Psych 242 Exam (Due in class Feb 9^th)

Name:

Alias:

Note: For this class you will need to create a nickname or “alias.” You will need to create this alias for two reasons. First, when we post grades on-line, we will need to post your grade in a way that preserves your confidentiality. As such, we will always post your grade with your alias as opposed to using your real name. Second, later in the semester you will be working on home works and exercises over the Internet. In order to get credit for these web-based assignments, you will need to enter your alias. So, please create an alias now and write it down somewhere so you can refer to it at a later time. It will be important that you use the same alias consistently throughout this course. (Otherwise you may not get credit for your work.)

This exam will be due in class on Mon Feb 9^th. Please make your writing legible. In fact, I would strongly encourage you to “copy and paste” these questions into a word processor and type your answers. If we can’t read your writing, we will NOT give you the benefit of the doubt.

For questions 1 - 3, think about the five limitations of personal experience that we discussed in class. Based on those limitations, indicate at least one problem with the inferences that are made in the examples that follow. (Please do not rely upon the “not enough information” or the “it feels good so it must be true” limitations.)

1. A local high school teacher has observed that her students are particularly disruptive each year on Halloween. To demonstrate the validity of her belief to her colleagues, the teacher went through the school’s disciplinary records and noted that that approximately 6% of the students were “written-up” (i.e., sent to the principal’s office for disciplinary problems) during the end of October of the most recent school year. She concluded that Halloween is in fact disruptive to student behavior. Why may her inference be problematic?

2. Statistically speaking, members of ethnic group “Y” tend to be arrested for shoplifting more than members of group “X.” As a result, many security guards engage in “racial profiling” (i.e., targeting members of racial group “Y” as possible suspects). If asked, many security guards will tell you that members of group “Y” are more likely to engage in criminal acts than members of group “X.” Let’s assume that the security guards are wrong, and that, in reality, both ethnic groups are equally likely to engage in crime. How might the methods used by the security guards lead them to the incorrect conclusion that group “Y” commits more crimes?

3. In lecture we conducted a study on the effectiveness of subliminal recordings. I claimed that, while informative, our study suffered from a number of limitations. One of those limitations was the order in which we listened to the two recordings. (We listened to the positive recording first, followed by the negative one.) Why may the order in which we listened to the two recordings undermine our ability to draw valid inferences from the study?

4. According to lecture, science is a method that can be applied to understand any topic. As a consequence, determining whether or not something is scientific hinges more on the way people try to understand things rather than the things they are trying to understand.

With this in mind, I would like for you to consider the potential healing power of prayer. Many people believe that it is possible to heal the sick by praying for them. Regardless of your personal beliefs on whether prayer works, I would like for you to consider what it would take to study the potential healing power of prayer scientifically.

Here is what I would like for you to do for Question # 5. First, read the article on prayer posted on the class web page [http://www.uic.edu/classes/psych/psych242f/spring2004/targ.htm]. Second, discuss at least two ways in which Elizabeth Targ’s research on prayer was not scientific in the way we’ve discussed in class. Finally, indicate why you think Dr. Targ was such a strong believer in the healing power of prayer. In what ways did her expectations, beliefs, biases, etc. influence the way she interpreted her data?

5.  The Ruscio text describes the case of a woman who came to believe that she was a High Priestess in a satanic cult. Although Ruscio uses this example to make a number of points, one of the important points is that often therapists can harm people even when they intend to help people because the treatments they use have not been scientifically studied.

Imagine that you are a clinical psychologist interested in trying to improve people’s lives by using equine therapy (i.e., a kind of psychotherapy involving horses that is designed to deepen intuition and awaken a greater spiritual awareness). If this therapy does not work, then not only are you wasting people’s time and money, you are keeping them from using therapies that may work. How could you use the scientific method in order to evaluate equine therapy? Describe a research study that would allow you to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of your therapy. What would it take to demonstrate that the therapy does not work? Why would you not want to rely upon personal antidotes and stories to evaluate your treatment?