Research Subfields COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGISTS study human thinking, with a focus on such topics as perception, language, attention, problem solving, memory, judgment and decision making, forgetting, and intelligence. As a cognitive psychologist, you might work as a professor, corporate consultant, or human factors specialist in an educational or business setting. Cognitive consulting Cognitive psychologists may advise businesses on how to operate more effectively by understanding the human factors involved. DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS conduct research on age-related behavioral changes and apply their scientific knowledge to educational, child-care, policy, and related settings. As a developmental psychologist, you would investigate change across a broad range of topics, including the 130 biological, psychological, cognitive, and social aspects of development. Developmental psychology informs a number of applied fields, including educational psychology, school psychology, child psychopathology, and gerontology. The field also informs public policy in areas such as education and child-care reform, maternal and child health, and attachment and adoption. You would probably specialize in a specific stage of the life span, such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, or middle or late adulthood. Your work setting could be an educational institution, day-care center, youth group program, or senior center. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS are interested in the psychological processes involved in learning. They study the relationship between learning and the physical and social environments, and they develop strategies for enhancing the learning process. As an educational psychologist, working in a university psychology department or school of education, you might conduct basic research on topics related to learning or develop innovative methods of teaching to enhance the learning process. You might design effective tests, including measures of aptitude and achievement. You might be employed by a school or government agency or charged with designing and implementing effective employeetraining programs in a business setting. EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS are a diverse group of scientists who investigate a variety of basic behavioral processes in humans and other animals. Prominent areas of experimental research include motivation, learning, perception, and language. Most experimental psychologists identify with a particular theoretical perspective, such as cognitive psychology, depending on their interests and training. Many other psychologists rely on experimental methodology to conduct studies. As an experimental psychologist, you would most likely work in an academic setting, teaching courses and supervising students’ research in addition to conducting your own research. Or you might be employed by a research institution, zoo, business, or government agency. 131 PSYCHOMETRIC AND QUANTITATIVE PSYCHOLOGISTS study the math-related methods used to acquire psychological knowledge. A psychometric psychologist may update existing neurocognitive or personality tests or devise new tests for use in clinical and school settings or in business and industry. These psychologists also administer, score, and interpret such tests. Quantitative psychologists collaborate with researchers to design, analyze, and interpret the results of research programs. As a psychometric or quantitative psychologist, you will need to be well trained in research methods, statistics, and computer technology. You will most likely be employed by a university or college, a testing company, a private research firm, or a government agency. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS are interested in our interactions with others. Social psychologists study how our beliefs, feelings, and behaviors are affected by and influence other people. They study topics such as attitudes, aggression, prejudice, interpersonal attraction, group behavior, and leadership. As a social psychologist, you would probably be a college or university faculty member. You might also work in organizational consultation, market research, or other applied psychology fields, including social neuroscience. Some social psychologists work for hospitals, federal agencies, social networking sites, or businesses performing applied research. Applied Research Subfields FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGISTS apply psychological principles to legal issues. They conduct research on the interface of law and psychology, help to create public policies related to mental health, help law-enforcement agencies in criminal investigations, or consult on jury selection and deliberation processes. They also provide assessment to assist the legal community. Although most forensic psychologists are clinical psychologists, many have expertise in other areas of psychology, such as social or cognitive psychology. Some also hold law degrees. As a forensic psychologist, you might work in a university psychology department, law 132 school, research organization, community mental health agency, lawenforcement agency, court, or correctional setting. Psychology in court Forensic psychologists apply psychology’s principles and methods in the criminal justice system. They may assess witness credibility or testify in court on a defendant’s state of mind and future risk. ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS study the interaction of individuals with their natural and built (urban) environments. They are interested in how we influence and are affected by these environments. As an environmental psychologist, you might study wildlife conservation, the impact of urbanization on health, or cognitive factors involved in sustainable lifestyle choices. Environmental psychologists tend to address these kinds of questions by working with other professionals as part of an interdisciplinary team. As an environmental psychologist, you might work in a consulting firm, an academic setting, the nonprofit sector, or the government. HEALTH PSYCHOLOGISTS are researchers and practitioners concerned with psychology’s contribution to promoting health and preventing disease. As applied psychologists or clinicians, they may help individuals lead healthier lives by designing, conducting, and evaluating programs to stop smoking, lose weight, improve sleep, manage pain, prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections, or treat psychosocial problems 133 associated with chronic and terminal illnesses. As researchers and clinicians, they identify conditions and practices associated with health and illness to help create effective interventions. In public service, health psychologists study and work to improve government policies and health care systems. As a health psychologist, you could be employed in a hospital, medical school, rehabilitation center, public health agency, college or university, or, if you are also a clinical psychologist, in private practice. INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL (I/O) PSYCHOLOGISTS study the relationship between people and their working environments. They may develop new ways to increase productivity, improve personnel selection, or promote job satisfaction in an organizational setting. Their interests include organizational structure and change, consumer behavior, and personnel selection and training. As an I/O psychologist, you might conduct workplace training or provide organizational analysis and development. You may find yourself working in business, industry, the government, or a college or university. Or you may be self-employed as a consultant or work for a management consulting firm. (For more on I/O psychology, see Appendix A, Psychology at Work.) NEUROPSYCHOLOGISTS investigate the relationship between neurological processes (the structure and function of the brain) and behavior. As a neuropsychologist you might assess, diagnose, or treat central nervous system disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease or stroke. You might also evaluate individuals for evidence of head injuries; learning and developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder; and other psychiatric disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). If you are a clinical neuropsychologist, you might work in a hospital’s neurology, neurosurgery, or psychiatric unit. Neuropsychologists also work in academic settings, where they conduct research and teach. REHABILITATION PSYCHOLOGISTS are researchers and practitioners 134 who work with people who have lost optimal functioning after an accident, illness, or other event. As a rehabilitation psychologist, you would probably work in a medical rehabilitation institution or hospital. You might also work in a medical school, university, state or federal vocational rehabilitation agency, or in private practice serving people with physical disabilities. SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS are involved in the assessment of and intervention for children in educational settings. They diagnose and treat cognitive, social, and emotional problems that may negatively influence children’s learning or overall functioning at school. As a school psychologist, you would collaborate with teachers, parents, and administrators, making recommendations to improve student learning. You would work in an academic setting, a federal or state government agency, a child guidance center, or a behavioral research laboratory. Assessing and supporting children School psychologists may find themselves working with children individually or in groups. They receive interdisciplinary training in mental health assessment and behavior analysis, research methods and design, and special needs education. They work primarily in schools but also in a range of other settings, including pediatric hospitals, mental health centers, and correctional facilities. 135 SPORT PSYCHOLOGISTS study the psychological factors that influence, and are influenced by, participation in sports and other physical activities. Their professional activities include coach education and athlete preparation, as well as research and teaching. Sport psychologists who also have a clinical or counseling degree can apply those skills to working with individuals with psychological problems, such as anxiety or substance abuse, that might interfere with optimal performance. As a sport psychologist, if you were not working in an academic or research setting, you would most likely work as part of a team or an organization or in a private capacity. Cricket cures Sport psychologists often work directly with athletes to help them improve their performance. Here a sport psychologist consults with Brendon McCullum, a record-breaking athlete who plays international cricket for New Zealand. The Helping Professions CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS promote psychological health in individuals, groups, and organizations. Some clinical psychologists specialize in specific psychological disorders. Others treat a range of disorders, from adjustment difficulties to severe psychopathology. Clinical 136 psychologists often provide therapy but may also engage in research, teaching, assessment, and consultation. Clinical psychologists work in a variety of settings, including private practice, mental health service organizations, schools, universities, industries, legal systems, medical systems, counseling centers, government agencies, correctional facilities, nonprofit organizations, and military services. To become a clinical psychologist, you will need to earn a clinical psychology doctorate. The APA sets the standards for clinical psychology graduate programs, offering accreditation (official recognition) to those who meet their standards. In all U.S. states, clinical psychologists working in independent practice must obtain a license to offer services such as therapy and testing. COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGISTS move beyond focusing on specific individuals or families and deal with broad problems of mental health in community settings. These psychologists believe that human behavior is powerfully influenced by the interaction between people and their physical, social, political, and economic environments. They seek to promote psychological health by enhancing environmental settings— focusing on preventive measures and crisis intervention, with special attention to the problems of underserved groups and ethnic minorities. Some community psychologists collaborate with professionals in other areas, such as public health, with a shared emphasis on prevention. As a community psychologist, your work settings could include federal, state, and local departments of mental health, corrections, and welfare. You might conduct research or help evaluate research in health service settings, serve as an independent consultant for a private or government agency, or teach and consult as a college or university faculty member. 137 Community care Community psychologists in Haiti have helped residents work through the ongoing emotional challenges that followed the devastating 2010 earthquake and, more recently, the widely destructive 2016 hurricane. COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGISTS help people adjust to life transitions or make lifestyle changes. Although similar to clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists typically help people with adjustment problems rather than severe psychopathology. Like clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists conduct therapy and provide assessments to individuals and groups. As a counseling psychologist, you would likely emphasize your clients’ strengths, helping them to use their own skills, interests, and abilities to cope during transitions. You might find yourself working in an academic setting as a faculty member or administrator or in a university counseling center, community mental health center, business, or private practice. As with clinical psychology, if you plan to work in independent practice you will need to obtain a state license to provide counseling services to the public. * * * So, the next time someone asks you what you could do if you pursue psychology in college, tell them you would have a lot of options. You might use your acquired skills and understanding to get a job and succeed in any number of fields, or you might pursue graduate school and then career opportunities in associated professions. In any case, what you learn 138 about behavior and mental processes will surely enrich your life (Hammer, 2003). Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Which of psychology’s subfields were you aware of before taking this course? Which ones seem most interesting to you? Test Yourself Name each of these subfields: (a) focuses on people and their work environments; (b) studies how people change over the life span; (c) considers the human thinking involved in perceiving, remembering, speaking, and decision making; and (d) focuses on diagnosing and treating psychological disorders. Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 139 Module 3 REVIEW 3-1 What is the difference between basic and applied psychology? Within the science of psychology, researchers may conduct basic research to increase the field’s knowledge base (often in biological, developmental, cognitive, educational, personality, and social psychology) or applied research to solve practical problems (in industrial-organizational and human factors psychology, for example). 3-2 What do psychologists working in various subfields do, and where do they work? Psychology’s subfields include the basic research fields (cognitive, developmental, educational, experimental, psychometric and quantitative, and social psychology), the applied research fields (forensic, health, industrial-organizational, neuropsychology, rehabilitation, school, and sport psychology), and the helping professions (clinical, community, and counseling). Work settings for psychologists include a wide range of government agencies, industrial and business settings, clinics and counseling centers, health care institutions, schools, universities, and research organizations. Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Who among the following would most likely study the interaction of people, machines, and physical environments? a. Human factors psychologist b. Personality psychologist c. Industrial-organizational psychologist d. Counseling psychologist e. Educational psychologist 140 2. Psychiatrists differ from clinical psychologists in that they a. help people cope with challenges and crises. b. conduct research. c. explore how we view and affect one another. d. experiment with how people perceive, think, and solve problems. e. are medical doctors licensed to prescribe medication. 3. Which of the following psychologists most strongly emphasize that human behavior is powerfully influenced by the interaction between people and their physical, social, political, and economic environments? a. Community b. Evolutionary c. Educational d. Industrial-organizational e. Rehabilitation 4. Which of the following psychologists would be most likely to investigate biological, psychological, cognitive, and social changes over a lifetime? a. Educational b. Experimental c. Social d. Cognitive e. Developmental 5. A psychologist investigates the methods teachers use to enhance student learning. In which of the following subfield is the psychologist most likely working? a. Educational psychology b. Experimental psychology c. School psychology d. Social psychology e. Forensic psychology 141 6. A psychologist works with children whose parents are divorcing. She helps them develop skills they need to cope with the situation. Which of the following psychologists is most likely to be helping these children? a. Industrial-organizational b. Social c. Research d. Counseling e. Community 7. Dwayne is interested in helping people make good decisions regarding their physical well-being. Dwayne should consider a career as a(n) a. community psychologist. b. social psychologist. c. forensic psychologist. d. industrial-organizational psychologist. e. health psychologist. Practice FRQs 1. Alex, a high school junior, has been struggling recently in many areas of his life. He is overweight and spends several hours per day watching Netflix and YouTube. He is having trouble keeping up in class and says he cannot seem to maintain his focus. He also is having trouble making friends and “fitting in” at school. Explain how the following applied psychologists might attempt to help Alex’s current situation. Health psychologists School psychologists Counseling psychologists Answer 142 1 point: A health psychologist might work with Alex to create a suitable exercise program and to improve his diet. This should help him to become healthier overall and may increase his focus. Page 29 1 point: A school psychologist might work with Alex along with his parents, teachers, and counselors to determine why he is struggling in class and to make recommendations for improving his classroom performance. Page 29 1 point: A counseling psychologist might work with Alex to determine why he has recently found numerous aspects of his life more challenging. This psychologist might work on strategies for helping Alex to improve his social skills and to make some friends. Page 30 2. Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti in 2016, causing a staggering loss of life and infrastructure and billions of dollars in damage. How might each of the following types of psychologists contribute to making life better in Haiti following the hurricane? Clinical psychologists Social psychologists (2 points) 143 UNIT I REVIEW KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER Test yourself on these terms by trying to compose the definition before checking your answers. critical thinking, p. 4 empiricism, p. 7 structuralism, p. 7 introspection, p. 8 functionalism, p. 8 behaviorism, p. 10 humanistic psychology, p. 11 cognitive psychology, p. 13 cognitive neuroscience, p. 13 psychology, p. 13 nature–nurture issue, p. 14 natural selection, p. 14 evolutionary psychology, p. 14 behavior genetics, p. 14 culture, p. 15 positive psychology, p. 16 biopsychosocial approach, p. 17 behavioral psychology, p. 17 biological psychology, p. 17 psychodynamic psychology, p. 18 social-cultural psychology, p. 18 testing effect, p. 20 SQ3R, p. 20 psychometrics, p. 24 144 basic research, p. 24 developmental psychology, p. 24 educational psychology, p. 24 personality psychology, p. 24 social psychology, p. 24 applied research, p. 24 industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology, p. 24 human factors psychology, p. 24 counseling psychology, p. 25 clinical psychology, p. 25 psychiatry, p. 25 community psychology, p. 25 KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO REMEMBER Wilhelm Wundt, p. 7 G. Stanley Hall, p. 7 Edward Bradford Titchener, p. 7 William James, p. 8 Charles Darwin, p. 8 Mary Whiton Calkins, p. 8 Margaret Floy Washburn, p. 9 John B. Watson, p. 10 B. F. Skinner, p. 10 Sigmund Freud, p. 10 Carl Rogers, p. 11 Abraham Maslow, p. 11 Ivan Pavlov, p. 13 Jean Piaget, p. 13 Dorothea Dix, p. 25 145 For a complete list of key people throughout the text, see Appendix C, Psychological Science’s Key Contributors, at the end of this text. AP® EXAM PRACTICE QUESTIONS Multiple-Choice Questions 1. The debate about the relative contributions of biology and experience to human development is most often referred to as what? a. Evolutionary analysis b. Behaviorism c. The cognitive revolution d. The nature–nurture issue e. Natural selection 2. Which of the following professionals focuses on the study of human flourishing and the attainment of a happy, meaningful life? a. Positive psychologist b. Evolutionary psychologist c. Behavioral psychologist d. Cognitive psychologist e. Psychotherapist 3. Which psychological principle best explains why studying an hour per day for a week is more effective than one 7-hour study session? a. Testing effect b. Distributed practice c. SQ3R d. Retrieval practice effect e. Psychometrics 4. Which of the following kinds of psychologists would most likely explore how we process and remember information? a. Developmental 146 b. Biological c. Social d. Cognitive e. Personality 5. According to the behavioral perspective, psychological science should be rooted in what? a. Introspection b. Observation c. Cultural influences d. Growth potential e. Basic needs 6. Which of the following psychologists would most likely conduct psychotherapy? a. Biological b. Clinical c. Industrial-organizational d. Cognitive e. Evolutionary 7. Which subfield or perspective is most interested in studying the link between mental activity and brain activity? a. Humanistic psychology b. Gestalt psychology c. Cognitive neuroscience d. Psychodynamic perspective e. Evolutionary perspective 8. What was the main difference between the psychological thinking of Wilhelm Wundt and earlier philosophers who were also interested in thinking and behavior? a. Wundt was German; earlier philosophers were American. b. Wundt was the first professor from a major university interested in 147 psychology. c. Wundt was the first scholar to call himself a psychologist. d. Wundt used psychotherapy techniques established by Freud to examine the thinking and behavior of healthy individuals. e. Wundt and his students gathered data about human thinking and behavior in a laboratory setting. 9. Which school of thought in psychology focused on the adaptive nature of thinking and how our consciousness evolves to meet our needs? a. Functionalist b. Structuralist c. Behavioral d. Humanistic e. Psychodynamic 10. The study of our human potential for personal growth has been a focus of which psychological perspective? a. Behavioral b. Functionalist c. Humanistic d. Psychodynamic e. Structuralist 11. Which of the following is the best example of applied research? a. Investigating personality traits b. Using psychological concepts to boost worker productivity c. Experimenting with how people perceive different stimuli d. Studying the changing abilities of children from ages 2 to 5 e. Exploring the neural changes that occur during adolescence 12. Self-reflective introspection about the elements of experience best describes a technique used by which school of thought in psychology? a. Functionalists b. Empiricists 148 c. Structuralists d. Behaviorists e. Humanists 13. Which psychological perspective is most likely to focus on how our interpretation of a situation affects how we react to it? a. Psychodynamic b. Biological c. Social-cultural d. Evolutionary e. Cognitive 14. The science of behavior and mental processes is the definition of which field of study? a. Philosophy b. Cognitive neuroscience c. Basic research d. Psychology e. Applied research Free-Response Questions 1. Arianna is nervous around large crowds and often leaves social situations such as school dances and parties because she feels like she might have a panic attack. Her father died when she was a young girl, but she still often has nightmares about his death. Arianna enjoys school. She generally receives good grades and appreciates the positive feedback from her teachers, which further encourages her to improve her academic skills. Explain how each of the seven main theoretical perspectives in psychology would explain Arianna’s behavior. Rubric for Free Response Question 1 149 1 point: The biological approach would attribute Arianna’s nervousness to brain chemistry, hormones, or genetic influences. Page 17 1 point: The evolutionary approach would explore how avoiding social crowds might have been a survival advantage for early humans, such as by reducing exposure to germs and violence. Page 17 1 point: The psychodynamic approach would examine Arianna’s early life and how she dealt with losing her father, focusing on Arianna’s childhood experiences and unconscious anxieties. Page 18 1 point: The behavioral approach would look at what Arianna has learned in the past through rewards and punishments. She may have had a negative experience in a large group in the past and as a result has learned to avoid social gatherings. Page 17 1 point: The cognitive approach would focus on examining how Arianna perceives situations. Her interpretation of social situations may impact the outcome. Page 17 1 point: The humanistic approach would look at how Arianna’s environment may have hindered growth and self-fulfillment. Page 17 1 point: The social-cultural approach would examine how interactions within the cultures Arianna belongs to influence her expectations about social situations. If her family or other cultural influences encourage her to attend social functions, that might influence her to continue to try attending those kinds of events. Page 18 2. Jacob’s parents are encouraging him not to major in psychology because they worry he might not want to spend his life around mentally ill people. Help Jacob explain to his parents that psychologists do other types of work, by describing the specific focuses of each of the following types of psychologists: Educational psychologists Industrial-organizational psychologists 150 Forensic psychologists Community psychologists (4 points) 151 UNIT II Research Methods: Thinking Critically With Psychological Science MODULES 4 The Need for Psychological Science 5 The Scientific Method and Description 6 Correlation and Experimentation 7 Research Design and Ethics in Psychology 8 Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life 152 In a difficult moment—after an argument with a loved one, a social embarrassment, or a bad grade—to whom do you turn? For advice and comfort, we often turn to friends and family, or search online. Psychology can also shed insight. Psychologists start with the questions that intrigue all of us: How can we be happier, healthier, and more successful? What can we do to improve our relationships? Why do people act and think as they do? But as a science, psychology does more than speculate: It uses research to separate uninformed opinions from examined conclusions. Unit II Overview Video 153 Modules 4-8 will provide an in-depth look at the scientific approach to psychology, covering essential topics such as the need for psychological science, the scientific method, correlation versus experimentation, research design and ethics, and the application of statistical reasoning in everyday life. Module 4 The Need for Psychological Science LEARNING TARGET 4-1 Explain how hindsight bias, overconfidence, and the tendency to perceive order in random events illustrate why science-based answers are more valid than those based on common sense. 4-1 How do hindsight bias, overconfidence, and the tendency to perceive order in random events illustrate why science-based answers are more valid than those based on common sense? Some people suppose that psychology is mere common sense— documenting and dressing in jargon what people already know: “You get paid for using fancy methods to prove what my grandmother knows?” Indeed, Grandma is often right. As the baseball great Yogi Berra (1925– 2015) once said, “You can observe a lot by watching.” (We have Berra to thank for other gems, such as “Nobody goes there any more—it’s too crowded,” and “If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s gonna stop ’em.”) Because we’re all behavior watchers, it would be surprising if many of psychology’s findings had not been foreseen. Many people believe that love breeds happiness, for example, and they are right (we have what Module 40 calls a deep “need to belong”). But sometimes Grandma’s common sense, informed by countless casual observations, is wrong. In many other modules, we will see how 154 research has overturned popular ideas—that familiarity breeds contempt, that dreams predict the future, and that most of us use only 10 percent of our brain. We will also see how research has surprised us with discoveries about how the brain’s chemical messengers control our moods and memories, about other animals’ abilities, and about the effects of stress on our capacity to fight disease. Other things seem like commonsense truth only because we so often hear them repeated. Mere repetition of statements—whether true or false— makes them easier to process and remember, and thus more true-seeming (Dechêne et al., 2010; Fazio et al., 2015). Easy to remember misconceptions (“Vitamin C prevents the common cold”) can therefore overwhelm hard truths. This power of familiar, hard-to-erase falsehoods is a lesson well known to political manipulators and kept in mind by critical thinkers. “ Those who trust in their own wits are fools.” Proverbs 28:26 Three roadblocks to critical thinking—hindsight bias, overconfidence, and perceiving patterns in random events—help illustrate why we cannot rely solely on common sense. 155 Did We Know It All Along? Hindsight Bias Consider how easy it is to draw the bull’s eye after the arrow strikes. After a dating couple breaks up, their friends say, “they were not a good match.” After the football game, we credit the coach if a “gutsy play” wins the game, and fault the coach for the same “stupid play” if it doesn’t. After a war or an election, its outcome usually seems obvious. Although history may therefore seem like a series of inevitable events, the actual future is seldom foreseen. No one’s diary recorded, “Today the Hundred Years War began.” “ Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.” Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, 1813–1855 This hindsight bias (also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon) is easy to demonstrate by giving half the members of a group some purported psychological finding and giving the other half an opposite result. Tell the first group, for example: “Psychologists have found that separation weakens romantic attraction. As the saying goes, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’” Ask them to imagine why this might be true. Most people can, and after explaining it nearly all will then view this true finding as unsurprising. hindsight bias the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.) “ Anything seems commonplace, once explained.” Dr. Watson to Sherlock Holmes 156 Hindsight bias When drilling its Deepwater Horizon oil well in 2010, BP employees took shortcuts and ignored warning signs, without intending to harm the environment or their company‘s reputation. After the resulting Gulf oil spill, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the foolishness of those judgments became obvious. Tell the second group the opposite: “Psychologists have found that separation strengthens romantic attraction. As the saying goes, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’” People given this untrue result can also easily imagine it, and most will also see it as unsurprising. When opposite findings both seem like common sense, there is a problem. Such errors in people’s recollections and explanations show why we need psychological research. It’s not that common sense is usually wrong. Rather, common sense describes, after the fact, what has happened better than it predicts what will happen. More than 800 scholarly papers have shown hindsight bias in people young and old from across the world (Roese & Vohs, 2012). As physicist Niels Bohr reportedly jested, “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” 157 Overconfidence We humans tend to think we know more than we do. Asked how sure we are of our answers to factual questions (Is Boston north or south of Paris?), we tend to be more confident than correct. 1 Or consider these three anagram solutions (from Goranson, 1978): WREAT → WATER ETRYN → ENTRY GRABE → BARGE FYI Fun anagram solutions from Wordsmith (wordsmith.org): Snooze alarms = Alas! No more z’s Dormitory = dirty room Slot machines = cash lost in ’em About how many seconds do you think it would have taken you to unscramble each of these? Did hindsight influence you? Knowing the answers tends to make us overconfident. (Surely the solution would take only 10 seconds or so?) In reality, the average problem solver spends 3 minutes, as you also might, given a similar anagram without the solution: OCHSA. 2 AP® EXAM TIP Multiple-choice questions on the AP® exam sometimes test your knowledge of “media myths.” Pay particular attention when psychological findings run counter to “common sense.” 158 Are we any better at predicting social behavior? Psychologist Philip Tetlock (1998, 2005) collected more than 27,000 expert predictions of world events, such as the future of South Africa or whether Quebec would separate from Canada. His repeated finding: These predictions, which experts made with 80 percent confidence on average, were right less than 40 percent of the time. Nevertheless, even those who erred maintained their confidence by noting they were “almost right”: “The Québécois separatists almost won the secessionist referendum.” 159 Perceiving Order in Random Events For most people, a random, unpredictable world is unsettling (Tullett et al., 2015). We therefore have a built-in eagerness to make sense of our world. People may see a face on the Moon, hear satanic messages in music, perceive the Virgin Mary’s image on a grilled cheese sandwich. Even in random data, we often find patterns, because—here’s a curious fact of life —random sequences often don’t look random (Falk, R. et al., 2009; Nickerson, 2002, 2005). Flip a coin 50 times and you will likely be surprised at the streaks of heads or tails—much like supposed “hot” and “cold” streaks in basketball shooting and baseball hitting. In actual random sequences, patterns and streaks (such as repeating digits) occur more often than people expect (Oskarsson et al., 2009). That also makes it hard for people to generate random-like sequences. When embezzlers try to simulate random digits when deciding how much to steal, their nonrandom patterns can alert fraud experts (Poundstone, 2014). Overconfidence in history: “ We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” Decca Records, in turning down a contract with the Beatles in 1962 “ Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” Popular Mechanics, 1949 “ The telephone may be appropriate for our American cousins, but not here, because we have an adequate supply of messenger boys.” British expert group evaluating the invention of the telephone Some happenings, such as winning a lottery twice, seem so extraordinary that we find it difficult to conceive an ordinary, chancerelated explanation. “But with a large enough sample, any outrageous thing is likely to happen,” noted statisticians Persi Diaconis and Frederick 160 Mosteller (1989). An event that happens to but 1 in 1 billion people every day occurs about 7 times a day, more than 2500 times a year. Bizarre-looking, perhaps. But actually no more unlikely than any other number sequence. The point to remember: Hindsight bias, overconfidence, and our tendency to perceive patterns in random events tempt us to overestimate the value of commonsense thinking. But scientific inquiry can help us sift reality from illusion. Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Do you have a hard time thinking you may be overconfident? Could overconfidence be at work in that self-assessment? Test Yourself Why, after friends start dating, do we often feel that we knew they were meant to be together? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 161 Module 4 REVIEW 4-1 How do hindsight bias, overconfidence, and the tendency to perceive order in random events illustrate why science-based answers are more valid than those based on common sense? Hindsight bias (also called the “I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon”) is the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it. Overconfidence in our judgments results partly from our bias to seek information that confirms them. These tendencies, along with our eagerness to perceive patterns in random events, lead us to overestimate the weight of commonsense thinking. Although limited by the testable questions it can address, scientific inquiry can help us overcome such biases and shortcomings. Multiple-Choice Questions 1. After the student council election, a friend tells you he could have guessed who would be elected president. What psychological phenomenon might this illustrate? a. Common sense b. Critical thinking c. Hindsight bias d. Overconfidence e. Perceiving order in random events 2. While taking a standardized test with randomly scrambled answers, you notice that your last four answers have been “c.” Which of the following is true concerning the probability of the next answer being “c”? a. It is higher. Once a streak begins, it is likely to last for a while. 162 b. It is lower. Since answers are distributed randomly, “c” answers become less common. c. It is unaffected by previous answers. It is as likely to be “c” as any other answer. d. You should check your previous answers. Four “c’s” in a row is impossible. e. It is higher. Test constructors trick students by keeping the same answer many times in a row. 3. The tendency to exaggerate the correctness or accuracy of our beliefs and predictions is called a. hindsight bias. b. overconfidence. c. critical thinking. d. skepticism. e. reliability. 4. Which of the following is an example of hindsight bias? a. Armend is certain that electric cars will represent 80 percent of vehicles in 20 years and only reads research studies that support his hypothesis. b. Liza underestimates how much time it will take her to finish writing her college application essays and as a result fails to meet an important deadline. c. Experts predicting world events with 80 percent confidence turned out to be correct less than 40 percent of the time. d. Alliyah, after reading a definition on one of her flashcards, turns the card over to see the term and then tells herself she knew what the answer was all along. e. Dr. Grace overestimates how effectively her new treatment method works because she fails to seek out any evidence refuting her theory. Practice FRQs 163 1. Elena won the lottery last night. Afterward, she told her friends that she knew she was going to win. Her friends think that she is so lucky because she won the lottery last year as well. Explain how hindsight bias and the tendency to perceive patterns in random events apply to Elena’s winnings. Answer 1 point: Hindsight bias: Elena knew today that she would win the lottery because she did. If she had not won, she would not remember the “feeling” that she would win. Page 38 1 point: Pattern in random events: Elena’s winnings are unconnected. The odds of winning make it seem like a person is “lucky” if they win, but the odds of winning the lottery twice are not that unrealistic when odds of winning are spread out across an entire population. Page 40 2. A local basketball team has won three championships in a row and is on a winning streak going into the final game. Explain how their fans might use the following to explain a loss in the final game: Hindsight bias Overconfidence The tendency to perceive patterns in random events (3 points) 164 Module 5 The Scientific Method and Description LEARNING TARGETS 5-1 Describe how theories advance psychological science. 5-2 Explain how psychologists use case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys to observe and describe behavior, and why random sampling is important. 165 The Scientific Method At the foundation of all science is a scientific attitude that combines curiosity, skepticism, and humility (see Module 1). Psychologists arm their scientific attitude with the scientific method—a self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis. Psychological science welcomes hunches and plausible-sounding theories. And it puts them to the test. If a theory works—if the data support its predictions—so much the better for that theory. If its predictions fail, the theory gets revised or rejected. Constructing Theories Flip It Video: Operational Definitions 5-1 How do theories advance psychological science? Chatting with friends and family, we often use theory to mean “mere hunch.” Someone might, for example, discount evolution as “only a theory”—as if it were mere speculation. In science, a theory explains behaviors or events by offering ideas that organize observations. By using deeper principles to organize isolated facts, a theory summarizes and simplifies. As we connect the observed dots, a coherent picture emerges. theory an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events. AP® EXAM TIP As you read this module, keep in mind that the scientific method is a set of principles and procedures, not a list of facts. You will be expected to understand how the science of psychology is done, not just what it has discovered. The 166 AP® exam frequently asks questions regarding research design in the multiplechoice and free-response sections. A theory of how sleep affects memory, for example, helps us organize countless sleep-related observations into a short list of principles. Imagine that we observe over and over that people with good sleep habits tend to answer questions correctly in class and do well at test time. We might therefore theorize that sleep improves memory. So far so good: Our principle neatly summarizes a list of observations about the effects of a good night’s sleep. Yet no matter how reasonable a theory may sound—and it does seem reasonable to suggest that sleep boosts memory—we must put it to the test. A good theory produces testable predictions, called hypotheses. Such predictions specify what results would support the theory and what results would disconfirm it. To test our theory about sleep effects on memory, our hypothesis might be that when sleep deprived, people will remember less from the day before. To test that hypothesis, we might assess how well people remember course materials they studied either before a good night’s sleep or before a shortened night’s sleep (Figure 5.1). The results will either support our theory or lead us to revise or reject it. hypothesis a testable prediction, often implied by a theory. 167 Figure 5.1 The scientific method A self-correcting process for asking questions and observing nature’s answers. Our theories can bias our observations. Having theorized that better memory springs from more sleep, we may see what we expect: We may perceive sleepy people’s comments as less accurate. The urge to see what we expect is ever-present, both inside and outside the laboratory, as when people’s views of climate change influence their interpretation of local weather events. As a check on their biases, psychologists report their research with precise, measurable operational definitions of procedures and concepts. Sleep deprived, for example, may be defined as “X hours less” than the person’s natural sleep. Using these carefully worded statements, others can replicate (repeat) the original observations with different participants, materials, and circumstances. If they get similar results, confidence in the finding’s reliability grows. The first study of hindsight bias, for example, aroused psychologists’ curiosity. Now, after many successful replications with differing people and questions, we feel sure of the phenomenon’s power. Replication is confirmation. And lack of replication may enable us to revise our understanding. 168 operational definition a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures. replication repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced. In the end, our theory will be useful if it (1) organizes observations, and (2) implies predictions that anyone can use to check the theory or to derive practical applications. (Does people’s sleep predict their retention?) Eventually, our research may (3) stimulate further research that leads to a revised theory that better organizes and predicts. Or, our research may be replicated and supported by similar findings. (This has been the case for sleep and memory studies, as you will see in Module 24.) “ Failure to replicate is not a bug; it is a feature. It is what leads us along the path —the wonderfully twisty path—of scientific discovery.” Lisa Feldman Barrett, “Psychology Is Not in Crisis,” 2015 As we will see next, we can test our hypotheses and refine our theories in several ways. Descriptive methods describe behaviors, often by using case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations. Correlational methods associate different factors, or variables. (You’ll see the word variable often in descriptions of research. It refers to anything that contributes to a result.) Experimental methods manipulate variables to discover their effects. To think critically about popular psychology claims, we need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of these methods and the conclusions they allow. 169 Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Will what you’ve learned about theories and replication change the way you will read about research results, such as in your news feed? Test Yourself What does a good theory do? Why is replication important? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 170 Description 5-2 How do psychologists use case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys to observe and describe behavior, and why is random sampling important? The starting point of any science is description. In everyday life, we all observe and describe people, often drawing conclusions about why they think, feel, and act as they do. Professional psychologists do much the same, though more objectively and systematically, through case studies (in-depth analyses of individuals or groups). naturalistic observations (recording the natural behavior of many individuals). surveys and interviews (asking people questions). The Case Study Among the oldest research methods, the case study examines one individual or group in depth in the hope of revealing things true of us all. Some examples: Brain damage. Much of our early knowledge about the brain came from case studies of individuals who suffered particular impairments after damage to a certain brain region. Children’s minds. Jean Piaget taught us about children’s thinking after carefully observing and questioning only a few children. Animal intelligence. Studies of various animals, including only a few chimpanzees, have revealed their capacity for understanding and language. case study a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. 171 “‘Well my dear,’ said Miss Marple, ‘human nature is very much the same everywhere, and of course, one has opportunities of observing it at closer quarters in a village’.” Agatha Christie, The Tuesday Club Murders, 1933 Intensive case studies are sometimes very revealing, and they often suggest directions for further study. But atypical individual cases may mislead us. Both in our everyday lives and in science, unrepresentative information can lead to mistaken judgments and false conclusions. Indeed, anytime a researcher mentions a finding (Smokers die younger: 95 percent of men over 85 are nonsmokers), someone is sure to offer a contradictory anecdote (Well, I have an uncle who smoked two packs a day and lived to be 89). Dramatic stories and personal experiences (even psychological case examples) command our attention and are easily remembered. Journalists understand that, and often begin their articles with compelling stories. Stories move us. But stories can mislead. Which of the following do you find more memorable? (1) “In one study of 1300 dream reports concerning a kidnapped child, only 5 percent correctly envisioned the child as dead” (Murray & Wheeler, 1937). (2) “I know a man who dreamed his sister was in a car accident, and two days later she died in a head-on collision!” Numbers can be numbing, but the plural of anecdote is not evidence. A single story of someone who supposedly changed from gay to straight is not evidence that sexual orientation is a choice. As psychologist Gordon Allport (1954, p. 9) said, “Given a thimbleful of [dramatic] facts we rush to make generalizations as large as a tub.” 172 Freud and Little Hans Sigmund Freud’s case study of 5-year-old Hans’ extreme fear of horses led Freud to his theory of childhood sexuality. He conjectured that Hans felt unconscious desire for his mother, feared castration by his rival father, and then transferred this fear into his phobia about being bitten by a horse. As Modules 55 and 56 will explain, today’s psychological science discounts Freud’s theory of childhood sexuality but does agree that much of the human mind operates outside our conscious awareness. The point to remember: Individual cases can suggest fruitful ideas. What’s true of all of us can be glimpsed in any one of us. To find those general truths, we must employ other research methods. Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself From your observations of people, can you think of a “case study” that has taught you something about people in general? Test Yourself We cannot assume that case studies always reveal general principles that apply to all of us. Why not? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. Naturalistic Observation 173 A natural observer “Observations, made in the natural habitat, helped to show that the societies and behavior of animals are far more complex than previously supposed,” chimpanzee observer Jane Goodall noted (1998). A second descriptive method records behavior in natural environments. These naturalistic observations range from watching chimpanzee societies in the jungle, to videotaping and analyzing parent-child interactions in different cultures, to recording racial differences in students’ self-seating patterns in a school lunchroom. naturalistic observation a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation. Naturalistic observation has mostly been “small science”—science that can be done with pen and paper rather than fancy equipment and a big budget (Provine, 2012). But new technologies, such as smart-phone apps, body-worn sensors, and social media, are enabling “big data” observations. Using such tools, researchers can track people’s location, activities, and opinions—without interference. The billions of people on Facebook, Twitter, and Google have also created a huge new opportunity for big-data naturalistic observation. One research team studied the ups and downs of human moods by counting positive and negative words in 504 million 174 Twitter messages from 84 countries (Golder & Macy, 2011). As Figure 5.2 shows, people seem happier on weekends, shortly after waking, and in the evenings. (Are late Saturday evenings often a happy time for you, too?) Another study found that the proportion of negative emotion (especially anger-related) words in 148 million tweets from 1347 U.S. counties predicted the counties’ heart disease rates. Moreover, it did so even better than other predictors such as smoking and obesity rates (Eichstaedt et al., 2015). Figure 5.2 Twitter message moods, by time and by day This illustrates how, without knowing anyone’s identity, big data enable researchers to study human behavior on a massive scale. It now is also possible to associate people’s moods with, for example, their locations or with the weather, and to study the spread of ideas through social networks. Like the case study, naturalistic observation does not explain behavior. It describes it. Nevertheless, descriptions can be revealing. We once thought, for example, that only humans use tools. Then naturalistic observation revealed that chimpanzees sometimes insert a stick in a termite mound and withdraw it, eating the stick’s load of termites. Such unobtrusive naturalistic observations paved the way for later studies of 175 animal thinking, language, and emotion, which further expanded our understanding of our fellow animals. Thanks to researchers’ observations, we know that chimpanzees and baboons use deception: Psychologists repeatedly saw one young baboon pretending to have been attacked by another as a tactic to get its mother to drive the other baboon away from its food (Whiten & Byrne, 1988). Naturalistic observations also illuminate human behavior. Here are three findings you might enjoy: A funny finding. We humans laugh 30 times more often in social situations than in solitary situations (Provine, 2001). (Have you noticed how seldom you laugh when alone?) Sounding out students. What, really, are college psychology students saying and doing during their everyday lives? To find out, Matthias Mehl and his colleagues (2010) equipped 79 such students with electronic recorders. Using this experience sampling method, the researchers then eavesdropped on more than 23,000 half-minute life slices of students’ waking hours. Was happiness related to having simple talks or deeply involved conversations? The happiest participants avoided small talk and embraced meaningful conversations. Happy people would also rather talk than tweet. Does that surprise you? Culture and the pace of life. Naturalistic observation also enabled Robert Levine and Ara Norenzayan (1999) to compare the pace of life —walking speed, accuracy of public clocks, and so forth—in 31 countries. Their conclusion: Life is fastest paced in Japan and Western Europe, and slower paced in economically less-developed countries. 176 An EAR for naturalistic observation Psychologists Matthias Mehl and James Pennebaker have used electronically activated recorders (EARs) to sample naturally occurring slices of daily life. What are the advantages and disadvantages of naturalistic observation, such as Mehl and his colleagues used in this study? 1 Naturalistic observation offers interesting snapshots of everyday life, but it does so without controlling for all the factors that may influence behavior. It’s one thing to observe the pace of life in various places, but another to understand what makes some people walk faster than others. Nevertheless, descriptions can be revealing: The starting point of any science is description. The Survey A survey looks at many cases in less depth, asking people to report their behavior or opinions. Questions about everything from cell-phone use to political opinions are put to the public. In recent surveys: half of all Americans reported experiencing more happiness and enjoyment than worry and stress on the previous day (Gallup, 2010). 1 in 5 people across 22 countries report believing that alien beings have 177 come to Earth and now walk among us disguised as humans (Ipsos, 2010). 68 percent of all humans—some 5 billion people—say that religion is important in their daily lives (Diener et al., 2011). survey a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group. But asking questions is tricky, and the answers often depend on how questions are worded and how respondents are chosen. Wording Effects Even subtle changes in the order or wording of questions can have major effects. People are more approving of “aid to the needy” than of “welfare,” of “not allowing” televised pornography than of “censoring” it, of “gun safety” laws than of “gun control” laws, and of “revenue enhancers” than of “taxes.” Because wording is such a delicate matter, critical thinkers will reflect on how the phrasing of a question might affect people’s expressed opinions. Random Sampling In everyday thinking, we tend to generalize from samples we observe, especially vivid cases. Given (a) a statistical summary of auto owners’ evaluations of their car make and (b) the vivid comments of two frustrated owners, our impression may be influenced as much by the two unhappy owners as by the many more summarized evaluations. The temptation to succumb to the sampling bias—to generalize from a few vivid but unrepresentative cases—is nearly irresistible. sampling bias 178 a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample. It’s often not possible to survey the whole group. So how do you obtain a representative sample—say, of the students at your high school? How could you choose a sample that would represent the student population, the whole group you want to study and describe? Typically, you would seek a random sample, in which every person in the entire group has an equal chance of participating. You might number the names in the general student listing and then use a random number generator to pick your survey participants. (Sending each student a questionnaire wouldn’t work, because the conscientious people who returned it would not be a random sample.) Large representative samples are better than small ones, but a smaller representative sample of 100 is better than a larger unrepresentative sample of 500. population all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (Note: Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population.) random sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion. FYI With very large samples, estimates become quite reliable. E is estimated to represent 12.7 percent of the letters in written English. E, in fact, is 12.3 percent of the 925,141 letters in Melville’s Moby-Dick, 12.4 percent of the 586,747 letters in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, and 12.1 percent of the 3,901,021 letters in 12 of Mark Twain’s works (Chance News, 1997). Political pollsters sample voters in national election surveys just this 179 way. Using some 1500 randomly sampled people, drawn from all areas of a country, they can provide a remarkably accurate snapshot of the nation’s opinions. Without random sampling (also called random selection), large samples—including unrepresentative call-in or website polls—often give misleading results. The point to remember: Before accepting survey findings, think critically. Consider the sample. The best basis for generalizing is from a representative sample. You cannot compensate for an unrepresentative sample by simply adding more people. Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Can you recall a misleading survey you have experienced or read about? What survey principles did it violate? Test Yourself What is an unrepresentative sample, and how do researchers avoid it? What are some strengths and weaknesses of the three different methods psychologists use to describe behavior—case studies, naturalistic observation, and surveys? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 180 Module 5 REVIEW 5-1 How do theories advance psychological science? Psychological theories are explanations that apply an integrated set of principles to organize observations and generate hypotheses —predictions that can be used to check the theory or produce practical applications of it. By testing their hypotheses, researchers can confirm, reject, or revise their theories. To enable other researchers to replicate the studies, researchers report them using precise operational definitions of their procedures and concepts. If others achieve similar results, confidence in the conclusion will be greater. 5-2 How do psychologists use case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys to observe and describe behavior, and why is random sampling important? Description methods, which include case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys, show us what can happen, and they may offer ideas for further study. The best basis for generalizing about a population is a representative sample; in a random sample, every person in the entire population being studied has an equal chance of participating. Descriptive methods describe but do not explain behavior, because these methods do not control for the many variables that can affect behavior. Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Why is an operational definition necessary when reporting research findings? a. An operational definition allows others to replicate the study. 181 b. An operational definition provides more context and includes many examples of the concept described. c. An operational definition is easier to translate into multiple languages than a dictionary definition. d. An operational definition uses more scientific language than a dictionary definition. e. An operational definition is not necessary since a dictionary definition will work as well for replication. 2. A researcher looking for gender differences in 3-year-olds observes a preschool class and records how many minutes children of each gender play with dolls. She then compares the two sets of numbers. What type of descriptive research is she conducting? a. Case study b. Experiment c. Random sample method d. Naturalistic observation e. Survey 3. Which of the following questions is best investigated by means of a survey? a. Are people more likely to vote Republican or Democrat in the next election? b. Are violent criminals genetically different from nonviolent criminals? c. Does extra sleep improve memory? d. What is the best study technique for AP® exams? e. What role does exercise play in weight loss? 4. A testable prediction that drives research is known as a(n) a. theory. b. hypothesis. c. operational definition. d. guess. e. random sample. 182 5. Researchers are interested in finding out if voters are more likely to vote for congressional candidates who have more pleasant facial expressions. Starting at a random point, the researchers contact every hundredth person on the voter list to ask about candidate facial expressions. Which method are the researchers using in choosing the people they will call? a. Random sample b. Periodic sample c. Biased sample d. Survey e. Operational definition 6. An individual with an exceptional memory is identified. For any given date, she is capable of recalling major events, the weather, and what she did that day. What research method is being used if a psychologist conducts an in-depth investigation of this individual using questionnaires, brain scans, and memory tests? a. Naturalistic observation b. Survey c. Interview d. Case study e. Theory method 7. Which of the following is most important when conducting survey research? a. Choosing a representative sample b. Choosing a large sample c. Choosing a biased sample d. Choosing a sample that includes every member of the population e. Choosing a sample whose answers will likely support your hypothesis Practice FRQs 183 1. A teacher wants to know if nightmares are more common than dreams. He asks volunteers from his second-period class to report how many dreams they had last week. He asks volunteers from his third-period class to report the number of nightmares they had last week. Describe two things wrong with the design of this study. Answer (2 of the following): 1 point: There is no hypothesis stated. Page 42 1 point: In asking for volunteers, the teacher is taking a nonrandom sample that is probably not representative of the population of interest. Page 47 1 point: Neither “dreams” nor “nightmares” are operationally defined, so they might be interpreted differently by later researchers. Page 42 2. Dr. Cheema is interested in studying the prevalence of cheating on exams at her local high school. Describe one disadvantage of using each of the following research methods to study this topic: Case study Naturalistic observation Survey (3 points) 184 Module 6 Correlation and Experimentation LEARNING TARGETS 6-1 Explain what it means when we say two things are correlated, and describe positive and negative correlations. 6-2 Discuss why correlations enable prediction but not cause-effect explanation. 6-3 Explain illusory correlations and regression toward the mean. 6-4 Describe the characteristics of experimentation that make it possible to isolate cause and effect. Study finds that increased parental support for college results in lower grades” (Jaschik, 2013). “People with mental illness are more likely to be smokers” (Belluck, 2013). What should we make of such news headlines? Do these correlations indicate that students would achieve more if their parents became less supportive, and that stopping smoking could produce better mental health? No. Read on. 185 Correlation 6-1 What does it mean when we say two things are correlated, and what are positive and negative correlations? Describing behavior is a first step toward predicting it. Naturalistic observations and surveys often show us that one trait or behavior tends to coincide with another. In such cases, we say the two correlate. A statistical measure (the correlation coefficient) helps us figure how closely two things vary together, and thus how well either one predicts the other. Knowing how much aptitude test scores correlate with school success tells us how well the scores predict school success. correlation a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. correlation coefficient a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from −1.00 to +1.00). Throughout this book, we will often ask how strongly two variables are related: For example, how closely related are the extraversion scores of identical twins? How well do intelligence test scores predict career achievement? How closely is stress related to disease? In such cases, scatterplots can be very revealing. variable anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure. scatterplot a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the 186 two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation). Each dot in a scatterplot represents the values of two variables. The three scatterplots in Figure 6.1 illustrate the range of possible correlations from a perfect positive to a perfect negative. (Perfect correlations rarely occur in the real world.) A correlation is positive if two sets of scores, such as for height and weight, tend to rise or fall together. Figure 6.1 Scatterplots, showing patterns of correlation Correlation—abbreviated r—can range from +1.00 (scores for one variable increase in direct proportion to scores for another), to 0.00 (no relationship), to –1.00 (scores for one variable decrease precisely as scores rise for the other). Flip it Video: Correlations Saying that a correlation is “negative” says nothing about its strength. A correlation is negative if two sets of scores relate inversely, one set going up as the other goes down. The correlation between standing people’s height and the distance from their head to the ceiling is strongly (perfectly, in fact) negative. Statistics can help us see what the naked eye sometimes misses. To demonstrate this for yourself, try an imaginary project. You wonder if tall men are more or less easygoing, so you collect two sets of scores: men’s heights and men’s temperaments. You measure the heights of 20 men, and you have someone else independently assess their temperaments from 0 (extremely calm) to 100 (highly reactive). 187 AP® EXAM TIP This is the first of several times in your psychology course that you will see something labeled as being positive or negative. We often think that if something is positive it is good and if it’s negative it’s bad. That is rarely the case in this course. Here, positive and negative refer only to the direction of the correlation. They say nothing about whether the relationship is desirable or not. With all the relevant data right in front of you (Table 6.1), can you tell whether the correlation between height and reactive temperament is positive, negative, or close to zero? TABLE 6.1 Height and Temperamental Reactivity of 20 Men Person Height in Inches Temperament 1 80 75 2 63 66 3 61 60 4 79 90 5 74 60 6 69 42 7 62 42 8 75 60 9 77 81 10 60 39 11 64 48 12 76 69 188 13 71 72 14 66 57 15 73 63 16 70 75 17 63 30 18 71 57 19 68 84 20 70 39 Comparing the columns in Table 6.1, most people detect very little relationship between height and temperament. In fact, the correlation in this imaginary example is positive (r = +0.63), as we can see if we display the data as a scatterplot (Figure 6.2). Figure 6.2 Scatterplot for height and temperamental reactivity This display of data from 20 imagined people (each represented by a data point) reveals an upward slope, indicating a positive correlation. The considerable scatter of the data indicates the correlation is much lower than +1.00. 189 If we fail to see a relationship when data are presented as systematically as in Table 6.1, how much less likely are we to notice them in everyday life? To see what is right in front of us, we sometimes need statistical illumination. We can easily see evidence of gender discrimination when given statistically summarized information about job level, seniority, performance, gender, and salary. But we often see no discrimination when the same information dribbles in, case by case (Twiss et al., 1989). See Table 6.2 to test your understanding further. TABLE 6.2 Test Your Understanding of Correlation Which of the following news reports are examples of a positive correlation, and which are examples of a negative correlation? (Check your answers in the footnotes.) 1. The more husbands viewed Internet pornography, the worse their marital relationships (Muusses et al., 2015). ______________ 2. The less sexual content teens saw on TV, the less likely they were to have sex (Collins et al., 2004). _________ 3. The longer babies were breast-fed, the greater their later academic achievement (Horwood & Ferguson, 1998). _________ 4. The more income rose among a sample of poor families, the fewer psychiatric symptoms their children experienced (Costello et al., 2003). _________________ The point to remember: A correlation coefficient, which can range from −1.0 to +1.0, reveals the extent to which two things relate. The closer the score gets to −1 or +1, the stronger the correlation. Although correlational research helpfully reveals relationships, it doesn’t explain them. See Thinking Critically About: Correlation and Causation. 190 FYI A New York Times writer reported a massive survey showing that “adolescents whose parents smoked were 50 percent more likely than children of nonsmokers to report having had sex.” He concluded (would you agree?) that the survey indicated a causal effect—that “to reduce the chances that their children will become sexually active at an early age” parents might “quit smoking” (O’Neil, 2002). AP® EXAM TIP Take note of how much emphasis is put on this idea: Correlation and 191 association do not prove a cause-effect relationship. This has been on the AP® exam in the past. Illusory Correlation and Regression Toward the Mean 6-3 What are illusory correlations, and what is regression toward the mean? Correlations not only make visible the relationships we might otherwise miss, they also restrain our “seeing” nonexistent relationships. When we believe there is a relationship between two things, we are likely to notice and recall instances that confirm our belief. If we believe that dreams forecast actual events, we may notice and recall confirming instances more than disconfirming instances. The result is an illusory correlation. illusory correlation perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship. Correlation need not mean causation Length of marriage positively correlates with hair loss in men. Does this mean that marriage causes men to lose their hair (or that balding men make better husbands)? 5 Illusory correlations can feed an illusion of control—that chance events are subject to our personal control. Gamblers, remembering their lucky rolls, may come to believe they can influence the roll of the dice by again throwing gently for low numbers and hard for high numbers. The 192 illusion that uncontrollable events correlate with our actions is also fed by a statistical phenomenon called regression toward the mean. Average results are more typical than extreme results. Thus, after an unusual event, things tend to return toward their average level; extraordinary happenings tend to be followed by more ordinary ones. regression toward the mean the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average. The point may seem obvious, yet we regularly miss it: We sometimes attribute what may be a normal regression (the expected return to normal) to something we have done. Consider two examples: Students who score much lower or higher on an exam than they usually do are likely, when retested, to return to their average. Unusual ESP subjects who defy chance when first tested nearly always lose their “psychic powers” when retested. Failure to recognize regression is the source of many superstitions and of some ineffective practices as well. After berating an employee for poorer-than-usual performance a manager may—when the employee regresses to normal—feel rewarded for the “tough love.” After lavishing praise for an exceptionally fine performance, the manager may be disappointed when the employee’s behavior again migrates back toward his or her average. Ironically, then, regression toward the average can mislead us into feeling rewarded after criticizing others and feeling punished after praising them (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). The point to remember: When a fluctuating behavior returns to normal, fancy explanations for why it does so are probably wrong. Regression toward the mean is probably at work. “ Once you become sensitized to it, you see regression everywhere.” 193 Psychologist Daniel Kahneman (1985) Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Can you think of a popular media report you’ve read that confused correlation with causation? Test Yourself You hear the school basketball coach telling her friend that she rescued her team’s winning streak by yelling at the players after an unusually bad first half. What is another explanation of why the team’s performance improved? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 194 Experimentation 6-4 What are the characteristics of experimentation that make it possible to isolate cause and effect? Happy are they, remarked the Roman poet Virgil, “who have been able to perceive the causes of things.” How might psychologists sleuth out the causes in correlational studies, such as the correlation between breast feeding and intelligence? Experimental Manipulation Some researchers (not all) have found that breast-fed infants develop higher childhood intelligence scores than do bottle-fed infants—an average 3 IQ point difference in a review of 17 studies (Horta et al., 2015; von Stumm & Plomin, 2015; Walfisch et al., 2014). Moreover, the longer infants breast feed, the higher their later IQ scores (Jedrychowski et al., 2012; Victora et al., 2015). What do such findings mean? Do the nutrients of mother’s milk contribute to brain development? Or do smarter mothers have smarter children? (Breast-fed children tend to be healthier and higher achieving than other children. But their bottle-fed siblings, born and raised in the same families, tend to be similarly healthy and high achieving [Colen & Ramey, 2014].) Even big data from a million or a billion mothers and their offspring couldn’t tell us. To find answers to such questions—to isolate cause and effect—researchers must experiment. Experiments enable researchers to isolate the effects of one or more factors by (1) manipulating the factors of interest and (2) holding constant (“controlling”) other factors. To do so, they often create an experimental group, in which people receive the treatment, and a contrasting control group that does not receive the treatment. experiment 195 a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors. experimental group in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable. control group in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment. Earlier, we mentioned the place of random sampling in a well-done survey. Consider now the equally important place of random assignment in a well-done experiment. To minimize any preexisting differences between the two groups, researchers randomly assign people to the two conditions. Random assignment—whether with a random numbers table or flip of the coin—effectively equalizes the two groups. If one-third of the volunteers for an experiment can wiggle their ears, then about one-third of the people in each group will be ear wigglers. So, too, with age, attitudes, and other characteristics, which will be similar in the experimental and control groups. Thus, if the groups differ at the experiment’s end, we can surmise that the treatment had an effect. (Note the difference between random sampling—which creates a representative survey sample—and random assignment, which equalizes experimental groups.) random assignment assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups. To experiment with breast feeding, one research team randomly 196 assigned some 17,000 Belarus newborns and their mothers either to a control group given normal pediatric care or to an experimental group that promoted breast feeding, thus increasing expectant mothers’ breast intentions (Kramer et al., 2008). At three months of age, 43 percent of the infants in the experimental group were being exclusively breast-fed, as were 6 percent in the control group. At age 6, when nearly 14,000 of the children were restudied, those who had been in the breast-feeding promotion group had intelligence test scores averaging six points higher than their control condition counterparts. With parental permission, one British research team directly experimented with breast milk. They randomly assigned 424 hospitalized premature infants either to formula feedings or to breast-milk feedings (Lucas et al., 1992). Their finding: On intelligence tests taken at age 8, those nourished with breast milk scored significantly higher than those who were formula-fed. Breast was best. No single experiment is conclusive, of course. But randomly assigning participants to one feeding group or the other effectively eliminated all factors except nutrition. If a behavior (such as test performance) changes when we change an experimental variable (such as infant nutrition), then we infer the variable is having an effect. The point to remember: Unlike correlational studies, which uncover naturally occurring relationships, an experiment manipulates a variable to 197 determine its effect. Procedures and the Placebo Effect Consider, then, how we might assess therapeutic interventions. Our tendency to seek new remedies when we are ill or emotionally down can produce misleading testimonies. If three days into a cold we start taking zinc tablets and find our cold symptoms lessening, we may credit the pills rather than the cold naturally subsiding. In the 1700s, bloodletting seemed effective. People sometimes improved after the treatment; when they didn’t, the practitioner inferred the disease was too advanced to be reversed. So, whether or not a remedy is truly effective, enthusiastic users will probably endorse it. To determine its effect, we must control for other variables. “If I don’t think it’s going to work, will it still work?” And that is precisely how new medications and new methods of psychological therapy are evaluated (Modules 72 and 73). Investigators randomly assign participants in these studies to research groups. One group receives a treatment (such as a medication). The other group receives a pseudotreatment—an inert placebo (perhaps a pill with no drug in it). The participants are often blind (uninformed) about what treatment, if any, they are receiving. If the study is using a double-blind procedure, 198 neither the participants nor those who administer the drug and collect the data will know which group is receiving the treatment. Thus neither participants’ or researchers’ expectations can bias the results. double-blind procedure an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies. In double-blind studies, researchers can check a treatment’s actual effects apart from the participants’ and the staff’s belief in its healing powers. Just thinking you are getting a treatment can boost your spirits, relax your body, and relieve your symptoms. This placebo effect is well documented in reducing pain, depression, and anxiety (Kirsch, 2010). Athletes have run faster when given a supposed performance-enhancing drug (McClung & Collins, 2007). Decaf-coffee drinkers have reported increased vigor and alertness—when they thought their brew had caffeine in it (Dawkins et al., 2011). People have felt better after receiving a phony mood-enhancing drug (Michael et al., 2012). And the more expensive the placebo, the more “real” it seems to us—a fake pill that costs $2.50 worked better than one costing 10 cents (Waber et al., 2008). To know how effective a therapy really is, researchers must control for a possible placebo effect. placebo [pluh-SEE-bo; Latin for “I shall please”] effect experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent. Check Your Understanding 199 Ask Yourself Can you think of a time when you may have been tricked by the placebo effect? Test Yourself What measures do researchers use to prevent the placebo effect from confusing their results? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. Independent and Dependent Variables Flip It Video: Variables in Experiments Here is a practical experiment: In a not yet published study, Victor Benassi and his colleagues gave college psychology students frequent in-class quizzes. Some items served merely as review—students were given questions with answers. Other self-testing items required students to actively produce the answers. When tested weeks later on a final exam, students did far better on material on which they had been tested (75 percent correct) rather than merely reviewed (51 percent correct). By a wide margin, testing beat restudy. This simple experiment manipulated just one variable: the study procedure (reading answers versus self-testing). We call this experimental factor the independent variable because we can vary it independently of other factors, such as the students’ memories, intelligence, and age. These other factors that can potentially influence a study’s results are called confounding variables. Random assignment controls for possible confounding variables. independent variable in an experiment, the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied. confounding variable a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s 200 results. Experiments examine the effect of one or more independent variables on some measurable behavior, called the dependent variable because it can vary depending on what takes place during the experiment. Both variables are given precise operational definitions, which specify the procedures that manipulate the independent variable (the review versus self-testing study method in this experiment) or measure the dependent variable (final exam performance). These definitions answer the “What do you mean?” question with a level of precision that enables others to replicate the study. (See Figure 6.3 for the previously mentioned British breast-milk experiment’s design.) dependent variable in an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated. Figure 6.3 Experimentation To discern causation, psychologists control for confounding variables by randomly assigning some participants to an experimental group, others to a control group. Measuring the dependent variable (later intelligence test score) will determine the effect of the independent 201 variable (type of milk). Let’s pause to check your understanding using a simple psychology experiment: To test the effect of perceived ethnicity on the availability of rental housing, researchers sent identically worded e-mail inquiries to 1115 Los Angeles–area landlords (Carpusor & Loges, 2006). The researchers varied the ethnic connotation of the sender’s name and tracked the percentage of landlords’ positive replies (invitations to view the apartment in person). “Patrick McDougall,” “Said Al-Rahman,” and “Tyrell Jackson” received, respectively, 89 percent, 66 percent, and 56 percent invitations. (In this experiment, what was the independent variable? The dependent variable?) 6 “ [We must guard] against not just racial slurs, but . . . against the subtle impulse to call Johnny back for a job interview, but not Jamal.” U.S. President Barack Obama, Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney, June 26, 2015 A key goal of experimental design is validity, which means the experiment will test what it is supposed to test. In the rental housing experiment, we might ask, “Did the e-mail inquiries test the effect of perceived ethnicity? Did the landlords’ response actually vary with the ethnicity of the name?” validity the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to. AP® EXAM TIP The identification of independent and dependent variables is the single most likely concept to be tested on the AP® exam. Experiments are critical to 202 psychology, and independent and dependent variables are critical to experiments. Experiments can also help us evaluate social programs. Do early childhood education programs boost impoverished children’s chances for success? What are the effects of different antismoking campaigns? Do school sex-education programs reduce teen pregnancies? To answer such questions, we can experiment: If an intervention is welcomed but resources are scarce, we could use a lottery to randomly assign some people (or regions) to experience the new program and others to a control condition. If later the two groups differ, the intervention’s effect will be supported (Passell, 1993). Let’s recap. A variable is anything that can vary (infant nutrition, intelligence, TV exposure—anything within the bounds of what is feasible and ethical to measure). Experiments aim to manipulate an independent variable, measure a dependent variable, and control confounding variables. An experiment has at least two different conditions: an experimental condition and a comparison or control condition. Random assignment works to minimize preexisting differences between the groups before any treatment effects occur. In this way, an experiment tests the effect of at least one independent variable (what we manipulate) on at least one dependent variable (the outcome we measure). Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself If you were to become a research psychologist, what questions would you like to explore with experiments? Test Yourself By using random assignment, researchers are able to control for ______________ ______________, which are other factors besides the independent variable(s) that may influence research results. 203 Match the term on the left with the description on the right. 1. doubleblind procedure a. helps researchers generalize from a small set of survey responses to a larger population 2. random sampling b. helps minimize preexisting differences between experimental and control groups 3. random assignment c. controls for the placebo effect; neither researchers nor participants know who receives the real treatment Why, when testing a new drug to control blood pressure, would we learn more about its effectiveness from giving it to half of the participants in a group of 1000 than to all 1000 participants? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 204 Module 6 REVIEW 6-1 What does it mean when we say two things are correlated, and what are positive and negative correlations? Correlation is the degree to which two variables are related, and how well one predicts the other. In a positive correlation, two factors increase or decrease together. In a negative correlation, one variable increases as the other decreases. A correlation coefficient describes the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables, from +1.00 (a perfect positive correlation) through zero (no correlation at all) to −1.00 (a perfect negative correlation). The relationship may be displayed in a scatterplot, in which each dot represents a value for the two variables. 6-2 Why do correlations enable prediction, but not cause-effect explanation? Correlations enable prediction because they show how two factors are related—either positively or negatively. A correlation can indicate the possibility of a cause-effect relationship, but it does not prove the direction of the influence, or whether an underlying third factor may explain the correlation. 6-3 What are illusory correlations, and what is regression toward the mean? Illusory correlations are random events that we notice and falsely assume are related. Regression toward the mean is the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back toward their average. 205 6-4 What are the characteristics of experimentation that make it possible to isolate cause and effect? To discover cause-effect relationships, psychologists conduct experiments, manipulating one or more variables of interest and controlling other variables. Using random assignment, they can minimize confounding variables, such as preexisting differences between the experimental group (exposed to the treatment) and the control group (given a placebo or different version of the treatment). The independent variable is the factor the experimenter manipulates to study its effect; the dependent variable is the factor the experimenter measures to discover any changes occurring in response to the manipulation of the independent variable. Studies may use a double-blind procedure to avoid the placebo effect and researcher’s bias. An experiment has validity if it tests what it is supposed to test. Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Which of the following is an example of negative correlation? a. People who spend more time exercising tend to weigh less. b. Teenage females tend to have fewer speeding tickets than teenage males. c. Students with lower IQ scores tend to have lower grades. d. As hours studying for a test decrease, so do grades on that test. e. Students’ shoe sizes are not related to their grades. 2. In an experiment to test the effects of room temperature on test performance the independent variable is a. the scores on the test before the experiment begins. b. the scores on the test at the end of the experiment. c. whether the teacher was male or female. 206 d. the temperature of the room. e. the style of test (multiple choice versus essay). 3. Researchers have discovered that individuals with lower income levels report having fewer hours of total sleep. Therefore, a. income and sleep levels are positively correlated. b. income and sleep levels are negatively correlated. c. income and sleep levels are inversely correlated. d. income and sleep levels are not correlated. e. lower income levels cause individuals to have fewer hours of sleep. 4. Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest relationship between two variables? a. +0.30 b. +0.75 c. +1.3 d. –0.85 e. –0.05 5. The purpose of random assignment is to a. allow participants in both the experimental and control groups to be exposed to the independent variable. b. ensure that every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the research. c. eliminate the placebo effect. d. reduce potential confounding variables. e. generate operational definitions for the independent and dependent variables. 6. In a drug study, neither the participants nor the person distributing the pills knows who is receiving the new drug and who is receiving the placebo. This type of research design is said to be a(n) _____ study. a. correlational b. confounding c. double-blind 207 d. single-blind e. illusory Practice FRQs 1. Researchers surveyed 800 high school students enrolled in AP® Psychology to determine whether students with higher scores on anxiety scales had lower scores on standardized tests. Students with higher scores on anxiety scales were indeed found to have lower scores on standardized tests. Explain how each of the following terms or phrases applies to the situation described above: Random sampling Generalization Correlation does not mean causation Answer 1 point: The researchers could use random sampling to choose the 800 students for their survey. The names could, for example, be chosen in such a way (say, every fiftieth name of those taking the course) to ensure that every test taker has the same chance of being selected. Page 47 1 point: If the random sample is used, it will be representative of the wider population from which it was drawn. Thus, the researchers will be able to generalize the results from their sample to the wider population of AP® Psychology students. The results of the survey would only apply to AP® Psychology students, not high school students in general. Pages 70–71 1 point: Even if anxiety and test scores correlate positively, the researchers would not be able to say that anxiety caused the lower standardized test scores. Page 53 2. Ms. Ledbetter wants to determine if the new review activity she 208 developed will improve student performance on unit exams. She randomly separates 160 students into two groups. Group A reviews for the unit exam in the traditional manner they have always used. Group B participates in the new review activity. After reviewing, both groups are given the same unit exam and their scores are compared. Explain how the following terms relate to this study: Independent variable Dependent variable Control group (3 points) 209 Module 7 Research Design and Ethics in Psychology LEARNING TARGETS 7-1 Explain the process of determining which research design to use. 7-2 Explain the value of simplified laboratory conditions in illuminating everyday life. 7-3 Explain why psychologists study animals, and describe the ethical guidelines that safeguard animal research subjects. 7-4 Describe the ethical guidelines that safeguard human research participants. 7-5 Describe how values affect psychological science. 210 Research Design 7-1 How would you know which research design to use? Throughout this book, you will read about amazing psychological science discoveries. But how do we know fact from fiction? How do psychological scientists choose research methods and design their studies in ways that provide meaningful results? Understanding how research is done—how testable questions are developed and studied—is key to appreciating all of psychology. Table 7.1 compares the features of psychology’s main research methods. In later modules, you will read about other research designs, including twin studies (Module 14) and cross-sectional and longitudinal research (Module 54). TABLE 7.1 Comparing Research Methods Research Method Basic Purpose How Conducted What Is Manipulated Weaknesses Descriptive To observe and record behavior Do case studies, naturalistic observations, or surveys Nothing No control of variables; single cases may be misleading Correlational To detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another Collect data on two or more variables; no manipulation Nothing Cannot specify cause and effect Experimental To explore cause and effect Manipulate one or more factors; use random The independent variable(s) Sometimes not feasible; results may not generalize 211 assignment to other contexts; not ethical to manipulate certain variables In psychological research, no questions are off limits, except untestable (or unethical) ones: Does free will exist? Are people born evil? Is there an afterlife? Psychologists can’t test those questions. But they can test whether free will beliefs, aggressive personalities, and a belief in life after death influence how people think, feel, and act (Dechesne et al., 2003; Shariff et al., 2014; Webster et al., 2014). Having chosen their question, psychologists then select the most appropriate research design—experimental, correlational, case study, naturalistic observation, twin study, longitudinal, or cross-sectional—and determine how to set it up most effectively. They consider how much money and time are available, ethical issues, and other limitations. For example, it wouldn’t be ethical for a researcher studying child development to use the experimental method and randomly assign children to loving versus punishing homes. Next, psychological scientists decide on an operational definition— how to measure the behavior or mental process being studied. For example, researchers could measure aggressive behavior by measuring participants’ willingness to blast a stranger with supposed intense noise. AP® EXAM TIP Table 7.1 summarizes 13 pages of coverage. Spend some time with it, as it is information you will likely encounter on the AP® exam. Researchers want to have confidence in their findings, so they carefully consider confounding variables—factors other than those being 212 studied that may affect their interpretation of results. Psychological research is a creative adventure. Researchers design each study, measure target behaviors, interpret results, and learn more about the fascinating world of behavior and mental processes along the way. 213 Understanding Everyday Behavior 7-2 How can simplified laboratory conditions illuminate everyday life? When you see or hear about psychological research, do you ever wonder whether people’s behavior in the lab will predict their behavior in everyday life? For example, does detecting the blink of a faint red light in a dark room say anything useful about flying a plane at night? Imagine that, after playing violent video games in the lab, teens become more willing to push buttons that they think electrically shock someone. Would this indicate that playing shooter games makes someone more likely to commit violence in everyday life? Before you answer, consider: The experimenter intends the laboratory environment to be a simplified reality—one that simulates and controls important features of everyday life. Just as a wind tunnel lets airplane designers re-create airflow forces under controlled conditions, a laboratory experiment lets psychologists re-create psychological forces under controlled conditions. An experiment’s purpose is not to re-create the exact behaviors of everyday life but to test theoretical principles (Mook, 1983). In aggression studies, deciding whether to push a button that delivers a noise blast may not be the same as slapping someone in the face, but the principle is the same. It is the resulting principles—not the specific findings—that illuminate everyday behaviors. When psychologists apply laboratory research on aggression to actual violence, they are applying theoretical principles of aggressive behavior, principles they have refined through many experiments. Similarly, it is the principles of the visual system, developed from experiments in artificial settings (such as looking at red lights in the dark), that researchers apply to more complex behaviors such as night flying. And many investigations show that principles derived in the laboratory do typically generalize to the everyday world (Anderson et al., 1999). 214 The point to remember: Psychological science focuses less on specific behaviors than on revealing general principles that help explain many behaviors. And remember: Although psychological principles may help predict behaviors for groups of people, they more faintly predict behavior for an individual in any given situation. Knowing students’ ages may clue us to their average vocabulary level, but individual students’ word power will vary. 215 Psychology’s Research Ethics We have reflected on how a scientific approach can restrain biases. We have seen how case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys help us describe behavior. We have also noted that correlational studies assess the association between two variables, showing how well one predicts another. We have examined the logic that underlies experiments, which use control conditions and random assignment of participants to isolate the effects of an independent variable on a dependent variable. Yet, even knowing this much, you may still be approaching psychology with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. So before we go any further, let’s entertain some common questions about psychology’s ethics and values. Protecting Research Participants Flip It Video: Ethics Studying and Protecting Animals 7-3 Why do psychologists study animals, and what ethical guidelines safeguard animal research subjects? Many psychologists study nonhuman animals because they find them fascinating. They want to understand how different species learn, think, and behave. Psychologists also study animals to learn about people. We humans are not like animals; we are animals, sharing a common biology. Animal experiments have therefore led to treatments for human diseases— insulin for diabetes, vaccines to prevent polio and rabies, transplants to replace defective organs. Humans are complex. But some of the same processes by which we learn are present in rats, monkeys, and even sea slugs. The simplicity of the sea slug’s nervous system is precisely what makes it so revealing of the neural mechanisms of learning. “ Rats are very similar to humans except that they are not stupid enough to 216 purchase lottery tickets.” Dave Barry, July 2, 2002 Sharing such similarities, should we not respect our animal relatives? The animal protection movement protests the use of animals in psychological, biological, and medical research. “We cannot defend our scientific work with animals on the basis of the similarities between them and ourselves and then defend it morally on the basis of differences,” noted Roger Ulrich (1991). Out of this heated debate, two issues emerge. The basic one is whether it is right to place the well-being of humans above that of other animals. In experiments on stress and cancer, is it right that mice get tumors in the hope that people might not? Should some monkeys be exposed to an HIVlike virus in the search for an AIDS vaccine? Humans raise and slaughter 56 billion animals a year (Worldwatch Institute, 2013). Is our use and consumption of other animals as natural as the behavior of carnivorous hawks, cats, and whales? “ Please do not forget those of us who suffer from incurable diseases or disabilities who hope for a cure through research that requires the use of animals.” Psychologist Dennis Feeney (1987) For those who give human life top priority, a second question emerges: What safeguards should protect the well-being of animals in research? One survey of animal researchers gave an answer. Some 98 percent supported government regulations protecting primates, dogs, and cats, and 74 percent also supported regulations providing for the humane care of rats and mice (Plous & Herzog, 2000). Many professional associations and funding agencies already have such guidelines. British Psychological Society (BPS) guidelines call for housing animals under reasonably natural living conditions, with companions for social animals (Lea, 2000). American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines state that researchers must provide “humane care and healthful conditions” and that testing should 217 “minimize discomfort” (APA, 2012). The European Parliament also mandates standards for animal care and housing (Vogel, 2010). Most universities screen research proposals, often through an animal care ethics committee, and laboratories are regulated and inspected. Animals have themselves benefited from animal research. One Ohio team of research psychologists measured stress hormone levels in samples of millions of dogs brought each year to animal shelters. They devised handling and stroking methods to reduce stress and ease the dogs’ transition to adoptive homes (Tuber et al., 1999). Other studies have helped improve care and management in animals’ natural habitats. By revealing our behavioral kinship with animals and the remarkable intelligence of chimpanzees, gorillas, and other animals, experiments have also led to increased empathy and protection for them. At its best, a psychology concerned for humans and sensitive to animals serves the welfare of both. “ The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Mahatma Gandhi, 1869–1948 Animal research benefiting animals Psychologists have helped zoos enrich animal environments, such as by reducing the “learned helplessness” of captivity by giving animals more choices (Kurtycz, 2015; Weir, 2013). Thanks partly to research on the benefits of novelty, control, and stimulation, these gorillas are enjoying an improved quality of life in New York’s Bronx Zoo. 218 Studying and Protecting Humans 7-4 What ethical guidelines safeguard human research participants? What about human participants? Does the image of white-coated scientists seeming to deliver electric shocks trouble you? Actually, most psychological studies are free of such stress. Blinking lights, flashing words, and pleasant social interactions are more common. Moreover, psychology’s experiments are mild compared with the stress and humiliation often inflicted in reality TV shows. In one episode of The Bachelor, a man dumped his new fiancée on camera, at the producers’ request, for the woman who earlier had finished second (Collins, 2009). Occasionally, though, researchers do temporarily stress or deceive people, but only when they believe it is essential to a justifiable end, such as understanding and controlling violent behavior or studying mood swings. Some experiments won’t work if participants know everything beforehand. (Wanting to be helpful, the participants might try to confirm the researcher’s predictions.) The ethics codes of the APA and Britain’s BPS urge researchers to (1) obtain potential participants’ informed consent to take part, (2) protect participants from greater-than-usual harm and discomfort, (3) keep information about individual participants confidential, and (4) fully debrief people (explain the research afterward, including any temporary deception). As with nonhuman animals, most university ethics committees (sometimes called institutional review boards) also have guidelines that screen research proposals and safeguard human participants’ well-being. informed consent giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. debriefing the postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any 219 deceptions, to its participants. Values in Psychology 7-5 How do values affect psychological science? Values affect what we study, how we study it, and how we interpret results. Researchers’ values influence their choice of research topics. Should we study worker productivity or worker morale? Sex discrimination or gender differences? Conformity or independence? Values can also color our observations and interpretations; sometimes we see what we want or expect to see (Figure 7.1). “There can be no peace until they renounce their Rabbit God and accept our Duck God.” Figure 7.1 What do you see? Our expectations influence what we perceive. Did you see a duck or a rabbit? Show some friends this image with the rabbit photo covered 220 up and see if they are more likely to perceive a duck instead. (Inspired by Shepard, 1990.) Even the words we use to describe traits and tendencies can reflect our values. In psychology and in everyday speech, labels describe and labels evaluate: One person’s rigidity is another’s consistency. One person’s undocumented worker is another’s illegal alien. One person’s faith is another’s fanaticism. One country’s enhanced interrogation techniques become torture when practiced by an enemy. Our labeling someone as firm or stubborn, careful or picky, discreet or secretive reveals our own attitudes. Popular applications of psychology also contain hidden values. If you defer to “professional” guidance about how to live—how to get along with parents, how to achieve self-fulfillment, how to respond to sexual feelings, how to succeed in school—you are accepting value-laden advice. A science of behavior and mental processes can help us reach our goals. But it cannot decide what those goals should be. If some people see psychology as merely common sense, others have a different concern—that it is becoming dangerously powerful. Might psychology be used to manipulate people? Knowledge, like all power, can be used for good or evil. Nuclear power has been used to light up cities—and to demolish them. Persuasive power has been used to educate people—and to deceive them. Although psychology does have the power to deceive, its purpose is to enlighten. Every day, psychologists explore ways to enhance learning, creativity, and compassion. Psychology speaks to many of our world’s great problems— war, overpopulation, prejudice, family crises, crime—all of which involve attitudes and behaviors. Psychology also speaks to our deepest longings— for nourishment, for love, for happiness. Psychology cannot address all of life’s great questions, but it speaks to some mighty important ones. 221 Psychology speaks In making its historic 1954 school desegregation decision, the U.S. Supreme Court cited the expert testimony and research of psychologists Kenneth Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark (1947). The Clarks reported that, when given a choice between Black and White dolls, most African-American children chose the White doll, which seemingly indicated internalized anti-Black prejudice. Check Your Understanding Ask Yourself Were any of this module’s questions your questions? Do you have other questions or concerns about psychology? Test Yourself How are animal subjects and human research participants protected? Answers to the Test Yourself questions can be found in Appendix E at the end of the book. 222 Module 7 REVIEW 7-1 How would you know which research design to use? Psychological scientists design studies and choose research methods that will best provide meaningful results. Researchers generate testable questions, and then carefully consider the best design to use in studying those questions (experimental, correlational, case study, naturalistic observation, twin study, longitudinal, or cross-sectional). Next, psychologists measure the variables they are studying, and finally they interpret their results, keeping possible confounding variables in mind. 7-2 How can simplified laboratory conditions illuminate everyday life? Researchers intentionally create a controlled, artificial environment in the laboratory in order to test general theoretical principles. These general principles help explain everyday behaviors. 7-3 Why do psychologists study animals, and what ethical guidelines safeguard animal research subjects? Some psychologists are primarily interested in animal behavior; others want to better understand the physiological and psychological processes shared by humans and other species. Government agencies have established standards for animal care and housing. Professional associations and funding agencies also have guidelines for protecting animals’ well-being. 7-4 What ethical guidelines safeguard human research participants? 223 The APA ethics code outlines standards for safeguarding human participants’ well-being, including obtaining their informed consent and debriefing them later. 7-5 How do values affect psychological science? Psychologists’ values influence their choice of research topics, their theories and observations, their labels for behavior, and their professional advice. Applications of psychology’s principles have been used mainly in the service of humanity. Multiple-Choice Questions 1. What must a researcher do to fulfill the ethical principle of informed consent? a. Keep information about participants confidential. b. Provide financial compensation to the participants. c. Protect participants from potential harm. d. Provide participants with enough information about a study to enable a rational decision about whether to participate. e. Provide participants with a postexperimental explanation of the study. 2. Which ethical principle requires that at the end of the study participants be told about the true purpose of the research? a. Institutional review board approval b. Informed consent c. Confidentiality d. Debriefing e. Protection from physical harm 3. The laboratory environment is designed to a. exactly re-create the events of everyday life. 224 b. re-create psychological forces under controlled conditions. c. re-create psychological forces under random conditions. d. minimize the use of animals and humans in psychological research. e. provide the opportunity to do case study research. 4. Which of the following animal studies is most likely to receive approval? a. Do monkeys who smoke get cancer? b. Are dogs who are abused violent? c. Will rats deprived of food for 1 week survive? d. What are the effects of raising kittens in isolation? e. Can dolphins learn simple language? Practice FRQs 1. Nonhuman animals are often subjects in psychological experiments. Provide three reasons why a psychologist might use animals instead of humans in a study. Answer 1 point: Some researchers use nonhuman animals because they are interested in understanding the animals themselves, including their thinking and behaviors. Page 61 1 point: Others use nonhuman animals to reduce the complexity that is part of human research. They hope to understand principles that may be similar to those that govern human psychological phenomena. Page 61 1 point: Researchers also study nonhuman animals in order to apply the findings in ways that will help both humans and the other animals. Page 61 2. Researchers interested in studying stress gave 150 high school seniors a very difficult math exam. After the test, the researchers measured stress 225 by examining physiological changes with extensive medical testing that included drawing blood samples. When the test was over, they shared the results with the students but did not publish individual data. Explain whether or not this study conforms to each of the ethical standards: Informed consent Debriefing Confidentiality Protection from harm (4 points) 226 Module 8 Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life LEARNING TARGETS 8-1 Explain why we need statistics in psychology and in everyday life. 8-2 Describe descriptive statistics. 8-3 Explain how we describe data using the three measures of central tendency. 8-4 Discuss the relative usefulness of the two measures of variation. 8-5 Describe inferential statistics. 8-6 Explain how we determine whether an observed difference can be generalized to other populations. 227 The Need for Statistics 8-1 Why do we need statistics in psychology and in everyday life? For psychologists using descriptive, correlational, experimental, and other research designs, statistics are the tools that allow them to measure variables and then interpret results. Yet, accurate statistical understanding benefits everyone. To be an educated person today is to be able to apply simple statistical principles to everyday reasoning. We don’t need to memorize complicated formulas to think more clearly and critically about data. Off-the-top-of-the-head estimates often misread reality and mislead the public. Someone throws out a big, round number. Others echo it, and before long the big, round number becomes public misinformation. Two examples: Ten percent of people are gay or lesbian. Or is it 3 to 4 percent, as suggested by various national surveys (Module 53)? We ordinarily use only 10 percent of our brain. Or is it closer to 100 percent (Module 12)? The point to remember: Doubt big, round, undocumented numbers. If you read that there are one million missing children, two million homeless, or three million spouse abusers, you can be pretty sure that someone is guessing. If they want to emphasize the problem, they will be motivated to guess big. If they want to minimize the problem, they will guess small. FYI When setting goals, we love big, round numbers. We’re far more likely to want to lose 20 pounds than 19 or 21 pounds. And by modifying their behavior, batters are nearly four times more likely to finish the season with a .300 average than with a .299 average (Pope & Simonsohn, 2011). Statistical illiteracy also feeds needless health scares (Gigerenzer, 228 2010). In the 1990s, the British press reported a study showing that women taking a particular contraceptive pill had a 100 percent increased risk of blood clots that could produce strokes. This caused thousands of women to stop taking the pill, leading to a wave of unwanted pregnancies and an estimated 13,000 additional abortions (which also are associated with increased blood-clot risk). And what did the study actually find? A 100 percent increased risk, indeed—but only from 1 in 7000 to 2 in 7000. Such false alarms underscore the need to teach statistical reasoning and to present statistical information more transparently so that the public can make informed decisions based on accurate risk assessments.