“Using the Correlational Method to Study Cannabis Use in the Adolescent Brain”
Write a paper that evaluates the adequacy of the correlational method to study the effects of cannabis on teenagers
Describe the trends in smoking cannabis among teenagers during the last few years, as reported in the New York Times article (4 pts).
What are some of the effects of cannabis use on the developing brain? (4 pts).
What is cannabis hyperemesis? Why is this syndrome associated with compulsive bathing ? (4 pts)
End the paragraph by completing this sentence: “In summary, recent scientific evidence suggests that adolescents are the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of smoking cannabis because ___” (4 pts).
a. What is psychosis? What are some of the symptoms of psychosis? (4 pts)
Is there any evidence that high-potency cannabis is associated with psychotic symptoms ? Explain. (5 pts)
Is there any evidence that those who started using high-potency cannabis by age 15 years have a higher risk of a psychotic disorder? Explain. (3 pts)
What is the effect of cannabis on people’s short-term memory? What is the effect of cannabis on people’s symptoms of anxiety? In your view, is cannabis good or bad for treating anxiety? (6 pts)
State the hypothesis to be evaluated in your paper. (4 pts)
Describe how you will use the correlational method to evaluate the hypothesis. (5 pts)
State your predictions about the pattern of correlations among THC potency and the three measures if the hypothesis under investigation is correct. (7 pts)
Figure 1 below presents a scatterplot of the variables THC and anxiety. What is a scatterplot? What does Figure 1 depict as the relationship between THC and anxiety in this study? (4 pts)
Use the formula to compute the correlation coefficient between THC and each of the three psychological measures. Also, compute the correlation coefficient between memory and anxiety (N.B. That’s 4 correlation coefficients in total). For each coefficient, state the computed value of each of the four terms of the formula (i.e., r, I, II, and III). (6 pts)
Restate the hypothesis under study. Are the results of the correlational analysis consistent with the hypothesis? Why or why not? (4 pts)
Give an explanation for the relationship found in Figure 1. Give an explanation for the relationship found between memory and anxiety. (6 pts)
Describe a feature of the study that could be improved if you were to repeat it. (3 pts)
Can correlational studies be used to evaluate hypotheses or should we only use experiments instead? Defend your answer. (4 pts)
Make a general conclusion from the results about the effects of substance use on the developing brain. (3 pts)
