Marijuana use during pregnancy affects baby’s brain
1) This article shares new research and lists prior findings about marijuana’s effects on a fetus. However, many people still believe that marijuana has no effects on a fetus. Discuss what could be done to increase acceptance of these findings?
2) What are some possible implications of this study on many states efforts to legalize marijuana?
3) What are some of the limitations of this study and the selected ways to test marijuana’s effects?
This article from Psychology Today explores the impact that moving too fast in a relationship may have on the long term quality of the relationship and/or marriage.
1. In accordance to the findings presented in the article, rapid progression in relationships (i.e. sex before 6 months & cohabitation before engagment or marriage) lead to poorer marriage quality and outcomes. What do you think are the contributing factors or reasons why ‘moving too fast’ in a relationship could lead to a poorer quality relationships and high incidence of divorce?
2. A cross-sectional research design was used in this study, which means that observation of the population was done at one specific point in time. Being that people constantly change as well as relationships, do you think that the research design used was valid in depicting the overall quality of a relationship or marriage overtime? If not, what research design do you think could be appropriate in conceptualizing this phenomenon?
3. This study specifically focused on heterosexual couples. With the shift in policy permitting same sex marriages and also, the rise in social acceptance, do you think the inclusion of same sex couples would provide greater insight into studies of relationship tempo and satisfaction?
1. Researchers state that with babies as young as three months old, more than 75% chose the “good” toy, or puppet with the yellow shirt , over the “bad” toy or puppet with the blue shirt, after watching the puppet with the blue shirt perform a positive and a negative action toward the puppet with the yellow shirt. It is with these findings that the researchers assert that babies are born with a baseline of morality already in place. Although 75% is a relatively high number, do the findings then infer that the other 25% of babies chose the “bad” puppet, or no puppet at all?
2. If the other 25% did choose the “bad” puppet, does that necessarily correlate to those babies having no morals?
3. Do more boy babies or more girls babies have a greater propensity to exhibit moral character?
This study examines whether or not having a college education makes a difference in the earnings employees receive.
1. When thinking about the purpose of this study, would you qualify it as explorative, explanatory, or descriptive research? Why?
2. Do you think that the variables in this study (education level and potential earnings) constitute a cause an effect relationship? Why or why not? If not, which element(s) of causality is/are missing?
3. What are the potential limitations of this study? Consider how the data was collected.
Shooting pills at Bipolar Disorder
1) What are two possible explanations for the increase in prescribing multiple medications to people with Bipolar Disorder in the last 30 years?
2) Describe areas for further study in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder.
3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using evidenced based treatment when prescribing medication for a person with Bipolar Disorder.
http://www.geekwire.com/2013/pew-73-adults-social-media-pinterest-popular-twitter-instagram
1. Do demographics and the social economic status of the research participants effect the accuracy of the Social Media usage statistics? Who is funding the research and collecting the data?
2. The Pew research center’s internet research study showed that 73% of online U.S. adults ages 18 and older use some type of social network. What are the implications of this information and the validity of ongoing research and tracking in this area? Are there specific populations that benefit from this information?
3. The data for this research was gathered from cell phone and landline data of the users in the study. What should we be considering when gathering data from specific areas (cell phones and landlines) that may change for future research tracking and reflection of future parallel data and the validity of the future data.
1.Besides adding a third cohort of children with developmental language disorders, what could they have done to make this study more valid?
2.If children with Autism have trouble combining sights and sounds, is there a way TV could be used as an effective therapy tool?
3.Do you think the findings would differ if they used children with other mental health diagnosis like ADHD?
http://healthland.time.com/2013/12/30/here-are-the-new-years-resolutions-you-will-keep-and-the-ones-that-you-will-break/ Time Magazine
1. What sample population do you think was used to determine the top 2 New Year’s Resolutions?
2 What other factors, or “pitfalls” do you think contribute to resolutions not being kept?
3. The article doesn’t mention what would be considered a successful goal. Based on the information they covered, what would you consider a successful goal?
New study: High-quality preschool for poor kids under 3 would eliminate achievement gap
1. Are there other factors related to the achievement gap that are not accounted for by this article?
2. Does the fact that this study did not get a good enough response rate from participants once they were 18 to include that data have an effect on your belief in the study’s validity?
3. What public policies are proposed by the results of this study and do you think their implementation is realistic?
The Science of Self-Help from Psychology Today
1. The author briefly describes existing research on positive psychology and its limitations. How does the author’s proposed study either bypass or succumb to limitations?
2. What are some potential confound variables for improved happiness in the cited studies?
3. In one of the cited studies, data is collected from participants rating their happiness on a color spectrum: red being negative, to yellow being positive. What would be another way of assessing participants’ happiness?