Describe how statistics are used in the media and provide an example.
What will be an ideal response?
Most media sources will use statistics to present information about something they are reporting on or to try to argue a particular point of view. There is the textbook example of a recent article in the New York Times online stated that from 2003 to 2013, heart attack rates have dropped by 38%. Let’s consider what this means. Does this mean that you, as an individual, now have a 38% lower chance of having a heart attack than you did in 2003? No, that is not the right conclusion to make from this statistic. The main reason this is incorrect is that this statistic is based on the rates of heart attacks across a large number of individuals and individual differences can influence these values.
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Rachel is 15 years old. She spends countless hours alone and in conversation with her peers trying to figure out what it is she wants to do with her life. Rachel is in which of the following of Erikson's psychosocial stages?
a. Identity versus role confusion b. Industry versus inferiority c. Initiative versus guilt d. Intimacy versus isolation
The tendency of people to search for evidence that supports their beliefs and arguments
rather than to search for evidence that negates their beliefs and arguments is called a. the belief-bias effect. b. confirmation bias. c. a mental set. d. a logical fallacy. e. a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When normal and overweight targets engage in fat talk, they are seen as:
a) Having a pity party b) More likeable c) Less likeable d) Having poor body image
Lucy has discovered that when she finishes her bottle, her father cuddles with her. Lucy's parents have noticed that she sucks faster on her bottle when her father is in the room. What behavior is Lucy displaying?
A. operant conditioning B. classical conditioning C. habituation D. imitation