1. In a study of territoriality in sparrows, researchers found that average territory size was larger during a cold year than it was during a warm year. They concluded that temperature affects sparrow resources so they require larger territories during cold years. What is wrong with this conclusion? What information is needed to make this conclusion stronger?
1. In a study of territoriality in sparrows, researchers found that average territory size was larger during a cold year than it was during a warm year. They concluded that temperature affects sparrow resources so they require larger territories during cold years. What is wrong with this conclusion? What information is needed to make this conclusion stronger?
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The Scientific Method
For any controlled scientific study, a scientist starts with an observation, does some research to develop a hypothesis, and then designs an experiment that compares some baseline group with a test group. Data are then collected to confirm or refute the hypothesis.
As you review the following study, consider whether the researchers correctly followed the scientific method.
In the late 1990s, gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, along with a research team, set out to determine if bowel disease caused by vaccines led to autism.
He compiled a group of 12 children who had loss of acquired skills, developmental delays in language, diarrhea, and abdominal pain-essentially, those with both bowel disease and autism. He questioned each parent about the behavior and personality of the child before the child was vaccinated with the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. He then ran tests on the children to determine the health of the gastrointestinal tract, brain, and nervous system.
His reported data (tabulated below) included that children experienced either gastrointestinal or autism-like symptoms, sometimes within a short period after being vaccinated. From these data, the researchers concluded that there was no link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Wakefield though, contradicted this conclusion and stated that the vaccine caused changes in the gastrointestinal tract of the children, which then led to autism (Wakefield, et al., 1998). Currently, he still contends that the MMR vaccine contributes to autism (Ziv, 2015).
Many researchers tried to duplicate this study and could not replicate Wakefield's results. In fact, they found no link between the vaccines, bowel disease, and autism. In the United Kingdom, the MMR vaccine was not introduced until 1988. If Wakefield's conclusions were correct, one would then expect a jump in autism cases after 1988, but this was not observed, even when hundreds of children were studied (Taylor et al., 1999). In these additional studies, children who had not been vaccinated were included as a control group, and no difference in the rates of autism was observed.
In 2011, Brian Deer reviewed Wakefield's study and all available records from the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom for these 12 children. He found that at most, two children showed symptoms days after vaccinations. At least five children showed developmental delays before being vaccinated. Six out of the 12 children may have had autism symptoms. None of the 12 children tested had all three-regressive autism, colitis, and symptoms days after vaccination.
Symptom | Wakefield | Wakefield NHS Records |
Symptoms days after vaccination | 8 | 2? |
Non-specific colitis | 12 | 3 |
Regressive autism | 9 | 6? |
Intestinal/autism/symptoms after vaccine | 12 | 0 |
(Wakefield, et al., 1998; Deer, 2011)
Wakefield's statements led to a worldwide panic about the safety of vaccines, but after Deer's report, Wakefield's study was retracted and his medical license was revoked for falsifying data. Click on the following links to review materials to enhance your knowledge of the scientific method and to support your analysis of Wakefield's experiment:
Steps of the Scientific Method: A simplified explanation of how the scientific method works, the steps taken to investigate phenomenon with diagrams
Do Vaccines Cause Autism?: A review of research demonstrating that vaccines and their components are not the cause of autism
Fifteen years after a vaccine scare, a measles epidemic: An analysis of vaccination trends and an increase in measles cases seen the UK
Answer the following 4 questions:
What was wrong with Wakefield's study? Discuss at least 1 variable or approach that should have been controlled or assessed.
Consider the source of some of his data (parental memory, for example), the small sample size, and whether he considered other variables (genetics, diet, and so on) that could have resulted in symptoms in these children.
Discuss the importance of a control group when using the scientific method.
Did Wakefield deserve to be barred from medical practice?
What were the consequences of his inflated conclusions?
This includes showing all calculations and explaining why you selected a specific answer for each multiple choice question (i.e. donât just circle the correct answer). I am looking to see how you got the answer, not just that you have the correct answer.
Below is data from the United States Cancer Statistics about the number of news cases of lung cancer in males in the U.S. for 2011 for ages 30 and older.
Table 1: U.S. Population Size and Incidence Cases of Lung Cancer in Males for 2011
Age (Years) | U.S. Male Population | White Population | White Incidence Cases | Black Population | Black Incidence Cases |
30-34 | 10,181,564 | 7,950,924 | 88 | 1,383,650 | 22 |
35-39 | 9,666,162 | 7,557,263 | 212 | 1,271,897 | 23 |
40-44 | 10,363,126 | 8,259,215 | 643 | 1,324,847 | 132 |
45-49 | 10,856,131 | 8,766,225 | 2,032 | 1,373,346 | 444 |
50-54 | 10,976,172 | 9,004,383 | 5,128 | 1,329,551 | 1,148 |
55-59 | 9,733,849 | 8,101,629 | 8,607 | 1,091,030 | 1,687 |
60-64 | 8,466,308 | 7,183,960 | 12,340 | 845,362 | 2,067 |
65-69 | 6,014,777 | 5,178,255 | 15,792 | 539,796 | 2,077 |
70-74 | 4,360,942 | 3,769,569 | 16,011 | 376,129 | 1,864 |
75-79 | 3,204,196 | 2,807,216 | 14,319 | 255,221 | 1,426 |
80-84 | 2,319,839 | 2,078,071 | 11,284 | 154,155 | 883 |
85+ | 1,873,942 | 1,688,433 | 7,616 | 117,267 | 545 |
Total | 88,017,008 | 72,345,143 | 94,072 | 10,062,251 | 12,318 |
3. What is the age-specific incidence rate for lung cancer in white men age 75-79 for 2011?(1 pt)
0.005 per 1000
1.3 per 1000
1.2 per 1000
5.1 per 1000
5.6 per 1000
F. Cannot be calculated from the given information
4. What is the age-specific incidence rate for lung cancer in black men age 75-79 for 2011? (1 pt)
0.005 per 1000
1.3 per 1000
1.2 per 1000
5.1 per 1000
5.6 per 1000
F. Cannot be calculated from the given information
Questions 5 through 7 are based on the information below:
Using the information in Table 1, researchers calculated the crude incidence rates and age-adjusted incidence rates (via the direct method) for both groups.
Table 2: Crude incidence rates and age-adjusted incidence rates for white and black males
White Males | Black Males | ||
Crude Incidence Rate | Age-adjusted Incidence Rate | Crude Incidence Rate | Age-adjusted Incidence Rate |
1.3 per 1000 | 1.2 per 1000 | 1.2 per 1000 | 1.5 per 1000 |
5. True or False, there is likely a difference in the age composition between the white and black males. Explain your answer
6. Based on the information in Table 2, it was reported that there was an increased risk of lung cancer in black males in 2011. (1 pt)
The conclusion is:
Correct, the age-adjusted rate is higher in black males compared to white males
Correct, because both the crude and age-adjusted rates are higher in black males compared to white males
Incorrect, because the incidence rate for white males is actually higher than the incidence rate for black males
7. What type of age-adjusted rate was calculated in table 2? How does it differ from the age-adjusted rate in question 5 in the in-class exercise for age-adjustments? Hint: See slide title: Adjustments for Other Measures of Disease Frequency in the lecture title Adjusted Rates (1 pt)
Question 8 is based on the information given below:
Cause-specific mortality rates for men in 2010 in the U.S. from various types of cancers are shown in the table below:
Cause-Specific Mortality Rates
(per 100,000 Men)
Location of the Cancer
in the Body White Asian
Pancreas 13.2 5.7
Prostate 19.1 2.5
Lung 62.3 18.5
Skin 4.9 0.3
8. The inference that White men in the U.S. are at higher risk of death due to cancer of the pancreas, prostate, lung, and skin compared to Asian men in the U.S. is
A. correct
B. incorrect because of failure to determine cause-specific mortality rates
incorrect because proportionate mortality alone does not give an estimate of risk
D. incorrect because of failure to adjust for differences in the age composition of the two populations
E. incorrect because counts were used when cause-specific mortality rates were needed
9. In January 1996, a team of epidemiologists identified a sample of 4,500 men, 65-74 years of age, for a study of prostate cancer. Tests indicated that 315 of the men already had prostate cancer and, therefore, were not at risk. The rest of the men were followed prospectively for five years to determine the incidence rate of prostate cancer in the sample. By the end of the five years of follow-up 156 of the men had developed prostate cancer. What is the incidence rate of prostate cancer in this group?
10. An epidemiologic investigation that started on January 1, 2011, identified a population of 1,000 individuals. At the start of the study 4 were found to have the disease. During the year of study, 6 new cases were found; thus a total of 10 cases were identified. Among those 10 cases, 6 deaths occurred during the year. What was the prevalence of the disease during the 1-year study?
Meadow voles differ from prairie voles in that they:
a. | are not monogamous. | |
b. | show preference for a single partner if the AVPR1A gene is blocked. | |
c. | release vasopressin but not oxytocin. | |
d. | release oxytocin but not vasopressin. |
5 points
Question 2
Painful events are detected by:
a. | Free nerve endings. | |
b. | Merkel's disks. | |
c. | Meissner's corpuscles. | |
d. | Pacinian corpuscles. |
5 points
Question 3
It has been found that:
a. | Language memory is stored near Broca's area. | |
b. | Identifying pictures of hand tools uses memories stored in the left temporal lobe and hand motor areas. | |
c. | Identifying the color of an object requires memories stored in the temporal lobe. | |
d. | All of the above. |
5 points
Question 4
Sex is considered to be a form of ___ behavior.
a. | chaotic | |
b. | motivated | |
c. | learned | |
d. | innate |
5 points
Question 5
A difference between Einstein's brain and the average brain is that:
a. | It was larger in size. | |
b. | It was lighter in weight. | |
c. | There were more neurons. | |
d. | There was no difference. |
5 points
Question 6
The individual in the opening chapter vignette lost virtually all motor control because the control of our muscles and, hence, our limbs and bodies is heavily influenced by and has to be integrated with our ___.
a. | proprioception sense | |
b. | vestibular sense | |
c. | skin senses | |
d. | visceral sense |
5 points
Question 7
Which cortical area is most important for maintaining information in working memory when a distracting stimulus is introduced?
a. | Temporal lobe. | |
b. | Parietal lobe. | |
c. | Prefrontal cortex. | |
d. | All of the above. |
5 points
Question 8
The anxiolytics that have the highest abuse and addiction potentials are:
a. | Barbiturates. | |
b. | SNRIs. | |
c. | Benzodiazepines. | |
d. | Tricyclics. |
5 points
Question 9
If your grandfather suffered a stroke in his left prefrontal cortex, in what ability would he likely be most impaired?
a. | Working out a complicated math problem in his head. | |
b. | Wondering what the capital city of Nevada is. | |
c. | Playing the piano. | |
d. | Quickly telling you the value of 3x3. |
5 points
Question 10
Major depression:
a. | Can usually be explained by exposure to prolonged stress. | |
b. | Always consists of decreased physical activity. | |
c. | Generally appears after midlife. | |
d. | None of the above. |
5 points
Question 11
According to your text, one of the reasons that some psychologists question the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder is that:
a. | Symptoms seem to come and go. | |
b. | The symptoms are not consistent across diagnosing psychologists. | |
c. | The number of diagnosed cases increased from 500 to 5000 over a period of six years. | |
d. | They believe it is a popular diagnosis due to movies such as The Three Faces of Eve. |
5 points
Question 12
When the differences in body size are accounted for, the average male's brain is ___ than the average female's brain.
a. | heavier | |
b. | lighter | |
c. | the same size | |
d. | the same ratio |
5 points
Question 13
All of the following make it difficult to determine if there are gender-related differences in behavior and cognition except:
a. | The results show evidence for strong differences, but people do not want to accept them. | |
b. | Different researchers tend measure the same characteristic in different ways. | |
c. | The differences that exist are relatively small. | |
d. | People tend to talk to children dressed as boys or girls in different, subtle ways. |
5 points
Question 14
The leading environmental cause of intellectual disability is:
a. | Maternal alcoholism. | |
b. | Rubella. | |
c. | Prenatal exposure to virus. | |
d. | Early infancy exposure to viruses. |
5 points
Question 15
Antipsychotic medicines have come to be known as ___, which means ___.
a. | psycholeptics; to have antipsychotic effects | |
b. | neuroleptics; to have anti-neurosis effects | |
c. | neuroleptics; to seize control of a neuron | |
d. | psycholeptics; to seize control of a psychosis |
5 points
Question 16
Using classical conditioning to pair a loud boat horn with presenting a blue slide, researchers found that with:
a. | Hippocampus damage, conditioning occurred even though the subjects could not describe what was learned. | |
b. | Amygdala damage, conditioning occurred even though the subjects could not describe what was learned. | |
c. | Hippocampus damage, no conditioning occurred but subjects could describe the procedure. | |
d. | None of the above. |
5 points
Question 17
In the most famous case of Ablatio penis, where a young boy with XY chromosomes had his penis destroyed during a circumcision,
a. | the child (Bruce) was born as a hermaphrodite and the decision was made to rear him as a girl (Brenda). | |
b. | Money counseled the parents that by rearing the child (Bruce) as a girl, âsheâ (Brenda) would accept a female gender identity. | |
c. | the child lost both testicles, which was the source for all of the male-specific hormones in âherâ body. | |
d. | Money showed that the âneutral-at-birthâ position was in fact correct. |
5 points
Question 18
The method of introspection is seldom used in today's research because:
a. | Machines were developed that were more accurate. | |
b. | It was found to be too subjective. | |
c. | It required too much training to produce accurate results. | |
d. | All of the above. |
5 points
Question 19
Both Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease produce damage to:
a. | Declarative memory. | |
b. | Nondeclarative memory. | |
c. | Memory of Lincolnâs birthplace. | |
d. | Memory of what you had for breakfast. |
5 points
Question 20
Lucid dreamers:
a. | Show characteristics of being both awake and asleep. | |
b. | Can control the content of their dreams. | |
c. | Know that they are dreaming. | |
d. | All of the above. |
Meadow voles differ from prairie voles in that they: