Module 1 Study Guide

Chapter 1, Appendix, Scientific American Article

Learning Objective 1

Sections 1.1, 1.3, Psychology is a Science; Psychology Develops Critical Thinking

  1. Why is our systematic investigation and measurement of thoughts, feelings, behavior, and brain processes a science? (pp. 4-5)
  2. What is critical thinking, and what are its steps? (pp. 9-13)
  3. When researching a claim yourself, how can you be sure your research is accurate and unbiased? How would you apply critical thinking to your own work? (pp. 9-13)

Learning Objective 2

Section 1.5, Key Principles: Five Interconnected Domains

  1. What are the major domains of psychology? (pp. 17-18)
  2. Why is it important to study psychology from the viewpoints of more than one domain? (pp. 17-18)
  3. What would someone focusing on the biological domain study? (pp. 17-18)
  4. What would someone working within the cognitive domain study? (pp. 17-18)
  5. Which domain explores how our thoughts and behaviors change over time? (pp. 17-18)
  6. Which domain explores how your specific characteristics affect your actions? (pp. 17-18)
  7. What are examples of work conducted within the mental and physical health domain? (pp. 17-18)

Learning Objective 3

Sections 1.6, 1.7, Psychology is Diverse; Psychologists must be Ethical

  1. What different characteristics does diversity refer to? (p. 19)
  2. Why is it important for psychologists to conduct research on people from diverse backgrounds? (pp. 21-22)
  3. Why is it important for researchers to be ethical in their studies? (pp. 23-24)
  4. If you are being ethical in your research, what four different concerns (as listed in our textbook) must you consider? (pp. 23-24)

Learning Objective 4

Section 1.8, Scientific Method

  1. What are the textbook’s 5 steps for following the scientific method? (pp. 25-29)
  2. What is a theory? What does formulating a theory consist of? (pp. 25-26)
  3. What is a testable hypothesis? Why is a good hypothesis necessary for the different goals of science? (p. 26)
  4. What three types of research methods are mainly used in psychology? (pp. 26-27)
  5. How do scientific researchers analyze their data? (pp. 27-28)
  6. How does replication apply to the scientific method? (pp. 28-29)
  7. Why is it important to conduct additional research (on a question) that is not an exact replication of the original study? (p. 29)

Learning Objective 5

Section 1.9, Descriptive Methods

  1. Why are descriptive methods called “descriptive,” and what kind of studies count as descriptive? (pp. 29-30)
  2. What are some advantages of using a case study? What are the disadvantages of case studies? (p. 30)
  3. What is the difference between observational studies with and without intervention? (pp. 30-31)
  4. What is observer bias? How do we try to stop or reduce observer bias? What are ways to stop or reduce reactivity? (p. 30-31)
  5. What are some examples of self-reports in research? (p. 31)
  6. How accurate are self-reports? How can a researcher try to prevent self-report bias from participants? (pp. 31-33)

Learning Objective 6

Section 1.10, Correlational Methods

  1. What is a correlation? What is the correlational method seeking to verify? (pp. 34-35)
  2. What are some advantages of correlational methods? What are some disadvantages? (pp. 34-36)
  3. Why do we repeatedly caution you about confusing correlation and causation? (pp. 35-36)
  4. When does the directionality problem become an issue in correlational findings? (p. 35)
  5. When is it necessary to consider a potential third variable in a correlational study? And why is a “third variable” just one specific variable (singular)? (p. 36)

Learning Objective 7

Section 1.11, Experimental Methods

  1. What do experimental methods consist of? (pp. 37-40)
  2. What is the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable in an experiment? Why are independent & dependent variables necessary for an experiment? (pp. 37-38)
  3. How do operational definitions make variables measurable? (p. 38)
  4. What usually distinguishes a control group from an experimental group? (p. 39)
  5. What is the difference between a “within-subjects” and a “between-groups” design? (p. 39)
  6. Why do experiments (as opposed to correlations) verify causation? (pp. 39-40)

Learning Objective 8

Section 1.11, Experimental Control, Random Samples, Random Assignment

  1. Why is control so crucial for determining causality in an experiment? What is being controlled? (p. 40)
  2. What is a confound? Explain how a confound could affect an experiment. (p. 40)
  3. What is the difference in research between a population and a sample? (pp. 40-41)
  4. When conducting research, how can we get a sample that best represents the population as a whole? Why is a representative sample crucial for good research? (p. 41)
  5. What is a convenience sample? Why might a convenience sample be sufficient? (p. 41)
  6. What is random assignment? (pp. 41-42)
  7. What is the difference between random assignment and random sampling? (pp. 40-42)

Learning Objective 9

Correlations; Inferential Statistics (Appendix A, found after p. 632)

  1. What do correlations measure? (Appendix, p. A5)
  2. What is the correlational coefficient? How strong can it be? (Appendix, p. A5)
  3. What is the difference between a positive and a negative correlation? (Appendix, pp. A5-A6)
  4. How are correlation coefficients used in science and psychological research? (Appendix, pp. A7-A8)
  5. How are inferential statistics used in research? (Appendix, pp. A8-11)
  6. What is statistical significance? Why is statistical significance important in research? (Appendix, pp. A8-11)

Learning Objective 10

Study Skills (Psychology uses Science, Scientific American article, Study Guide Intro)

  1. What do the six “IMPACT” strategies for learning suggest for improving your academic performance? (pp. 6-9)
  2. What is “distributed practice,” and why is it beneficial? (pp. 3-4 of the Study Guide, and “Scientific American Mind” PDF, pp. 49-50)
  3. How would you go about self-testing? (p. 4 of the Study Guide, and “Scientific American Mind” PDF, p. 49)
  4. What is elaboration, and how does elaborative interrogation work as a learning skill? (p. 4 of the Study Guide, and “Scientific American Mind” PDF, pp. 50-51)
  5. What kinds of habits and self-defeating thoughts might interfere with successful studying? (pp. 4-5 of the Study Guide)
  6. Why are highlighting and rereading strategies deficient for good studying? (pp. 4-5 of the Study Guide, and “Scientific American Mind” PDF, p. 52)