Explain the term narcolepsy:

narcolepsy, a rare, Long term Brain disorder that effects 0.5% of the population.
Although narcolepsy has been linked to specific genes, the disorder can also be the
side effects of the Pandemrix vaccine.

Describe what consciousness is:

consciousness is, the person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind.
Although you may think of consciousness as simply being awake, the defining
feature of consciousness is experience, what you have when you are not awake but
experiencing a vivid dream.

What is the Cartesian theater:

the Cartesian theater is a mental screen or stage on which things appear to be
presented for viewing by your minds eye.

What is meant with the term phenomenology? How thing seem to be to the
conscious person, in terms off the quality of experience, in their understanding of
mind and behavior.

What is meant with the homunculus problem? The difficulty of explaining the
experience of consciousness by advocating another internal self.

What is meant as the hard problem of consciousness? The difficulty of explaining

how subjective experience could ever arise.

What is the philosophical position of materialism? The philosophical position that

mental states are products of physical systems alone.

Describe the problem of other minds. The fundamental difficulty we have in

perceiving the consciousness of others.

Explain the term Qualia: the mental states that are subjective experiences we have
as part of our mental life.

Explain the term antromorphism: the tendency to attribute human qualities to

nonhuman things.

What is meant with the mind-body problem? The issue of how to mind is related to
the brain and body.

Explain choice blindness: when people are unaware of their decision-making

processes and justify the choice as if it were already decided.

What are the four basic properties of consciousness? Intentionality, unity, selectivity
and transience.
Elaborate on change blindness: unawareness of significant events changing in full
view, reveals that, without attention, we miss much of what is happening in the
world.

What do philosophers mean when they speak of intentionality of consciousness?

Consciousness is often about something. The quality of being directed towards an
object.

What is dichotic listening? A task in which people wearing headphones here

different messages presented to each ear.

Explain the cocktail party phenomenon: when people tune in to one message even
while they filter out others nearby.

Explain the terms selectivity of consciousness: the selectivity of consciousness is its

capacity to include some objects and not others. This property is shown through
studies of dichotic listening, in which people wearing headphones are presented
with different messages in each ear.

Explain the term unity of consciousness: the unity of consciousness is its resistance
to division. This property becomes clear when you try to attend to more than one
thing at a time.

Explain the term transience of consciousness: the tendency of consciousness to

change. Consciousness wiggles and fidgets like an inpatient toddler. The mind
wanders, not just sometimes but incessantly, from one right now to the next right
now and then on to the next.

Explain the four basic properties of consciousness with the bouncing ball theory: the
basic properties of consciousness are reminiscent of the bouncing ball that moves
from word to word when the lyrics of a sing-along song are shown on a karaoke
machine. The ball always bounces on something(intentionality), there is only one
ball(unity), the ball select one target and not others(Selectivity), and the ball keeps
bouncing all the time(Transience).

What are three levels of consciousness? The three levels of consciousness are
minimal consciousness, Full consciousness and self-consciousness. The levels of
consciousness that psychologist distinguish are not matter of degree of overall brain
activity but instead involves different qualities of awareness of the world of the self.

Explain the term minimal consciousness: low level of awareness that occurs when
the mind inputs sensations in May output behavior.

Explain the term full consciousness: consciousness in which you know and are able
to report your mental state.
Explain the term self-consciousness: a distinct level of consciousness in which the
person’s attention is drawn to the self as an object.

When and who experiences self-consciousness? The experience of self-

consciousness, as measured by self recognition in mirrors, is limited to a few
animals and to humans only after a certain stage of development.

What do we mean with term experience sample technique? The experience

sampling technique, In which people are asked to report a conscious experiences at
particular times equipped with electronic beepers, For example, participants are
asked to record their current thoughts when beeped at random times throughout
today. Experience sampling studies show that consciousness is dominated by the
immediate environment–what is seen, felt, herd, tasted and smelled, all are at the
forefront of the mind.

What is the purpose of daydreaming? Daydreams reflect the minds attempt to deal
with difficult project problems. Daydreaming is a state of consciousness in which a
seemingly purposeless flow of thoughts come to mind.

Explain the term mental control: the attempt to change conscious state of mind.

Explain the term thought suppression: the conscious avoidance of a thought.

Explain the rebound effect of thought suppression: the tendency of thought to

return to consciousness with greater frequency of following suppression.

Explain error and ironic processes of mental control: mental processes that can
produce ironic errors because monitoring for errors can it self produce them.

What did Freud meant with the dynamic unconscious? An active system
encompassing a lifetime of hidden memories, the person’s deepest instincts and
desires, and the person’s inner struggle to control these forces.

What did Freud meant with repression? The mental process that removes
unacceptable thoughts and memories from consciousness and keeps them in the
unconscious.

Explain the term cognitive unconscious: the mental processes that are not
experienced by the person but give rise to the person’s thoughts, Choices, emotions
and behavior.

Explain the term subliminal perception: the thoughts or behavior that is influenced
by stimuli the person cannot consciously report perceiving.

Can you say that spending more time and thought to a decision will lead to the best
choice? No
Why might subliminal influences be worrisome? Because they can change behavior
without a conscious awareness but not because they are more powerful in
comparison to conscious influences.

Explain the term selective attention: the process whereby refocus mental
processing on a limited range of events.

Explain the term early filter model: selective attention model that proposes that
information is discarded early in the stream of processing.

Explain the term attenuation model: selective attention model the proposes that
information is not entirely discarded in the stream of processing but is suppressed
relative to other important signals.

Explain the term information bottleneck: where the channel of information

processing has a limited capacity.

Summary: consciousness is a mystery of psychology because other peoples minds

cannot be perceived in directly and the relationship between mind and body is
perplexing. Nonetheless, peoples reports on their consciousness can be studied, and
these reveal basic properties such as intentionality, unity, selectivity and transience.
Consciousness can also be understood in terms of levels– Minimal consciousness,
full consciousness and self-consciousness –and can be investigated for content such
as current concerns, daydreams and unwanted thoughts. There’re mental processes
that are not conscious, and there are two main interpretations of these.
Unconscious processes are sometimes understood S expressions of the Freudian
dynamic unconscious but are more commonly viewed as processes of the cognitive
unconscious that create an influence unconscious thoughts and behaviors. The
cognitive unconscious is at work went subliminal perception influences a person’s
thoughts or behavior without a person’s awareness.

Why do we need selective attention? Consider for a moment all the sensory input
you could potentially attend to as she read this book. Can you hear outside in the
street? Can you smell the mustiness of library books? Can you feel the warmth of
the radiator? Can you feel the pressure of the chair on your buttocks? Without
selective attention we will be swamped with sensory overload and unable to
concentrate.

Explain the term response selection model: selective attention model that proposes
that selection occurs late in the stream of processing before response has been
made.

Explain the term load model: attentional model that explains early and late
selection as a consequence off the task difficulty.

Lesions and disruption of mental functions: sun Legion sky specific disruption of
mental functions, which is why neuropsychologist regard the brain S responsible for
our consciousness. One mental function that can be disrupted by brain lesions is the
attention and different lesions produce different attentional disorders.

Explain the term unilateral visual neglect: a condition where patients fail to notice or
attend to stimuli that appear on the side of space opposite the site of a hemispheric
lesion.

Explain Balint’s syndrome: an attentional disorder where the patient looses the
Ability to voluntarily shift Visual attention to new locations, which is associated with
damage to both sides of the brain. It could be regarded as bilateral neglect disorder.

Explain the term blindsight: residual visual capability supported by subcortical

mechanisms following removal or damage to cortical visual areas.

Summary: a remarkable picture is emerging about a nature of the conscious mind.

Clearly much of what we consciously report is only a fraction of what you’re
constantly processing and this appears to be related to what we are attending to.
There is whole unconsious mind at work feeding information to the conscious mind
to form awareness. However, we could be completely overwhelmed and paralyzed
with indecision if we became consciously aware of everything process
simultaneously. So, attention plays a crucial role in filtering the information and
determining what gets true to our conscious awareness and what remains
unconscious. The processes that control attention combine the needs to respond to
the world with the need two sample experiences voluntarily, And this seems to
require a coordinated system off shifting and engaging attentional resources
between competing potential sources. When the brain regions that support these
attentional networks are disrupted, so too is the conscious picture of the world we
experience.

Explain the term altered states of consciousness: forms of experience that depart
from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind.

Explain the term hypnagogic state: as you fall asleep, the busy, task oriented
thoughts of the waking mind are replaced by wondering thoughts and images, odd
juxtapositions, some of them almost dreamlike.

Explain the term hypnic-jerl: a sudden quiver or a sensation of dropping, As though

missing a step on the staircase.

Explain the term hypnopompic states: the glimmering off waking consciousness
that returns again in the foggy and imprecise form as you enter postsleep
consciousness.

Explain the term circadian rhythm: a naturally occurring 24 hour cycle.

Sleeping and EEG recordings: the eeg recordings revealed a regular pattern of
changes in electrical activity in the brain accompanying the circadian cycle. During
waking, these changes involve alternation between high-frequency activity, called
Beta Waves, during alertness and lower frequency activity (alpha waves) during
relaxation.
The largest changes in EEG occyr during sleep. These changes show a regular
pattern over the course of the night that allowed sleep researchers to identify 5
sleep stages. In stage 1 the eeg moves to frequency patterns even lower than alpha
waves (theta waves). In stage 2, these patterns are interrupted by short bursts of
activity called sleep spindles and K complexes and the sleeper becomes somewhat
more difficult to awaken. Stages 3 and 4 are the deepest stages of sleep, known as
slow-wave sleep, in which the eeg pattern shows activity called Delta Waves.

Explain the term REM Sleep: Rapid Eye Movement, a stage of sleep characterized
by a rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity. Sometimes known as
paradoxical sleep.

Electrooculagraph (EOG):a device that measures eye movements. Researchers

found that sleepers wakened during REM periods reported having dreams much
more often then those waking during non-rem periods. During REM sleep, The pulse
quickens, blood pressure rises, and there are telltale signs of sexual arousal. At the
same time, measurements of muscle movements indicate that the sleeper is very
still, except for the rapid side-to-side movement of the eyes.

Sleep is necessary for at least 3 vital bodily functions; thermoregulation, immune

system and metabolism.

Thermoregulation is the biological thermostatic process that maintains optimal

body temperature during different states of wakefulness.

The immune system is the body’s defense mechanism for combating potential
disease from both interna land external Invaders.

Metabolism is the process whereby our bodies convert stored resources into energy.

Sleep deprivation appears to affect immune system by disabling the initial response
to disease. The longer sleep deprivation, the greater the disruption to the body’s
restorative processes.

Insomnia: difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep.

Sleep apnea: a disorder in which the person stops breathing for brief periods while
asleep.
Somnambulism: commonly called sleepwalking which occurs when a person arises
and walks around while asleep.

Narcolepsy: a disorder in which sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking
activities.

Sleep paralysis: the experience of waking up unable to move.

Night terrors: abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional arousal.

The quality of consciousness in dreaming is altered significantly from waking

consciousness. There are five major characteristics of dream consciousness that
distinguish it from the waking state:
We feel emotion intensely whether it is Bliss or terror love or awe.
Dream thought is illogical
Sensation is fully formed and meaningful
We experience on critical acceptance as though the images and events were
perfectly normal rather than bizarre.
The final feature of dreaming is the difficulty of remembering the dream after it is
over.

Manifest contents: the dreams apparent topic or superficial meaning.

Latent content: the dreams true underlying meaning.

Activation synthesis model: the theory that dreams are produced when the brain
attends to make sense of neural activations that occur randomly during sleep.

Lucid dreaming: the awareness of dreaming during the dream.

Vegetative state: the state of wakefulness without the awareness and overt
communication

Summary: sleep and dreaming present a view of the mind with an altered state of
consciousness. EEG and OE G measures have revealed that during a nights sleeps,
the brain passes through a 5-stage sleep cycle, moving in and out of lighter sleep
stages, from slow wave sleep stages to the REM sleep stage, in which most
dreaming occurs. Sleep needs decrease over a lifespan, deprivation from sleep and
dreams has psychological and physical costs. Sleep can be disrupted true disorders
that include insomnia, Sleep apnea, somnambulism, Narcolepsy, sleep paralysis and
night terrors. Dreaming is an altered state of consciousness in which the dreamer
uncritically accepts changes in emotion, thought and sensation but poorly
remembers the dream on awakening. Dream consciousness is paralleled by changes
in brain activation, and theories of dreaming include Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
and more current views such as the activation synthesis model.
Psychoactive drug: a chemical that influences consciousness or behavior by altering
the brains chemical message system. Information is communicated in the brain
through neurotransmitters that convey neural impulses to neighboring neurons.
Some of the most common neurotransmitters are serotonin, Dopamine, gamma
aminobutyric acid and acetylcholine. Drugs alter these neural connections by
preventing the bonding off neurotransmitters to sites in the post synaptic neuron or
by inhibiting do reuptake or enhancing the bonding and transmission of
neurotransmitters. Different drugs can intensify or dull transmission patterns,
creating changes in brain electrical activity that mimic natural natural operations of
the brain.

Harm reduction approach: a response to high-risk behaviors that focuses on

reducing the harm such behaviors have on people’s lives. This approach, which
originated in the Netherlands and England, focuses on reducing drug harm rather
then reducing drug use.

Hallucinogens: drugs that alters sensation and perception and often cause visual
and auditory hallucinations. These include LSD, Mescaline, psilocybin, PCP and
ketamine.

Canabis: drug derived from the hemp plant. Canabis affects short-term memory and
impairs motor skills and coordination.

Summary: psycho active drugs influence consciousness by altering the brains

chemical messaging system and intensifying or dulling the effect of
neurotransmitters. The altered consciousness brought about by drugs is attractive
to many people, but in many cases drugs cost serious harm. Each of the major
classes of Psychoactive drugs was developed for medical, Social or religious
reasons, each has different effects and percents the different array of dangers.

Hypnosis: the social interaction in which one person, The hypnotist, makes
suggestions that lead to a change in another person’s, This subjects, subjective
experience of the world.

Behavioral compliance: doing what you are told or expected to do.

In hypnosis, this Series of behavior suggestions can induce in some people the state
of mind that makes them susceptible to even very unusual suggestions, such as
getting down on all fours and sniffing the corner.

People susceptible to hypnosis can you lead to experience posthypnotic amnesia:

the failure to retrieve memories following hypnotic suggestions to forget.

One well establish the effect of hypnosis is a hypnotic analgesia: the reduction of
pain through hypnosis in people who are hypnotically susceptible.
Evidence for pain control supports the idea that hypnosis is a different state of
consciousness and not entirely a matter of skillful role-playing on the part of highly
motivated people.
The conscious state of hypnosis is accompanied by unique patterns of brain
activation.

Summary: although there are many claims for hypnosis that overstate its effect, this
phenomenon characterized by suggestibility does have a range of real effect on
individuals who are susceptible. Inductions of hypnosis can create the experience
that one’s actions are occurring involuntarily, Influence memory reports, Lead
people to experience posthypnotic amnesia, And even induce analgesia during
surgical procedures.

Meditation: the practice of intentional contemplation.

Meditation influences EEG recordings of the brain waves, usually producing
patterns known as alpha waves that are associated with relaxation.

Like meditation, certain brain activation patterns are associated with ecstatic
religious experiences. Some people who experience religious fervor show to same
type of brain activation death occurs in some cases of epilepsy.

Our consciousness ranges from the normal everyday awareness of Walking,

Thinking or gazing at the picture to an array of states that are far from normal or
everyday–sleep, dreams, drug intoxication, hypnosis and beyond. These states of
mind stand as a reminder that human mind is not just something that students of
psychology can look at and study. The mind is something each of us looks through
at the world and at ourselves.

Summary: meditation and religious ecstasy can be understood as altered states of

consciousness. Meditation involves contemplation that may focus on a specific
thought, sounds or action or may be an attempt to avoid any focus. The practice of
meditation promotes relaxation in the short-term, But the long-term benefits
claims by it’s enthusiasts have not been established. Ecstatic religious experiences
may have a basis in the same brain region– the right interior temporal lobe–
associated with some forms of epilepsy.

Chapter review

Consciousness and unconscious: the minds eye, open and closed

Consciousness is the mystery of psychology because other people’s minds cannot

be perceived directly and the relationship between mind and body is perplexing.
Consciousness is intentional, unified, selective and transient, And can be viewed as
having levels of minimal consciousness, Food consciousness and self-consciousness.
The contents of the Stream of consciousness include current concerns, daydreams
and unwanted thoughts.
Unconscious processes are sometimes understood as expressions of the Freudian
dynamic unconscious, But are more commonly seen as processes of the cognitive
unconscious that create and influence conscious thoughts and behaviors.

Attention

Attention is the process whereby we selectively process information. It is linked to

consciousness because we are not aware of what we are not attending to.
Attention can operate at a number of different levels in the stream of processing,
occurring either early or late, depending on the nature of task.
Selective attention refers to the way or focus of attention can be directed by either
internal states or external events.
Selective attention can be disrupted by damage and disease in different brain
regions, which can produce bizarre distortions of conscious experience.

Sleep and dreaming: good night, mind

The sleep cycle involves a regular pattern of sleep and dreaming that creates altered
states of consciousness. Humans progress true stages of NREM and REM sleep
throughout the night.
There are several sleep disorders that influenced the quality of sleep and dreams
including insomnia, Sleep apnea, sumnabulism, narcolepsy, sleep paralysis,
nightmares and night terrors.
Sleep deprivation and dream depravation are determital to psychological
effectiveness and physical health.
The contents of dreams are related to waking life and can be understood by
examining the areas of the brain that are activated when people dream. Different
theories about why dreams occur and their potential meanings have been proposed.
Older views focus on symbolism and the unconscious, Whereas more recent
accounts approach dreaming as an aspect of normal brain activity.

Drugs and consciousness: artificial inspiration

Psycho active drugs influence consciousness and sometimes produce addiction.

Specific effects on consciousness and behavior occurs with different classes of
psychoactive drugs. These classes include depressants, stimulants, narcotics,
hallucinogens and marijuana.
Hallucinogens produce altered sensations and perceptions. Examples include LSD,
psilocybin, mescaline, PCP and ketamine.
Marijuana, leaves and buds of the hemp plant, produces heightened sensations but
impairs memory and motor skills.

Hypnosis: OpenTo suggestion

Induction of hypnosis in susceptible people can make them feel that their actions
are occurring involuntarily and leading them to follow the hypnotist suggestions.
Hypnosis can cause amnesia and lead people to make up memories, but is useful as
an analgesic for pain.

Meditation and religious experiences: higher consciousness

Changes in consciousness away from the normal state may be attained through
meditation, yielding short-term relaxation but no measured long-term effects.
Religious experiences are sometimes associated with brain regions that are also
affected by epilepsy.

Research methods

Experimental research versus observational research: we can divide research

methods into two broad classes. In one experimental research–the investigator
intervenes to make something happen. He deliberately causes something to vary. In
a word he manipulates something variable. Then he observes the effect of that
manipulation. This is what the experiment is.
In the second kind– nonexperimental research –the investigator does not
deliberately make something happen, but instead sets out to describe some aspect
of nature as he finds it. He observes and describes it carefully, Without attempting
to influence events. We will call this class of methods observational research.

In a observational research, it’s true that the researcher may intervene in this
situation in order to gather Data, For example, when a pollster asks someone to
answer questions.
Expressive aphasia: the inability To produce speech

Patients with Broca’s aphasia can understand speech, many can write, and
intelligence may be unimpaired. BrocaConcluded, such patients suffer from the
failure of the specialized memory mechanism. It is as if they cannot remember how
to use their speech apparatus to form words. Broca concluded that he had located
an area of the brain that was specialized for speech production.

Strengths and limitations of case studies

Case studies can be useful in telling us what can happen; for example, that is specific
failure can be linked to a specific area of brain damage. The very fact that such a
thing can happen may be important, for they bear on more general Ideas, Such as
whether there is localization of function in the brain. But case studies have to
important limitations. First, they tell us that this or that sort of event can happen,
but they do not tell us anything about what typically does happen.

Second, case studies are especially susceptible to two sources of error.

First, there is the problem of observer bias. The server may see what she expects to
see; or she may select, from all that she sees, those events that she expects or that
fits her theory.

Then there is the problem of Observer effects. Even i fan observer sees what is
going on in an unbiased way she may have unintended effects on what goes on. And
observer or a therapist, By listening intentively to some remarks but not to others,
or asking for elaboration off some remarks but not others, May steer the
conversation in the direction in which she, the observer or therapist, thinks that
should go.

Survey research versus case studies

Whereas case studies are likely to focus on one or a few instructive cases, Survey
research is more likely to ask: what is true of large groups of cases.

Participant observation: rather than asking questions, As in an interview or

questionnaire, scientists may study the behavior of a group of individuals from the
inside. Dammit actually become part of the group, and observe it from the
perspective of the member. Because the scientists participate in the groups
activities while also studying them, this methods is known as a participant
observation.
The theory of cognitive dissonance: the idea is this, we are uncomfortable if your
actions conflict with our believes and values. We don’t like tob e inconsistent.
Suppose then that we are confronted with such an inconsistency: we believe one
thing, but our actions suggest the opposite belief. Then if the actions have already
occurred and cannot be changed we may modify our beliefs instead, tob ring them
into line with our actions.

Direct observation of behavior: rather than asking subjects questions, Or

participating in their activities, The researcher may observe their behavior directly,
from outside the situation. Just watching, in a careful and systematic way, can tell
us much.

Ethology: the study of anima land human behavior in its natural setting.

Correlational data does not establish what causes what!!

S correlation does not established causality, correlational studies can sometimes
disconfirm get predictions of a causal theory. We see it again: we don’t prove
theories, we rule out alternatives.

Summary
Case studies: often about one case
Survey’s: use of large groups
Participant observation: from the inside
Direct observation of behavior: Book carrying in humans, the description of
mother– infant interactions
Observation can be used to test specific hypotheses.

Sampling bias: we might observe organisms or events that are different, In some
consistent way, from those organisms or events that we want to draw conclusions
about. This is the problem of sampling bias.

Observer effects: we might distort what we observe by the very act of observing it.
If we observed a group of people, and if they know they are being observed, they
may behave differently because they are being observed. In such cases, the
observer is having an unintended effect on what is going on, so we will call this the
problem of observer effects.

Observer bias: even i fan observer does not distort what happens, sheet may distort
how She sees it happening.
Inferential bias: even if the data themselves far accurate, We may draw conclusions
from those data that the data just do not support. Here the problem is with our
logic, no tour procedures; we made inferences from our data in a biased way.

Avoiding sampling bias: to avoid sampling bias, we first define our population, and
then seek to obtain a representative sample from that population. This is the
research parallel to the chefs stirring the soup. We won the sample(the spoonful)
tob e like the population(the vat of soup) In all the ways that matter.
The best way of trying for a representative sample from a population is to draw the
sample at random from that population.
A random sample is one selected in such a way that every member of the population
has an equal chance of being selected. I like you

It’s important to remember that our population is whatever we say it is; there is no
such thing as the population pure and simple.

Multistage sampling: suppose we want a random sample of college students in the

United States. We could list all colleges of the United States and take a random
sample of the colleges(stage one). Then, from every college selected, we could take
a random sample of its students(stage two).

Systematic sampling: this matter is useful when one cannot keep track of
individuals. Suppose I want a random sample from a large classroom. Rather than
listing everybody, I might go to my random number table, and point a pencil
anywhere on it. Doing that now, I get the number seven. Doing it again, I get four.
So, counting round up the room, I would select the fourth students tob e in my
sample. Then I select every seventh student after that, Until I have gone all around
the room.

Random sampling does not guarantee a representative sample, but it does make it
unlikely that the sample will be very different from the population from which it is
drawn. And the larger the sample, the More unlikely any large differences become.

Purposive sampling: we may purposely go looking for subjects with certain

characteristics– Hence the name–where dose characteristics make them relevant to
the question we are asking. Schagter purposely looked for people who had smoking
or weight problems. Such people will not be representative of people in general.

Convenience sampling: this kind of sampling is by far the most common in

behavioral research. We select our subjects for accessibility and convenience.
Generality from the diversity: the generality of the conclusions comes from the
consistency among these different findings, Not from the representativeness of the
subjects in any one of them.
So, for example: does the number of bystanders effect occur in other societies? The
way to find out is to Luke and see. If the results can be replicated in other cultures,
that supports the original findings and adds generality tot hem. And if the results do
not hold up in other cultures or age groups, we can go on to ask why they don’t.

When do we need representative samples? We need them when there is a real

worlds population out there– The specific existing one, Not just one that we define–
to which we want to generalize our findings. Political polling is an obvious example.

Observer effects: as we observe and describe behavior, we must consider that what
our subjects do may be affected by our presence as observers, or by something that
we do while observing. Then they may not behave as they normally would. That is
the problem of observer effects.

Clever Hans effect: an observer can give unintended cues that can affect what his or
her subjects to.

Controlling observer effects:

Hiding
Waiting it out
Deception
Unobtrusive measures: Data made not by observing behavior but by observing its
residues and consequences.
Blank observers: don’t tell the observers what the expected way is

Observer bias example: College students from two different universities watch the
same movie of a football game between the two schools. The students were asked
to play official, and to catch the violations on each side. Students at each school
spotted more infractions by the opposing team and buy their own.

Controlling observer bias:

Blank observing
Objective measures: how much time or do use of a stopwatch
Multiple observers: determining interobserver reliability
Coronation and causality: correlation does not imply causality. Again and again, the
study will claim to demonstrate that some X causes some Y, when all it really shows
that the two are correlated.

Why doesn’t correlation imply causality? It is often unlikely that X causes Y. It is

more likely that a third variable, Z, causes differences in X and Y, without there
being any cause and effect relation between X and Y at all.

When you come across correlational data, Think of three possible explanations for
them– Maybe X causes Y, maybe Y causes X, or maybe Z causes both- and register
the fact that the data do not tell us which explanation is right.