PSY 689 Week 4 Data Analysis: Statistical
Table Assignment | 2025 Update with
complete solutions.
Psychological Science ...ANSWER...Tries to understand why people think, feel, and behave the way they
do.
4 Goals of Psychology ...ANSWER...Describe, Explain, Predict, Control.
5 Steps in the Scientific Method ...ANSWER...1. Ask a question or identify a problem. 2. Background
research. 3. Form a hypothesis. 4. Experiment & observe. 5. Draw a conclusion.
Producers ...ANSWER...*Individuals in this role have/are:*
- Coursework in upper-level classes.
- Typically in graduate school in any area of science.
- Working in a research labs of academics, research institutes, or industry.
Consumers ...ANSWER...*Individuals in this role:*
- Read printed or online news stories based on research.
- Watch/listen shows, podcasts, and other media.
- Apply findings to their lives.
- Research helps shape public policy.
*Review Question:*
Which of the following is NOT an example of being a producer of research?
A. Administering a questionnaire of PTSD symptoms.
,B. Conducting a study that involves observing the behavior of adolescents who have been bullied on
social media.
C. Attending a psychological conference.
D. Measuring where the neurotransmitter dopamine is low in brains of patients with
schizophrenia. ...ANSWER...*Answer:* Option C / Attending a psychological conference
*Review Question:*
Students who are interested in being consumers of but not producers of research might choose all of
the following professions EXCEPT:
A. A high-school teacher
B. A political pollster
C. An advertising executive
D. A science writer ...ANSWER...*Answer:* Option B / A political pollster
Basic Research ...ANSWER...- Basic processes of behavior and cognition
- Designed to advance theory
- Takes longer to affect policy
- Cares about "*why*" question
Applied Research ...ANSWER...- Immediate practical implications
- Designed to answer a practical problem
- Can affect policy quickly
- Cares about "*so what*" question
Research Methods ...ANSWER...The ways/methods that psychological researchers set up research
studies in order to test hypotheses.
Statistics ...ANSWER...How do researchers organize, summarize and interpret the data gathered from
their research studies?
, 3 Main Sources of Information ...ANSWER...Authority, Rationalism, Empiricism.
Authority ...ANSWER...Someone in this position could tell you something is true, so thus it must be true.
Rationalism ...ANSWER...An idea makes logical sense, thus it must be true.
Empiricism ...ANSWER...1. Observable evidence supports an idea, so that idea must be true.
2. Deriving knowledge from observation and experimentation.
3. Psychology is an empirical science.
4. Theories are built and tested on the basis of observable data.
5. Authority and Rationalism are secondary.
The Theory-Data Cycle ...ANSWER...*Theory* leads researchers to pose particular *Research Questions*,
which lead to an appropriate *Research Design*. In the context of the design, researchers can formulate
*Hypotheses.* Researchers then collect and analyze *Data*, which feed back into the cycle in one of
two ways: 1. *Supporting data strengthen the theory.* or 2. *Nonsupporting data lead to revised
theories or improved research design.*
Theory ...ANSWER...1. Statement or set of statements that describes general principles about how
variables relate to one another.
2. Built upon collected knowledge; they're not uninformed guesses.
3. Typically the current best explanation for a pattern of data.
4. Can't be proven, but data can suggest whether they should be changed/replaced.
Data ...ANSWER...A set of observations representing the values of some variable, collected from one or
more research studies.
Hypothesis/Prediction ...ANSWER...A way of stating the specific outcome that the researcher expects to
observe if the theory is accurate.
Armchair Psychology ...ANSWER...1. Intuitions about behavior.
Table Assignment | 2025 Update with
complete solutions.
Psychological Science ...ANSWER...Tries to understand why people think, feel, and behave the way they
do.
4 Goals of Psychology ...ANSWER...Describe, Explain, Predict, Control.
5 Steps in the Scientific Method ...ANSWER...1. Ask a question or identify a problem. 2. Background
research. 3. Form a hypothesis. 4. Experiment & observe. 5. Draw a conclusion.
Producers ...ANSWER...*Individuals in this role have/are:*
- Coursework in upper-level classes.
- Typically in graduate school in any area of science.
- Working in a research labs of academics, research institutes, or industry.
Consumers ...ANSWER...*Individuals in this role:*
- Read printed or online news stories based on research.
- Watch/listen shows, podcasts, and other media.
- Apply findings to their lives.
- Research helps shape public policy.
*Review Question:*
Which of the following is NOT an example of being a producer of research?
A. Administering a questionnaire of PTSD symptoms.
,B. Conducting a study that involves observing the behavior of adolescents who have been bullied on
social media.
C. Attending a psychological conference.
D. Measuring where the neurotransmitter dopamine is low in brains of patients with
schizophrenia. ...ANSWER...*Answer:* Option C / Attending a psychological conference
*Review Question:*
Students who are interested in being consumers of but not producers of research might choose all of
the following professions EXCEPT:
A. A high-school teacher
B. A political pollster
C. An advertising executive
D. A science writer ...ANSWER...*Answer:* Option B / A political pollster
Basic Research ...ANSWER...- Basic processes of behavior and cognition
- Designed to advance theory
- Takes longer to affect policy
- Cares about "*why*" question
Applied Research ...ANSWER...- Immediate practical implications
- Designed to answer a practical problem
- Can affect policy quickly
- Cares about "*so what*" question
Research Methods ...ANSWER...The ways/methods that psychological researchers set up research
studies in order to test hypotheses.
Statistics ...ANSWER...How do researchers organize, summarize and interpret the data gathered from
their research studies?
, 3 Main Sources of Information ...ANSWER...Authority, Rationalism, Empiricism.
Authority ...ANSWER...Someone in this position could tell you something is true, so thus it must be true.
Rationalism ...ANSWER...An idea makes logical sense, thus it must be true.
Empiricism ...ANSWER...1. Observable evidence supports an idea, so that idea must be true.
2. Deriving knowledge from observation and experimentation.
3. Psychology is an empirical science.
4. Theories are built and tested on the basis of observable data.
5. Authority and Rationalism are secondary.
The Theory-Data Cycle ...ANSWER...*Theory* leads researchers to pose particular *Research Questions*,
which lead to an appropriate *Research Design*. In the context of the design, researchers can formulate
*Hypotheses.* Researchers then collect and analyze *Data*, which feed back into the cycle in one of
two ways: 1. *Supporting data strengthen the theory.* or 2. *Nonsupporting data lead to revised
theories or improved research design.*
Theory ...ANSWER...1. Statement or set of statements that describes general principles about how
variables relate to one another.
2. Built upon collected knowledge; they're not uninformed guesses.
3. Typically the current best explanation for a pattern of data.
4. Can't be proven, but data can suggest whether they should be changed/replaced.
Data ...ANSWER...A set of observations representing the values of some variable, collected from one or
more research studies.
Hypothesis/Prediction ...ANSWER...A way of stating the specific outcome that the researcher expects to
observe if the theory is accurate.
Armchair Psychology ...ANSWER...1. Intuitions about behavior.
