Where do theories come from in social psychology, and how do social psychologists refine them?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Researchers sometimes arrive at hypotheses and theories by reading and thinking about previous theories and research, and sometimes through their own personal observations. Once a researcher arrives at a hypothesis, he or she tests it scientifically (empirically). Depending on whether the hypothesis is supported, researchers might revise their hypotheses, and perhaps even their theories, and subsequent hypotheses are then tested. This process continues to yield a cumulative body of knowledge about human behavior.
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In which type(s) of study do researchers have to be concerned about selective attrition (the problem that some participants drop out before the study is complete)?
a. Longitudinal study b. Cross-sectional study c. Both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, but mainly cross-sectional d. Neither cross-sectional nor longitudinal studies
When is the capacity for empathy first observed?
a. Infancy b. Toddlerhood c. Early school age d. Middle school age
Which of the following statements describes a belief of the early behaviorists?
a. ?Behavior follows the same general rules across species. b. ?Psychological research should focus on introspection. c. ?Human subjects are preferable to animals because they replicate the complexity of real life. d. ?Not all stimuli can be equally paired to form conditioned associations.
The Spearman correlation measures the degree ____,
a. to which the relationship is causal b. of linear relationship c. of curvilinear relationship d. of monotonic relationship