Introspective Papers

Introspection papers:
The purpose of the introspection assignments is to integrate the information from the PowerPoint lecture with the information from the book and apply them to your own life or beliefs. These are typed, one page papers on various subjects throughout the semester. These must include a reference from the textbook to get full credit. For example, in your paper you would use a quote from the book to support what you are saying in your paper. The reference will have an in-text citation that will look like this: Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. (Myers, David, G., 7). Put the name of the author of your book and the page number where you found the information or quote after each reference. These references should support what you are saying and add academic depth to your paper. If the reference does not meet these requirements, you will not get full credit. EVERY paper needs to have a reference to the textbook.

There are two introspections. I need one page per paper. Due next week on Wednesday June 9th.

The book is online and its access page is http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/pel1e.php

The user is n.abduljabbar@gmail.com and password is hahahoho

Please reference form the book. I will upload files containing the introspections.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introspection

Ethics in Psychological Research: Introspection Paper #2

 

Pick one out of three of the following studies and answer the following questions:

 

A. According to the APA guidelines, what specific ethic was violated?

B. Do you believe it the study should have been done? Why or why not?

C. If this study was going to be repeated, what would you change to make it more ethical? (“I don’t know”, and “I wouldn’t repeat it” are not options. Come up with some concrete changes and address how those changes would effect the outcome of the study)

 

1.   Middlemist, Knowles, and Matter (1976). These researchers investigated physiological reactions of being near another person. In this experiment, the study was designed to measure urination as the physiological reaction. The researchers would wait until a male entered the restroom and stepped up to a urinal. A person with a periscope hid in one of the toilet stalls and viewed the urination. The person recording the data made note of the amount of time to onset of urination and duration. In one condition, the subject was allowed to urinate alone. In a second condition, a confederate stepped up to the urinal next to the subject. Results indicated that onset of urination and amount were both affected by having a person at the next urinal. This was important in that it showed how physical changes in our bodies occur simply by being near someone.

 

1. 2.       Seligman and Maier (1967). The researchers in this study were investigating the concept of learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is when someone tries to get out of a bad situation and fails, causing him or her to not try to get out later, even if escape is possible. For example, if you study hard and take a really difficult exam and fail, you may not think that studying helped. On the next exam, even if it is not as difficult, you may not study very hard (assuming it will not help). You would now have learned helplessness with respect to the exams in that class.

In the study by Seligman and Maier, learned helplessness was studied in dogs. Dogs were placed in a shuttle box. (This is essentially a two-sided cage with a low dividing wall in the middle.) The floors of the two sides are also wired so that an electrical shock may be administered to either side. For one group of dogs, a light was turned on to signal an impending shock. These dogs quickly learned to jump over at the presentation of the light and were only shocked one or two times. For another group of dogs, the light was turned on and followed by a shock. The dogs in this group were not allowed to jump to the other side of the box (a barrier was placed in the way). After several pairings of the light and shock, the barrier was removed so that the dogs could easily jump to the other side to escape the shock. Instead of jumping over, most dogs simply stayed put and endured the shock. The dogs were well cared for before and after the experiments. This study demonstrated learned helplessness which allowed psychologists to help people in abusive relationships and other harmful relationships.

 

3. Humphreys (1970). The researcher in this study wished to determine factors associated with homosexual behavior in public washrooms. The researcher went to men’s restrooms where homosexual activities frequently took place and offered to serve as a “watchqueen” (an individual who is allowed to watch the sexual behavior in exchange for warning the participants when a stranger or police officer approaches). After the sexual activity took place, he recorded the automobile license numbers of the men and obtained their addresses through the Department of Public Safety. Disguised so that the men would not recognize him, he went to their houses and claimed to be a health service interviewer. This allowed Humphreys to collect data pertaining to their marital status (many were married), jobs, and health-related issues. This study allowed Humphreys to gain information pertaining to participation in impersonal homosexual activities and factors associated with an individual’s life. It was a very important study that showed the lives, attitudes, and mental health of homosexual men and heterosexual men were not significantly different and supported the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 1973. It is important to keep in mind that at this time homosexuality was illegal, so it was very difficult to interview people who engaged in these acts.

 

As Always!

• One page, typed, double spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman, spell-checked, and proof-read.
•  MUST have a reference to the textbook!