Assignment
Chapter 1: The Nature of Psychology
1. Define the following terms: psychology, science, behavior, empirical method.
2. Define structuralism and functionalism. Describe them in your own words.
3. What are the contemporary approaches to psychology? Describe these approaches in your own words.
4. What three areas of careers in psychology are the most interesting to you? Why?
5. Read "can Facebook make you miserable?" on page 7 of your textbook. Look into current empirical research (e.g., psychological studies, see AAP, JAMA) on the impact of social media on psychological health. Share the research information that you found and describe, in your informed opinion, some of the negative impacts of social media usage.
6. After reading Chapter 1, ask six friends or family members to tell you the first thing that comes to mind when they think of psychology or a psychologist. Share their answers.
7. THOUGHT QUESTION: Psychology encompasses a wide range of topics. What interests you the most about the field of psychology? What do you hope to learn in this class this semester?
Chapter 2: Psychology's Scientific Method
1. What are the five steps involved in psychology's scientific method?
2. Describe cor relational research. Give an example of a cor relational study.
3. If a study shows that the correlation between the number of absences in a course and exam grades calculate to be -0.55, how are these two variables related? Describe the relationship.
4. What variable in a research study is the observed or measured variable?
5. Describe experimental research. What distinguishes the experimental method from other methods of scientific observation? What type of method allows for cause-and-effectconclusions to be drawn?
6. Define experimental and control groups. Give an example in your own words.
For the following examples, identify the independent and dependent variables:
1. A researcher wants to know if eating breakfast or skipping breakfast has any effect on students' test scores.
Independent variable _____________________
Dependent variable _____________________
1. A researcher wants to know if jury verdicts are more lenient on male or female defendants.
Independent variable _____________________
Dependent variable _____________________
1. Describe a double-blind experiment.
2. What are some ethical issues related to psychological research?
3. What is the difference between a random sample and random assignment?
4. What are the five suggestions for thinking critically about psychological research? Describe these concepts in your own words.
5. Find a current article in this journal and describe the following: topic of the article, type of research (correlation or experiment), independent variable, dependent variable, and the results found in the study.
6. Give the APA reference citation for the article that you described.
7. THOUGHT QUESTION: Psychologists are often characters in movies, television shows, and other works of fiction. Give one example of a psychologist in a work of fiction. Describe their role and whether or not it seems accurate with what you have learned in Chapters 1 and 2.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.