Psychological questions and research approaches

Psychology

Scientists are inquisitive because they ask all the important questions (what, when, where, and why; they are persistent (they never quit trying to figure things out); they are explorative (they employ the scientific approach to examine a problem and then they design experiments to test whether their theories work or not); they are of course creative; and they have to be analytical to carefully analyze the problem before finding a solution.

Genie reportedly could not learn grammar, English morphology or syntax properly after being rescued and after attempts was made to teach her. Supposedly the Lenneberg theory (children can't learn language after puberty) was proved wrong though because Genie did learn some raw language. The drawback to case studies in this instance is in the difficulty in gathering all the empirical data needed, and the fact that there are inconsistencies and discrepancies found in the data about Genie's linguistic development. Locating the people who conducted the original research on Genie is also problematic.

Question THREE: The PTA president found out that 85% of parents are willing to start school a bit later, which may be convenient for the family. But the president did not survey parents to learn exactly how much sleep their children are getting. What time do they go to bed? Are they getting enough sleep? Do their children complain about a shortage of sleep?

Question FOUR: The way to study this question is establish a format with adults chosen at random who agree to respond to a baby boy dressed a certain bland way, and a baby girl dressed a certain bland way. The second time through each baby has strikingly different apparel. The same adults are asked to respond to the babies. The results (though not necessarily scientific) should indicate whether or not the hypothesis (boys and girls are treated equally) holds water.

Question FIVE: In experiments like this a control group helps the researcher weed out variables that can confuse the results; data can be distorted easily and a control group sets the experimental and control group apart so no bias can influence the results. In this experiment the independent variable would be whether the children responded to the genitals of the doll or not; the dependent variable would be based on the observed result of the independent variable.

Chapter Five -- Question ONE: Biological clocks are the drivers for circadian rhythms, according to the National Institutes of Health. The biological clock in a human is groupings of interacting "molecules in cells throughout the body" (www.nigms.nih.org). The nerve cells in the brain are called the "suprachiasmatic nucleus" (SCN).

Question TWO: Flying from California to New York the passenger loses three hours, so when she wakes up the next day at 7:00 A.M., her body feels like it's 4:00 A.M. (that is being "out of sync" -- a sensory processing disorder).

Question THREE: If a person looks at the passage from Ecclesiastes philosophically, then modern science doesn't even need to weigh in. The truth is that in a person's lifetime, at some point it will be right ("…to everything there is a season") to pursue any goal, any dream ("for every purpose under heaven…").