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psy wk 3 assignment Essay Example

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psy wk 3 assignment Essay Example
Submit the Understanding the Research Process Assignment posted in the main forum. Refer to chapters 1, 2 & 7. Answer the 4 questions on page 252 of Chapter 7.

1. What hypothesis were the researchers testing in the first study by Medvec and colleagues? The first study by Medvec and colleagues were to hypothesize how some individuals could feel worse about their situations compared to someone whose situation is actually worse and do this by the ease of generating counterfactuals.

2. Three studies were conducted by Medvec and colleagues (1995) examining counterfactual thinking. List the dependent variable in each of the three studies.
a) dependent variable- silver medalists felt worse off then the bronze medalist even though they were not.
b) dependent variable- silver medalists showed more concern in how they almost performed versus how they actually performed as opposed to the bronze medalists.
c) dependent variable- similar to the second study the silver medalists were more concerned with the “I almost” performance opposed to the bronze medalists.

3. Design a study similar to that of Medvec and colleagues that tests the principle of counterfactual thinking. I would conduct a study of elementary students and how each student did in school that got bullied on a daily basis opposed to a student that has many friends and does not get bullied. I think there is a significant impact on bullying and a child’s grades. I would conduct the study first by observing how the bullied student did grade wise in a weeks time and compare that to the student that does not get bullied. Second I would observe how each student did socially in school around other students and teachers. Third I would conduct a final study with college students to observe on a rating scale the thoughts, feelings, opinions on the subject.

4. Can you describe a situation in your own life that involved counterfactual thinking?
What variables determined your affective

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