1. The hypothesis of this experiment is: 2. The independent variable(s) is: 3. The dependent variable(s) is: 4. The control group is:

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1 Methodology Task: For each selection identify the hypothesis (if.than statement), independent and dependent variable, control group, experimental group, and possible confounding variables. Selection 1: Two groups of rats run a maze. The time that it takes for each rat to reach the goal box is recorded. One group of rats is deprived of food for 24 hours before running the maze. The other group is fed one hour before the trials. All other conditions for the two groups are the same. It was found that the rats which were deprived of food for 24 hours before each trial ran the maze at a faster rate than those fed an hour before the maze trials. Selection 2: A psychology teacher allowed her third period class to eat snacks while taking an exam. Her fourth period was not allowed to eat snacks while taking the exam. She found that the class which snacked during the test scored better than the class who was not allowed to snack. Prior to this, both classes averaged comparable exam scores. Chapter 1 Methodology Page 1 of 6

2 Selection 3: Four groups of rats were being conditioned to elicit an escape-avoidance response. Groups 1, 2, and 3 were given 10, 15, and 20 volts of shock respectively. Group 4 was given no shock. All of the other conditions were the same for each group. The time it took for each rat to elicit an escape-avoidance response was recorded. It was found that the more shock the rats received, the less time it took for them to learn the escapeavoidance response. Selection 4: The leading producer of paper products wanted to increase their sales of paper cups. They set up a test program in local supermarkets. Identical 8 oz paper cups were packaged in two ways half of the stock was packaged in the present plain white boxes while the other half of the stock was packaged in bright, cheery, pastel-colored packages. Sales volume for each type of package was recorded over a period of six months. At the conclusion of the study, it was found that more cups were bought when the package was bright, pastel colored boxes. Chapter 1 Methodology Page 2 of 6

3 Selection 5: Bob just had his car tuned, but was still dissatisfied with his current gas mileage. He decided to try a different gasoline Cheap-O, and noted the miles per gallon that he received. For the following two weeks, Bob purchased a better brand of gasoline Shell, and noted the miles per gallon that he received. Bob determined that he received better gas mileage with Shell gasoline. In the long run, it was more economical to buy the higher priced gas (Shell) because he received considerably better miles per gallon than with the lower price gas (Cheap-O). Chapter 1 Methodology Page 3 of 6

4 Experiment v. Correlation Study Task: For each selection identify if the research is an experiment or a study and explain why. Experiment Shows causation Behavior is caused by manipulating the independent variable Data collection: only naturalistic observation Must have independent and dependent variables Must have a control group Study Shows correlation two variables are related or one is used to predict the other Data collection: surveys, questionnaires, case studies, interviews Selection 1: Karsh (1983) designed an experiment on the relationships between early handling and friendliness in cats. She randomly assigned kittens to one of three groups, which differed according to the age of first handling. The first group was handled daily from 3 to 14 weeks of age, the second from 7 to 14 weeks of age, and the third received no handling from birth to age 14 weeks. Handling was defined as an experimenter holding a kitten on his or her lap, while petting it for 15 minutes. Friendliness was measured by how long each kitten stayed with the experimenter when not restrained, and by how long it took each kitten to reach the experimenter. Karsh found that the kittens handled from 3 to 14 weeks stayed longer with the experimenter and ran more quickly to the experimenter than kittens handled from 7 to 14 weeks. Also, kittens handled from 7 to 14 weeks were more "friendly" than kittens that received no handling at all. Karsh concluded that kittens should be handled as early as possible, to ensure lifelong friendliness toward humans. Selection 2: Garden City, NJ --- Researchers at State University have found that students who watch in excess of 3 hours of television per day get lower grades than other students. The study was based on a survey of students at Garden Valley School. The average student watched approximately 2 hours of TV per day. Efforts to discourage TV watching have been announced by the school s principal, Mr. George Elliot. "We must get our kids to stop watching TV," Mr. Elliot stated. Chapter 1 Methodology Page 4 of 6

5 Selection 3: Glen Allen, Canada --- Becky, a graduate student in psychology at VCU, was doing some research on boy/girl playground interaction for elementary children. She decided to use the naturalistic observation technique. She set up a hidden camera to film the kids during recess. Since she was going to be graded on her assignment, she met with the kids before they went out to recess and told them just to act normal and ignore it if they saw her walking around taking notes Selection 4: New York --- Psychologists wanted to see if monkeys would get ulcers if they were put in stressful situations where they had to make decisions or where they felt helpless. They picked aggressive lively monkeys and put them in a device that delivered a low level electrical shock to them but gave these monkeys a hand held switch that could turn off the shock. They called these monkeys "executive" monkeys. Then they took mild, shy monkeys and put them in the same device and gave them the same series of shocks without any way to turn off the shocks. Sure enough, the "executive" monkeys developed ulcers while the mild monkeys didn t. The researchers proved that decision making under stressful conditions produces ulcers. Selection 5: Chicago -- Dr. Richards, a prominent psychiatrist, had a most interesting client. Her name was Sybil and she manifested 16 different personalities, each with their own histories, likes, temperaments and feelings. After doing therapy for her 12 years Dr. Richard found a pattern of repeated child abuse including sexual abuse, incest and physical abuse. He concluded, on the Oprah show, that such awful childhood experiences are the cause of multiple personality disorder Chapter 1 Methodology Page 5 of 6

6 Selection 6: Hermitage, VT -- The senior AP Psychology class did a survey and discovered a positive correlation between students grades and their level of involvement in extracurricular activities. Students who earned high grades in their classes also participate heavily in extracurricular activities. This influenced the principal to announce to the incoming freshman class that they all ought to get involved in such activities as it has been proven that low involvement in clubs and sports leads to poor grades and high involvement in such activities results in good grades Selection 7: Miami, FL -- A counseling psychologist was interested in testing her hypothesis that physical exercise lessens depression. She was currently treating 39 people suffering from chronic depression, 36 of whom consented to participate in her study. She then assigned 12 people to each of 3 conditions. People in condition I were asked to exercise outdoors at least 3 times per week, people in condition II at least 5 times per week, and the people in condition III were not asked to exercise but were asked to spend some time outdoors at least 3 times a week. At the end of the six weeks, each was assessed for depression. People in each of the conditions were now less depressed than the outset of the experiment, and, in addition, people in conditions I and II were significantly less depressed than people in condition III. Level of depression was equal in conditions I and II. The researcher concluded that exercise helps depression above and beyond improvement due to spending time outdoors. She also concluded that 3 times a week was enough to benefit the depressed person. Chapter 1 Methodology Page 6 of 6