Assignment 1: Self Assessment

1. By the 1920s a new definition of psychology had gained favor. Psychology was said to be the science of...
   • behavior
2. A cognitive psychologist is most likely to be interested in...
   • memory and perception
3. Operational definitions are...
   • definitions which tell how to collect data
4. What does it mean to say a definition is valid?
   • it measures what you think it measures, as shown by using a different method to measure the same variable
5. What does it mean to say a definition is reliable?
   • you can measure the same thing again and get the same results
6. Replication...
   • is essentially repetition of research in all its details
7. In observational research there are no...
   • experimental manipulations
8. What is the independent variable, in experimental research?
   • the variable which is manipulated in an experiment
9. A single-blind design should be sufficient to eliminate -------------------- as a confounded variable.
   • placebo effects
10. How are experimenter effects eliminated?
    • with a double blind design

Assignment 2: Experiments For You To Analyze

1.      Hypothesis:  Solders who have a higher IQ are more effective in combat.

Independent variable:  The solder’s scores in combat and intelligence will vary

Dependant variable: The solder’s scores in combat and intelligence will be measured

Control:  None because nothing is left unchanged

Ethics:  The experiment is not properly explained to participants

2.      Hypothesis:  A person’s mind has the power to automatically hide unpleasant memories

Independent variable:  Some people were given a drug to make them sick to the stomach.

Dependant variable:  People who remembered the sign and who got the drug.

Control:  Group not given the drug

Ethics:  experiment details explained to everyone

3.      Hypothesis:  Which therapy is better to help a person with depression

Independent variable:  The type of therapy

Dependant variable:   the depression level of the participants

Control:  group one who is tested for depression before given any type of therapy

Ethics:  Random groups not informed of experiment

4.      Hypothesis:  Which type of toy a child will like better

Independent variable: the color, texture and especially the warmth of a toy given to child.

Dependant variable:  Amount of time the child plays with the toy

Control:  3^rd toy given “Fritz the sock” is plain and given the lost time.

Ethics:  Information not given to participants

5.      Hypothesis:  people given Lysine will show less sings of “conversion disorder”

Independent variable:  group of people wearing sneakers were given

Dependant variable: The people who have the Least: conversion symptoms”

Control:  some people that were not wearing sneakers were given a sugar pill

Ethics:  Same standards are not equal in both experiments and the participants are not being informed of the nature of the experiment.