Psychology Answers

Shona is interested in women’s experiences with breast cancer, and particularly wants
to study how they perceive their medical care and how different women think their
experiences compare with others. She decides to run focus groups. This is the most
appropriate methodology because:
a. multiple views can be heard.
b. the cause for poor care can be established.
c. correlations can be found.
d. data can be collected quickly.

Thirtypeople contact her. She tells them that treatment is on a first-come first-served basis.
So, the first 15 people who make an appointment with her go into the treatment
condition; the last 15 people go into the wait list control condition [this means, they
will still get the treatment, but first they have to act as controls]. The researcher
measures everyone's level of depression at baseline; then she runs the intervention with
the treatment group; then she measures everyone's level of depression again. She finds
that the treatment has a strong significant effect; participants who experienced the
treatment reported significantly lower levels of depression afterwards compared to
those in the wait list control condition. What sort of design was this, and what methodological mistake did the researcher make?
a. Longitudinal design; no testing of participants three months after treatment.
b. Quasi-experimental design; no testing of participants three months after
treatment.

In order to consider how best to work with young refugee children in relation to mental
health, you interview 12 female community leaders from Sierra Leone. One of the main
themes you note is: "food maintaining connection to cultural practices is particularly
important for mental health". Based on this theme, what action would be best for you to
consider as a next step?
a. Recommend providing culture-specific cooking classes to all children with
refugee backgrounds.
b. Advise community leaders from all backgrounds to tell schools to discuss food as
part of their curriculum.
c. Discuss this theme with a broader reference group that includes a diverse range of
refugees and stakeholders.
d. Run focus groups with mental health service providers which centre around how
to support communities to maintain cultural practices.

We recently conducted a survey of 2200 university students, measuring their levels of
mental health, using the 21-item version of the DASS. Scores on the DASS are
summed, with higher scores indicating greater levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Total scores can range from 21 to 84. The mean score for the sample was 45, and the
standard deviation [SD] was 7. In return for participating in the study, we provided
confidential feedback to each student by providing them with their total score. Sylvia
scored 51. Should we also advise Sylvia to contact the counselling service?
a. Yes. Sylvia scores higher than average on depression, anxiety, and stress.
b. No. Sylvia’s score is within the average range of students in this sample.
c. No. Sylvia’s score is almost exactly halfway between the lowest and highest possible
scores.
d. As responsible and ethical researchers, we would need more information about
Sylvia’s life before we could make a determination.

Would standardized tests of intelligence be of a higher or lower quality if they were playful?

How well does a game help to create an environment conducive to learning?

Does technology have an important or unimportant effect on the quality of the language used by an individual?

What playful, problem-solving activity is most instrumental in an individual’s cognitive development?

What games are more appropriate at different stages of cognitive development?

Can a game be conducive to the stimulation of the brain’s different language areas?