Statistical Reasoning in Psychology

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ASSIGNMENT 04

PS390 Statistical Reasoning in Psychology

Directions: Be sure to save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling, and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) double‐spaced pages; refer to the “Format Requirementsʺ page for specific format requirements.

StatCrunch

StatCrunch tutorial videos are available at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=BE055F65E43B4973.

  1. (25 points) A prison psychologist recorded the number of rule infractions for 15 prison inmates over a six-month period to be 5, 4, 2, 4, 3, 5, 2, 0, 4, 4, 5, 5, 3, 4, and 3.
  1. Make a frequency table.
  1. Make a histogram based on the frequency table.
  1. Describe in words the shape of the histogram.
  1. (25 points) Identify and solve this problem by hand.

The head of public safety notices that the average driving speed at a particular intersection averages μ = 35 mph with a standard deviation of σ = 7.5 mph. After a school speed limit sign of 20 mph is placed at the intersection, the first 40 cars travel past at an average speed of 32 mph. Using the .01 significance level, was there a significant change in driving speed?

  1. Use the five steps of hypothesis testing (report results in APA format).
  1. Sketch the distributions involved.
  1. Figure the confidence limits for the 99% confidence interval.
  1. (25 points) You will have to use a combination of StatCrunch and hand calculations (e.g., effect sizes) to solve the following problems.

A social psychologist gave a questionnaire about concern for farm workers to seven participants before and after they attended a film about union organization of farm workers. The results are shown below with high scores meaning high concern. Using the .05 significance level, do these results support the hypothesis that the film affected concern for the lives of farm workers?

Scores on the Concern Measure

Participant       Before             After

A                     17                    20

B                     7                      4

C                     10                    11

D                     13                    15

E                      8                      5

F                      9                      8

G                     11                    14

  1. Use the five steps of hypothesis testing.
  1. Figure the effect size and find the approximate power of this study.
  1. Report results in APA format.
  1. (25 points) You will have to use a combination of StatCrunch and hand calculations (e.g., effect sizes) to solve the following problems.

A team of cognitive psychologists studying the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory decay had eight participants stay in a sleep lab for two days. Four participants were randomly assigned to a condition in which they were not permitted to sleep during that period, while the other four participants were allowed to sleep when they wanted to. At the end of the two days, the participants completed a short-term memory task that yielded the results in the table that follows. Using the .05 significance level, did sleep deprivation reduce short-term memory?

Mean Number of Letters Remembered

Sleep Deprived           Normal Sleep

7                                  9

8                                  8

7                                  11

9                                  7

  1. Create the appropriate graph for this problem.
  1. Use the five steps of hypothesis testing.
  1. Figure the effect size.
  1. Report results in APA format

An intersection of psychology and artificial intelligence

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The plan recognition problem: An intersection of psychology and artificial intelligence

Schmidt, C. F., Sridharan, N. S., & Goodson, J. L. (1978). The plan recognition problem: An intersection of psychology and artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence, 11(1), 45-83.

  • F. Schmidt,
  • S. Sridharan,
  • L. Goodson
  • Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, U.S.A.

Abstract

Understanding actions involves inferring the goal of the actor and organizing the actions into a plan structure. The BELIEVER system is a psychological theory of how human observers understand the actions of others. The present theory is concerned with single-actor sequences and can account for goal-directed actions that may succeed or fail in accomplishing the goal, as well as actions governed by norms. After discussing how AI can be applied in psychological theory construction, the BELIEVER system is presented by specifying a plan recognition process and its knowledge sources.

Copyright © 1978 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Artificial Intelligence

Volume 11, Issues 1–2, August 1978, Pages 45–83

Applications to the Sciences and Medicine

Why not a Sociology of Machines? The Case of Sociology and Artificial Intelligence

  1. Steve Woolgar
  2. Woolgar, S. (1985). Why not a Sociology of Machines? The Case of Sociology and Artificial Intelligence. Sociology Sociology, 19, 557-572. doi:10.1177/0038038585019004005

Abstract

In the light of the recent growth of artificial intelligence (AI), and of its implications for understanding human behaviour, this paper evaluates the prospects for an association between sociology and artificial intelligence. Current presumptions about the distinction between human behaviour and artificial intelligence are identified through a survey of discussions about AI and `expert systems’. These discussions exhibit a restricted view of sociological competence, a marked rhetoric of progress and a wide variation in assessments of the state of the art. By drawing upon recent themes in the social study of science, these discussions are shown to depend on certain key dichotomies and on an interpretive flexibility associated with the notions of intelligence and expertise. The range of possible associations between sociology and AI reflects the extent to which we are willing to adopt these features of AI discourse. It is suggested that one of the more important options is to view the AI phenomenon as an occasion for reassessing the central axiom of sociology that there is something distinctively `social’ about human behaviour.

  1. KATHLEEN M. CARLEY

1.    Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract

The potential linkages between artificial intelligence and sociology are growing. This growth is due to importation of artificial intelligence techniques into methodological tools for data analysis, a growing interest among researchers in artificial intelligence in the socially situated agent, and a growing interest among sociologists in using artificial intelligence techniques for theorizing about social phenomena. Increasingly, researchers are addressing concerns of traditional importance within sociology, such as the bases for cooperation, the role of structure in affecting individual agency, and interaction using computational models of intelligent adaptive agents. This article provides an overview of the role that artificial intelligence currently plays within sociology.

Carley, K. (1996). Artificial Intelligence within Sociology. Sociological Methods & Research, 25(1), 3-30. doi:doi: 10.1177/0049124196025001001

Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

September 2001, Volume 4, Issue 3, pp 155-186

Naming the Unnamable: Socionics or the Sociological Turn of/to Distributed Artificial Intelligence

  • Thomas Malsch

%0 Journal Article

%D 2001

%@ 1387-2532

%J Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

%V 4

%N 3

%R 10.1023/A:1011446410198

%T Naming the Unnamable: Socionics or the Sociological Turn of/to Distributed Artificial Intelligence

%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A%3A1011446410198

%I Kluwer Academic Publishers

%8 2001-09-01

%A Malsch, Thomas

%P 155-186

%G EnglishBottom of Form

Distinguish the difference between basic and applied psychology. How can this knowledge be used within the marketing environment?

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Chapter 1 pointed out the difference between basic psychology and applied psychology. Furthermore, Chapter 6 notes that consumer products are sometimes designed with little thought for visual principles, such as those formulated by the Gestalt psychologists. Distinguish the difference between basic and applied psychology. How can this knowledge be used within the marketing environment? Your response should describe some ways in which knowledge of Gestalt principles could be applied to the design of consumer products.

Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.

#2

Under normal conditions, the rhythms governed by the SCN are synchronize, but when people travel by air across several time zones, they tend to feel out of sync. Explain what psychologists have discovered about being out of sync.

Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.Answer

Write a position paper (1,000-1,250 words) in which you discuss whether this practice of visualizing successful completion of physical activities is “pop psychology” and mysticism or whether the practice has research-supported underpinnings.

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Details:

Much attention was given to mental imagery in athletics (particularly tennis) in the 1960s and 1970s under the heading of visualization as a way to improve personal performance. The idea was to practice specific physical actions and to visualize them being successfully completed without actually doing them.

General Requirements:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

  • This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
  • Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

Directions:

Write a position paper (1,000-1,250 words) in which you discuss whether this practice of visualizing successful completion of physical activities is “pop psychology” and mysticism or whether the practice has research-supported underpinnings.

Using current research, make recommendations for improving the technique, or argue that it now is obsolete.Answer