Recitation Sections Learning Objectives

Recitation Section #2 (Thinking Critically) – February 8-9th

Homework #1 (homework questions are highlighted)
1. When you signed up for this course, what did you think psychology would be
about?

2. Define psychology.

3. How would each of psychology’s current perspectives (from Table 1, p. 11:

neuroscience, evolutionary, behavior genetics, psychodynamic, behavioral,
cognitive, and social-cultural) explain why humans sometimes get anxious.

4. Explain the difference between basic research and applied research.

5. What contribution did the research of psychologist Kenneth Clark (p. 50) from
City College make to the American culture?

6. Explain the difference between clinical psychology and psychiatry.

7. What is the scientific attitude, and why is it important for critical thinking?

8. What is the scientific method?

9. Explain why correlational research fails to provide evidence of cause-effect

relationships. How do experiments isolate cause and effect?

10. Here are some recently reported correlations, with interpretations drawn by
journalists. Further research, often including experiments, has clarified cause and
effect in each case. Knowing just these correlations, can you come up with other
possible explanations for each of these?
a. Alcohol use is associated with violence. (One interpretation: Drinking
triggers or unleashes aggressive behavior).
b. Educated people live longer, on average, than less-educated people. (One
interpretation: Education lengthens life and enhances health).
c. Teens engaged in team sports are less likely to use drugs, smoke, have sex,
carry weapons, and eat junk food than are teens who do not engage in
team sports. (One interpretation: Team sports encourage healthy living).
d. Adolescents who frequently see smoking in movies are more likely to
smoke. (One interpretation: Movie stars’ behavior influences
impressionable teens).

11. Why, when testing a new drug for 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?
12. Explain the difference between an independent variable and a dependent
variable. Consider an experiment in which depression is measured on a rating
scale before and after participants receive either a new drug for depression or a
placebo. What is the independent variable in this study? What is the dependent
variable?

13. What does it mean to manipulate a variable? What does it mean to control a
variable? What is the difference between a controlled variable and a control
group?