D2.Psy.13.9-12: Common Themes in Psychological Science: Ethics, Diversity, Development and Health

Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-70 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "A company tests a new study app on 50 college students and finds that their quiz scores rise. Before you believe that the app will help a 14-year-old, a 70-year-old or a student who is going through a hard month, what questions would you ask?"

   Pairs list questions for 3 minutes. Collect them on the board in four unlabeled columns as they come in: one for questions about fairness and permission (Did the students agree? Was anyone pressured?), one for who was studied (Were they all from one college? Did they speak the same language?), one for age (Do teenagers learn the same way?), and one for health (Could the app add stress?). Then label the columns ethical issues, diversity, developmental issues and health and wellbeing. Tell students these four questions come up in every part of psychology, which is why the C3 Framework calls them common themes.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   What a common theme is. Psychology has many subfields: biological, cognitive, developmental, social, clinical, educational and more. A common theme is an issue that comes up in all of them, whatever the topic. A memory researcher, a sports psychologist and a school psychologist all have to ask whether their work is ethical, whom their results apply to, how the answer changes with age, and what the work means for people's health. Each theme gives a question to ask of any study.

   The four themes and the question each one asks (summary written for this page)

   Theme	What it covers	Question to ask of any study
   Ethical issues	Consent, voluntary participation, privacy, avoiding harm, honesty with participants, responsible reporting	Is it right to do this study this way, and how are participants protected?
   Diversity	Differences in culture, ethnicity, gender, age, language, ability and income, and who is included in a sample	Who was studied, and to whom do the results apply?
   Developmental issues	How thought and behavior change, or stay the same, across the lifespan; continuity and stages; nature and nurture over time	Would the answer be the same at a different age or stage of life?
   Health and wellbeing	Physical and mental health, stress and coping, prevention, and how research affects participants' wellbeing	How does this connect to health, and could the study itself affect someone's wellbeing?

   Ethical issues, then and now. Read Source 1. Claude Bernard, a French physiologist, published this book in 1865; this is the 1927 English translation. He states a rule that sounds modern, about not harming the people in an experiment. Read paragraph 2 closely: one experiment he accepts is missing something every researcher needs today. That part of the source is outdated. Today, U.S. federal rules for most research with human participants (45 CFR 46, the Common Rule) require informed consent, with only narrow exceptions that a review board must approve, and research with minors usually needs a parent's permission and the young person's own agreement (assent).

   1First, have we a right to perform experiments and vivisections on man? Physicians make therapeutic experiments daily on their patients, and surgeons perform vivisections daily on their subjects. Experiments, then, may be performed on man, but within what limits? It is our duty and our right to perform an experiment on man whenever it can save his life, cure him or gain him some personal benefit. The principle of medical and surgical morality, therefore, consists in never performing on man an experiment which might be harmful to him to any extent, even though the result might be highly advantageous to science, i.e., to the health of others. But performing experiments and operations exclusively from the point of view of the patient’s own advantage does not prevent their turning out profitably to science. [...]

   2May we make experiments on men condemned to death or vivisect them? Instances have been cited, analogous to the one recalled above, in which men have permitted themselves to perform dangerous operations on condemned criminals, granting them pardon in exchange. Modern ideas of morals condemn such actions; I completely agree with these ideas; [...] A helminthologist had a condemned woman, without her knowledge swallow larvae of intestinal worms, so as to see whether the worms developed in the intestines after her death. Others have made analogous experiments on patients with phthisis doomed to an early death; some men have made experiments on themselves. As experiments of this kind are of great interest to science and can be conclusive only on man, they seem to be wholly permissible when they involve no suffering or harm to the subject of the experiment. [...] So, among the experiments that may be tried on man, those that can only harm are forbidden, those that are innocent are permissible, and those that may do good are obligatory.

   Developmental issues, then and now. Source 2 is advice the U.S. Children's Bureau, a federal agency, gave parents in its pamphlet Infant Care. Source 3 is advice from the CDC a century later. Both are about how early experiences shape a child, a developmental issue. Read them side by side.

   1A few minutes of gentle play now and then will not harm the normal baby. A young, delicate, or nervous baby needs a great deal of rest and quiet, and however robust the child, much of the play that is commonly indulged in is more or less exciting. It is a great pleasure to hear the baby laugh and crow in apparent delight; but often the means used to produce the laughter, such as tickling, punching, or tossing, make him irritable and restless.

   2[...] Rocking the baby, jumping him up and down on her knee, tossing him, shaking his head or carriage disturb him, and make him more and more dependent upon these attentions. But this is not to say that the baby should be left alone too completely. All babies need "mothering," and should have plenty of it. [...]

   [...]

   3Crying.—Crying should not be classed as a bad habit without some modification, for although a well baby does not cry very much, he has no other means of expressing his needs in the early months of life, and his cry ought to be heeded. But when he cries simply because he has learned from experience that this brings him what he wants, it is one of the worst habits he can learn, and one which takes all the strength of the mother to break. [...] But if, after careful scrutiny of all these conditions, no cause for the crying can be found, the baby probably wants to be taken up, walked with, played with, rocked, or to have a light, or to have some one sit by him—all the result of having learned that crying will get him what he wants, sufficient to make a spoiled, fussy baby, and a household tyrant whose continual demands make a slave of the mother. It is difficult to break up this habit after it has once been formed, but it can be done. After the baby's needs have been fully satisfied he should be put down alone and allowed to cry until he goes to sleep. This may sound cruel, and it is very hard for a young mother to do, but it will usually take only a few nights of this discipline to accomplish the result. [...]

   1During this stage, babies form bonds of love and trust with their parents and others shaping their social and emotional development. The way parents cuddle, hold, and play with their baby will set the basis for future interactions with them and others.

   [...]

   2Talk to your baby. They will find your voice calming.

   3Answer when your baby makes sounds by repeating the sounds and adding words. This will help them learn to use language.

   4Read to your baby. This will help them develop and understand language and sounds.

   [...]

   5Praise your baby and give them lots of loving attention.

   6Spend time cuddling and holding your baby. This will help them feel cared for and secure.

   7Play with your baby when they're alert and relaxed. Watch your baby closely for signs of being tired or fussy so that they can take a break from playing.

   [...]

   8Take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally.

   9Parenting can be hard work! It is easier to enjoy your new baby and be a positive, loving parent when you are feeling good yourself.

   Outdated advice, labeled. Source 2's advice about crying and play reflects the habit-training views of its time. It is outdated: the current CDC advice in Source 3 points the other way. Source 2 is printed here as history, not as advice. Notice that the 1922 pamphlet does take a developmental view: it argues that what happens in infancy shapes later behavior. What changed is the evidence and the advice, not the question.

   • Ethical issues: Source 1

     Bernard says an experiment is allowed when it causes "no suffering or harm." His example is a woman who swallowed worm larvae "without her knowledge."

     Result: Theme: ethical issues. Bernard's rule protects participants from harm, but he does not ask for their agreement. Today's rule also asks: did the person give informed consent? By that standard the example is unethical, so the page labels this part of Source 1 as outdated.

   • Developmental issues: Sources 2 and 3

     In 1922 the Children's Bureau warned that rocking and play make a baby "more and more dependent upon these attentions." In 2025 the CDC says the way parents "cuddle, hold, and play" with a baby "will set the basis for future interactions."

     Result: Theme: developmental issues. Both sources claim that early experience shapes later behavior, but they give opposite advice. Source 2's advice is outdated; the shared question (how do early experiences affect development?) is still a central developmental question.

   • Diversity: Source 4

     Jastrow studied 25 men and 25 women from one Wisconsin class. With the Wellesley women, Nevers found that articles of dress made up 1 word in every 26, compared with 1 in every 11 for Jastrow's women.

     Result: Theme: diversity. A result from one group of students did not hold in another group of women, so a claim about all women was not supported. Arithmetic: 96 of 2,500 words is 3.84%, about 1 in 26; 1 in 11 is about 9.1%. Both samples are small and come from single colleges, so the page treats them as weak evidence for any claim about men and women in general.

   • Health and wellbeing: Source 5

     NIMH says mental health "is more than the absence of a mental illness" and is "essential to your overall health and quality of life."

     Result: Theme: health and wellbeing. Psychology treats mental health as part of health for everyone, not only for people with a diagnosis. Self-care, such as exercise and sleep, is one part of caring for it.

   • One study, four themes

     Invented example: researchers want to know whether a phone-free lunch period changes how much 7th and 11th graders talk with one another.

     Result: Ethics: students and parents must agree, and students may opt out. Diversity: include more than one school and report who took part. Development: compare the two grades rather than assuming 12-year-olds and 16-year-olds react the same way. Health: watch for students who feel left out or anxious without their phones. The same four questions fit any study.

   Close the segment: Which theme is easiest to forget when a study "works"? Accept any answer with a reason. Many students say diversity, because a result can look true for everyone when it was found in one group.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Read Source 4 together. Nevers, a student in Mary Whiton Calkins's laboratory at Wellesley College, repeated a study by Joseph Jastrow to test his claims about how men and women think. Teacher note: the claims Nevers quotes from Jastrow, such as the claim that "women repeat one another's words more than men," are 19th-century stereotypes. They are printed here so that students can see how evidence challenged them; they are outdated and the page does not endorse them.

   1In an article called 'A Study in Mental Statistics,' which appeared in the December, 1891, number of the New Review, Prof. Joseph Jastrow discusses, among other subjects, "The Community of Ideas and Thought-Habits of Men and Women." His data are fifty lists of one hundred disconnected words, twenty-five from the men and twenty-five from the women of his Wisconsin University psychology class. [...]

   2For the purpose of testing these results the young women of the experimental psychology class at Wellesley College were asked to write out similar lists of one hundred disconnected words. That the thought-process might be as free as possible, no restriction was made. The students were not even asked, as in the case of Dr. Jastrow's class, to write as rapidly as possible, but this difference in the method cannot possibly be supposed to account for the wide difference in results. The subjects had no knowledge whatever of the purpose of the investigation. [...]

   3According to Dr. Jastrow's first generalization, 'women repeat one another's words more than men.' He finds that "female students in their 2,500 words used only 1,123 different words, while their classmates used 1,375 [...] The Wellesley lists tell a different story. Only fifteen lists, that is 1,500 words, have been studied from this point of view, but among the 1,500 are 1,103 different words, only 20 less than those among the 2,500 of the Wisconsin University women, and only 272 less than those among the 2,500 of the Wisconsin University men.

   [...]

   4The differences between these Wisconsin and Wellesley women's lists are very striking. According to Dr. Jastrow's results, the class to which women contribute most largely is that of 'articles of dress.' Of every 11 words, 1 belongs to this class, and the women have 224 such words as [...] against 129 on the men's list. Our records, on the other hand, swell the numbers of this class to only 96 words, giving it but 1 word in every 26. [...]

   [...]

   5The conclusions from this study are thus chiefly negative, but not for that reason unimportant. The figures are too few to allow any positive deductions, but their uncompromising contradiction of Dr. Jastrow's results gives a needed warning concerning the dangers of such comparative study of the mental processes of men and women. [...]

   1. Who was studied? Paragraph 1: 25 men and 25 women from one Wisconsin psychology class. Paragraph 2: women from one Wellesley class. Ask: is either group enough to support a claim about all men or all women? (No. Both are small samples from single colleges, and the students differed in training and setting.)
   2. What changed when a different group was studied? Paragraph 4: articles of dress were 1 word in 11 for Jastrow's women but 1 in 26 for the Wellesley women.
   3. Is the comparison in paragraph 3 fair? Jastrow's women used 1,123 different words in 2,500; the Wellesley women used 1,103 in only 1,500. A shorter list has fewer chances to repeat a word, so the counts are not directly comparable. Nevers's point still holds: the Wellesley lists were far from the low variety Jastrow reported, but the evidence is weak in both directions.
   4. What did Nevers conclude? Paragraph 5: her results are "chiefly negative" and "too few to allow any positive deductions"; they warn against broad claims. Ask: which theme does this show? (Diversity: a result found in one group may not hold in another.)

   Then work through the same steps for Source 5, the NIMH page, asking which theme it shows and how a researcher could use it. In class, remind students that a trusted adult, a school counselor or a health care provider is the right person to talk to; this lesson never asks students to judge their own or anyone else's mental health.

   1Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is more than the absence of a mental illness—it’s essential to your overall health and quality of life. Self-care can play a role in maintaining your mental health and help support your treatment and recovery if you have a mental illness.

   [...]

   2Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health. This can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Even small acts of self-care in your daily life can have a big impact.

   [...]

   3Get regular exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking every day can boost your mood and improve your health. Small amounts of exercise add up, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t do 30 minutes at one time.

   [...]

   4Make sleep a priority. Stick to a schedule, and make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Blue light from devices and screens can make it harder to fall asleep, so reduce blue light exposure from your phone or computer before bedtime.

   [...]

   5Stay connected. Reach out to friends or family members who can provide emotional support and practical help.

   6Self-care looks different for everyone, and it is important to find what you need and enjoy. It may take trial and error to discover what works best for you.

   [...]

   7If you have concerns about your mental health, talk to a primary care provider. They can refer you to a qualified mental health professional, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or clinical social worker, who can help you figure out the next steps. [...]

4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students read Source 6 on their own. It is an invented draft study plan with invented numbers, written for this page so that students can practice finding all four themes in one plan. It is a weak plan on purpose: the sample comes mostly from one class and the closing claim goes far beyond it.

   1Invented scenario with invented numbers, written for this page. The psychology club at a high school wants to test whether a 10-minute walk before first period improves students' mood and attention. Here is the club's first draft of its plan.

   2Participants. The club has 40 volunteers. Of these, 34 come from one honors biology class taught by the club's adviser; the other 6 are club members. All 40 are 14 or 15 years old.

   3Signing up. Students sign up on a sheet at lunch. The plan does not mention parents or guardians, and it does not say whether a student may stop taking part.

   4Procedure. On walk days, volunteers walk outside around the track for 10 minutes in any weather. One volunteer has asthma; the plan does not mention it.

   5Measures. Each morning, volunteers rate their mood from 1 (very low) to 10 (very good) and complete a timed proofreading sheet that measures attention.

   6Sharing results. Each week, the club will post every volunteer's name with their mood ratings on the hallway board "so everyone can see their progress."

   7Low ratings. The plan says nothing about what the club will do if a volunteer rates their mood 1 or 2 several days in a row.

   8The claim. The club plans to end its report with this sentence: "Morning walks improve mood and attention for all teenagers."

   Task: build a four-row table with the headings Theme, Problem in the plan (with paragraph number) and A better plan. Fill one row for each theme. Plans are written on paper only: students do not run the study on anyone. Sources 1-6 are used again in the quiz and homework.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Exit ticket: "Pick a psychology topic you are interested in. Write one question for each of the four themes that a researcher studying that topic should ask." Collect and sort the cards by theme to see which theme the class finds hardest.

   Teacher notes. (1) Sources 1, 2 and 4 contain outdated views that are labeled on the page: Bernard's acceptance of an experiment without consent, the 1922 advice on crying and play, and Jastrow's stereotypes about women. Source 1 also mentions experiments on people who had been condemned to death; the page omits Bernard's comments on studying tissues after executions. (2) Source 5 is general health information, not a screening tool. If a student shares that they are struggling, follow your school's procedure and connect them with a counselor or another trusted adult. (3) Source 6 and all of its numbers are invented.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 1, paragraph 1, what does Bernard's "principle of medical and surgical morality" forbid?

   AAny experiment that brings no benefit to science BAny experiment that might harm the subject CAny experiment that tries a new drug or operation DAny experiment that the subject has not agreed to

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Source 1, paragraph 2, which experiments does Bernard call obligatory?

   AExperiments that are innocent BExperiments that can only harm CExperiments that are conclusive only on man DExperiments that may do good

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A researcher today plans a harmless memory test with high school students but does not tell the students or their parents that they are in a study, and asks no review board. How do Bernard's rule in Source 1 and today's informed consent rule judge this plan?

   AAllowed by Bernard's rule but not by today's rule BAllowed by both Bernard's rule and today's rule CForbidden by both Bernard's rule and today's rule DForbidden by Bernard's rule but allowed by today's rule

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 2, paragraph 3, why does the baby cry when no cause can be found?

   AThe cry is his only way to show hunger BThe cry is a sign of an illness or pain CThe cry is a habit learned because it works DThe cry is a way for him to exercise his lungs

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which paragraph of Source 3 gives advice that most directly reverses Source 2's advice not to take up a baby who cries without a clear cause?

   AParagraph 2, on talking to the baby BParagraph 4, on reading to the baby CParagraph 6, on cuddling and holding DParagraph 8, on taking care of yourself

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Invented case: researchers measure the reaction times of the same group of adults at ages 25, 45 and 65 to see how much they change. Which theme does this study raise most directly?

   ADevelopmental issues BEthical issues CHealth and wellbeing DDiversity

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Source 4, paragraph 3, the Wellesley women's lists contained 1,500 words, and 1,103 of them were different words. What percent of the 1,500 words were different words?

   A44.1% B26.5% C98.2% D73.5%

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which difference in method between the two studies does Nevers admit in Source 4, paragraph 2?

   AThe Wellesley students wrote fifty words each BThe Wellesley students were not told to hurry CThe Wellesley students knew the study's purpose DThe Wellesley students worked in mixed groups

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Nevers says the difference in method "cannot possibly be supposed to account for the wide difference in results" (Source 4, paragraph 2). How should a careful reader treat this sentence?

   AAs an assumption a new study could test BAs a finding her data have already proved CAs a rule that every psychologist accepts DAs a reason to reject all of her results

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    According to Source 5, paragraph 1, mental health includes which kinds of well-being?

    APhysical, financial, and social BEmotional, physical, and spiritual CEmotional, psychological, and social DPsychological, academic, and physical

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    According to Source 5, paragraph 7, what should a person with concerns about their mental health do first?

    ASearch online for a list of symptoms BTalk to a primary care provider CStart a new self-care routine alone DWait to see whether the concerns pass

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Source 6, paragraph 2, what percent of the 40 volunteers come from the one honors biology class?

    A34% B15% C6% D85%

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which rewrite of the claim in Source 6, paragraph 8 best fits the club's sample?

    AIn our 40 volunteers, aged 14-15, mood was higher on walk days BMorning walks improve mood and attention for most American teenagers CMorning walks improve mood for every student in our school DMorning walks improve mood more for students older than 15

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Invented case: a psychologist studies whether a daily 20-minute walk lowers stress and blood pressure in office workers. Which theme does this research question address most directly?

    AEthical issues BDiversity CHealth and wellbeing DDevelopmental issues

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 1, paragraph 1 says that acting "exclusively from the point of view of the patient's own advantage does not prevent their turning out profitably to science." Explain what this sentence means and how it shows an ethical issue that every area of psychology faces.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 2, paragraph 3 begins by saying that a young baby's cry "ought to be heeded." Explain how this fits with the rest of the paragraph's advice, why the paragraph is labeled outdated, and which theme it shows. Quote Source 3.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Nevers studied only women. Explain why her study can still challenge Jastrow's claims about women, what it cannot tell us about men, and which theme this shows. Name one weakness of her sample.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Name one problem in Source 6 for the theme of diversity and one for developmental issues, each with a paragraph number, and propose a fix for each.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Invented case: a researcher wants to study whether high school students who use a mood-tracking app for a month feel less stressed. Explain how the themes of ethical issues and health and wellbeing both apply, and say what the researcher should plan in case a participant reports feeling very low.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Explain why ethical issues, diversity, developmental issues, and health and wellbeing are called common themes across the field of psychological science. Use two sources from this page that come from different areas of psychology or medicine.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to D2.Psy.13.9-12: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.