Imagine that a friend asks you what you have heard about St. John's wort because he is considering using it to alleviate his depression. Which of the following is probably the safest conclusion you can draw?

a. Many people who have reported improvements with St. John's wort, but the effects are typically mild and improvements may depend on the quality of the brand.
b. St. John's wort is superior to prescription antidepressant medications.
c. Your friend may as well take a placebo: Scientific evidence does not support the conclusion that St. John's wort reduces symptoms of depression.
d. St. John's wort is superior to cognitive-behavioral therapies.


Answer: C

Rationale: St. John's wort was no more effective than the placebo.

Psychology

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a. actin; troponin b. actin; calcium c. myosin; troponin d. myosin; calcium

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Two first-grade teachers were interested in boys' aggressive behavior that seemed to happen during recess

One teacher believed that the aggressive behavior was more likely to happen when the boys and girls got to play together during recess while the other teacher believed that the boys' aggressive behavior was worse when they played among themselves. To settle their debate, for one week they had the boys play alone (without the girls) during recess. The following week they had the boys play with the girls during recess. The teachers monitored boys' aggressive behavior each week. What potential ethical problems do these teachers have? How could this problem be corrected and avoided? What will be an ideal response?

Psychology

According to Öhman and Mineka (2001), ______ would result in a lab-reared rhesus monkey beginning to fear snakes.

a. being exposed to a particularly large snake b. observing another monkey show intense fear toward a snake c. injuring itself in the presence of a snake d. hearing the hiss of a snake

Psychology

A pigeon learns to peck at a circle for food. The fact that it also pecks at an oval describes

a. operant response substitution. b. shaping. c. operant stimulus generalization. d. response chaining.

Psychology