What Is a Hypothesis? Essay Example

Study Relaxation Exercises

A researcher interested in the idea that people who engage in conscious relaxation (like meditation or relaxation exercises) experience fewer age-related aches and pains than people who do not consciously relax. Create a working hypothesis for this research question. Be sure to be specific about the IV and DV of this study.

The dependent variable is age, independent variables men with aches and pains, men people who engage in conscious relaxation, men who engage in relaxation exercises. This example meets the definition of hypothesis.” A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two variables.” (Cherry, 2015). The null hypothesis the opposite of the basis of the hypothesis, the null is the alternative (Shuttlework, 2015).

Hypothesis: There is a correlation and a statistical difference between the age of men that engage in conscious relaxation and relaxation exercises that have fewer age related aches and pains

Null: There is a no correlation or statistical significance between the age of men that engage in conscious relaxation and relaxation exercises

Long Term Incarceration

A researcher is interested in the psychological ramifications of long-term incarceration hypothesizing that the psychological risks to inmates in many cases constitute cruel and unusual punishment. To conduct her study, she meets with the warden of a nearby prison and asks if she can interview the inmates. The warden gives her permission and tells the inmates they will be participating in the interviews. Is this study ethical? Why or why not?

The studies are not ethical because the prisoner have the right to choose to participant concerning personal, confidential and prison information. This is unethical because the consideration of all the people that might be involved such as other inmates willing or unwilling, guards that are rough and cruel and the inmates safety who agrees to talk about the incidents inside the prison. The prisoners may lose their public rights and benefits but they do not lose their freedom of privacy and choice. Finally, the warden does not have the power or right to subject prisons to a study that has not been approved by the prisons and by the state.

Workday Breaks

A researcher hypothesizes that people who take a scheduled break between lunch and the end of the workday are more satisfied with their job and are more productive at the end of the day than people who do not take a break. Is this a good hypothesis? Why or why not?

Yes, this hypothesis is sound because people who do not take breaks over time will not be more productive because they become worn out from the lack of breaks and given the body a chance to rest or recuperate. The workers that take breaks are more alert, refreshed and mental alert after giving the mind and body a break.

Voters Attitudes

A researcher finds that participants who live in urban areas generally vote democratic and those who live in rural areas tend to vote republican. He claims that living in crowded conditions causes people to favor democratic attitudes and vice versa for republican attitudes. Is this a valid conclusion? Why or why not?

This is not a valid conclusion. The conclusion is not valid because people that vote regardless of urban or rural do not dictate republican and democrat. This would mean that all people live in city vote republican and people in the rural area vote democratic is not true. A persons personal beliefs do help make a decision about voting republican and democrats but the location of a person’s household, does not dictate how they vote.

Human Societies

A researcher is interested in the development of human societies. She hypothesizes that many human societies are centered around family groups because when humans were hunter-gatherers they wanted to protect their own bloodline and not another person’s. Is this a good hypothesis? Why or why not?

This would be a good hypothesis because humanity has been based on the family unit that work and live to protect their families. There is the primary reason the family group developments the society by building regions on the based on kinship.

The Mind

A group of researchers takes the view that the mind works similarly to a computer – data are input to the mind through the sense organs, these data are processed, and the output is something like “thought” or “perception.” These researchers hypothesize that data processing in the mind takes time. Write a hypothesis that can be used to test the claim that these mental processes take time.

Yes, this premise would be an excellent project to complete because the mind is like a data processor. The project can simulate the computer works with utilize the same examples of how the mind works during the mental process.

Judgement Error

A researcher hypothesizes that participants who are informed about the fundamental attribution error (the tendency to blame another’s circumstances on dispositional factors while largely disregarding situational factors) will be less likely to make the error in their judgments of other people’s situations. Is this a good hypothesis? Why or why not?

No this would not be good hypotheses because the study does not incorporate situational issues that may help develop the hypothesis based on the different circumstances that would change the results or altered the judgement.

Reference

Cherry, K. (2015).What is a hypothesis. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from http://psychology.about.com/od/hindex/g/hypothesis.htm

Shuttleworth, M. (2015). Null hypothesis. Retrieved March 27, 2015 from https://explorable.com/null-hypothesis