1.2 Research Methods in Psychology
4 min read•january 5, 2023
Sadiyya Holsey
Jillian Holbrook
Dalia Savy
Sadiyya Holsey
Jillian Holbrook
Dalia Savy
Overview of Research Methods
There are various types of research methods in psychology with different purposes, strengths, and weaknesses.
| Research Method | Purpose/Definition | Strength(s) | Weaknesses |
| Experiments🧪 | Manipulates one or more independent variables to determine the effects of certain behavior. | (1) can determine cause and effect (2) can be retested and proven | (1) could have potential ethical issues (2) artificial environment creates low realism (people know they are being researched, which could impact what they say and do) |
| Correlational Studies 📈 | Involves looking at the relationships between two or more variables and is used when performing an experiment is not possible. | (1) easier to conduct than an experiment (2) can be used when an experiment is impossible. For example, a researcher may want to examine the relationship between school grades and Adderall. It would not be ethical to force students to take high doses of Adderall. So, one can only rely on participants’ responses | cannot determine cause and effect |
| Survey Research 💭 | The collection of information reported by people about a particular topic. | (1) cost-effective (2) mostly reliable | (1) low response rates (2) can’t verify the accuracy of an individual’s response |
| Naturalistic Observations👀 | A researcher observes a subject's behavior without intervention. | natural setting is more reliable than a lab setting | (1) people behave differently when they know they are being watched, which could impact the results (Hawthorne effect) (2) two researchers could see the same behavior but draw different conclusions |
| Case Studies 💼 | A case study is an in-depth study of an individual or a small group. Usually, case studies are done on people with rare circumstances. For example, a girl named Genie was locked in her room, causing a delay in development. Researchers did a case study about her to understand more about language and human development stages. | provides detailed information | (1) cannot generalize results to a wider population (2) difficult to replicate (3) time-consuming |
| Longitudinal Studies ↔️ | The same individuals are studied over a long period of time from years up to decades. | (1) can show the effects of changes over time (2) more powerful than cross-sectional studies | (1) require large amounts of time (2) expensive |
| Cross-Sectional Studies | A cross-sectional study examines people of different groups at the same time. For example, studying people that are different ages at the same time to see what differences can be attributed to age. | (1) quick and easy to conduct (2) generalizable results | (1) difficult to find a population that differs by only one factor (2) cannot measure changes over time |
Examples
Experiment
Whenever researchers want to prove or find causation, they would run an experiment.
An experiment you'll learn about in Unit 9 that was run by Solomon Asch investigated the extent to which one would conform to a group's ideas.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Each person in the room would have to look at these lines above and state which one they thought was of similar length to the original line. The answer was, of course, obvious, but Asch wanted to see if the "real participant" would conform to the views of the rest of the group.
Asch gathered together what we could call "fake participants" and told them not to say line C. The "real participant" would then hear wrong answers, but they did not want to be the odd one out, so they conformed with the rest of the group and represented the majority view.
In this experiment, the "real participant" was the control group, and about 75% of them, over 12 trials, conformed at least once.
Correlational Study
There could be a correlational study between anything. Say you wanted to see if there was an association between the number of hours a teenager sleeps and their grades in high school. If there was a correlation, we cannot say that sleeping a greater number of hours causes higher grades. However, we can determine that they are related to each other. 💤
Remember in psychology that a correlation does not prove causation!
Survey Research
Surveys are used all the time, especially in advertising and marketing. They are often distributed to a large number of people, and the results are returned back to researchers.
Naturalistic Observation
If a student wanted to observe how many people fully stop at a stop sign, they could watch the cars from a distance and record their data. This is a naturalistic observation since the student is in no way influencing the results.
Case Study
A notable psychological case study is the study of Phineas Gage:
Image Courtesy of Vermont Journal
Phineas Gage was a railroad construction foreman who survived a severe brain injury in 1848. The accident occurred when an iron rod was accidentally driven through Gage's skull, damaging his frontal lobes. Despite the severity of the injury, Gage was able to walk and talk immediately after the accident and appeared to be relatively uninjured.
However, Gage's personality underwent a dramatic change following the injury. He became impulsive, irresponsible, and prone to outbursts of anger, which were completely out of character for him before the accident. Gage's case is famous in the history of psychology because it was one of the first to suggest that damage to the frontal lobes of the brain can have significant effects on personality and behavior.
Key Terms to Review (27)
Adderall
: Adderall is a prescription medication containing two drugs, amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. It is used for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy.Association
: In psychology, association refers to any connection between thoughts, feelings, or experiences that leads one to recall another. It's often used in learning theories such as classical conditioning and operant conditioning.Case Studies
: Case studies are detailed investigations into one individual or small group. These studies provide rich qualitative data and can offer insights into unique situations that may not be captured in larger-scale research methods.Cause and Effect
: Cause and effect is a relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other. This is a combination of action and reaction.Conformity
: Conformity refers to adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard or expectation.Control Group
: In an experiment, the control group is the set that does not receive the treatment or intervention and is used as a benchmark to measure how other tested subjects do.Correlational Studies
: Correlational studies measure two variables and examine how they relate to each other without manipulating either one of them.Cross-Sectional Studies
: Cross-sectional studies are observational research methods that analyze data from a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time.Cross-Sectional Study
: A cross-sectional study is a type of observational research that analyzes data from a population at one specific point in time—it’s like taking a snapshot of the population.Ethical Issues
: Ethical issues refer to problems or situations requiring a person or organization to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right (ethical) or wrong (unethical).Experiments
: Experiments are a type of research method where the researcher manipulates one variable (independent variable) to determine its effect on another variable (dependent variable).Frontal Lobes
: The frontal lobes are areas at the front of each cerebral hemisphere involved with decision-making, problem-solving, control over voluntary movements or activity (motor skills), and complex behaviors such as social interactions and personality expression.Generalize Results
: Generalizing results means applying findings from a sample group in an experiment or study to larger populations outside the study.Hawthorne Effect
: The Hawthorne Effect refers to the alteration of behavior by the subjects of a study due to their awareness of being observed.Human Development Stages
: Human Development Stages refer to distinct phases that individuals pass through from birth until death, including physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes.Independent Variables
: An independent variable is what researchers manipulate during an experiment to measure its impact on dependent variables.Longitudinal Studies
: Longitudinal studies are research methods that involve repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over long periods of time, often many decades.Naturalistic Observations
: Naturalistic observation is an observational method where researchers observe individuals' behavior in their natural environment without intervention or manipulation.Personality Change
: A personality change refers to a significant shift in a person's established patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions. This can be due to various factors such as brain injury, mental health disorders, or life experiences.Phineas Gage
: Phineas Gage was a railroad construction foreman who survived a severe brain injury in the mid-19th century. His case is often studied in psychology because of the dramatic personality changes he experienced after his accident, which provided early evidence for the role of the frontal lobes in personality and behavior.Realism
: In psychology, realism refers to an orientation towards facts and reality, accepting them without distortion by personal feelings or prejudices.Replicate
: In psychology, to replicate means to repeat a research study, often with different participants and in different situations, to see if the basic findings can be observed again.Research Methods
: Research methods are the strategies, tools, and techniques used to collect and analyze data in psychology. They help psychologists understand human behavior and mental processes.Response Rates
: In psychology research, response rates refer to the proportion of people who respond out of the total number asked or surveyed.School Grades
: School grades are a measure of a student's academic performance in their coursework. They typically range from A (excellent) to F (failing).Solomon Asch
: Solomon Asch was a prominent psychologist best known for his experiments on conformity, where he demonstrated the influence of group pressure on individual behavior.Survey Research
: Survey research is a method of data collection that involves asking a large number of participants a series of questions or completing a questionnaire.1.2 Research Methods in Psychology
4 min read•january 5, 2023
Sadiyya Holsey
Jillian Holbrook
Dalia Savy
Sadiyya Holsey
Jillian Holbrook
Dalia Savy
Overview of Research Methods
There are various types of research methods in psychology with different purposes, strengths, and weaknesses.
| Research Method | Purpose/Definition | Strength(s) | Weaknesses |
| Experiments🧪 | Manipulates one or more independent variables to determine the effects of certain behavior. | (1) can determine cause and effect (2) can be retested and proven | (1) could have potential ethical issues (2) artificial environment creates low realism (people know they are being researched, which could impact what they say and do) |
| Correlational Studies 📈 | Involves looking at the relationships between two or more variables and is used when performing an experiment is not possible. | (1) easier to conduct than an experiment (2) can be used when an experiment is impossible. For example, a researcher may want to examine the relationship between school grades and Adderall. It would not be ethical to force students to take high doses of Adderall. So, one can only rely on participants’ responses | cannot determine cause and effect |
| Survey Research 💭 | The collection of information reported by people about a particular topic. | (1) cost-effective (2) mostly reliable | (1) low response rates (2) can’t verify the accuracy of an individual’s response |
| Naturalistic Observations👀 | A researcher observes a subject's behavior without intervention. | natural setting is more reliable than a lab setting | (1) people behave differently when they know they are being watched, which could impact the results (Hawthorne effect) (2) two researchers could see the same behavior but draw different conclusions |
| Case Studies 💼 | A case study is an in-depth study of an individual or a small group. Usually, case studies are done on people with rare circumstances. For example, a girl named Genie was locked in her room, causing a delay in development. Researchers did a case study about her to understand more about language and human development stages. | provides detailed information | (1) cannot generalize results to a wider population (2) difficult to replicate (3) time-consuming |
| Longitudinal Studies ↔️ | The same individuals are studied over a long period of time from years up to decades. | (1) can show the effects of changes over time (2) more powerful than cross-sectional studies | (1) require large amounts of time (2) expensive |
| Cross-Sectional Studies | A cross-sectional study examines people of different groups at the same time. For example, studying people that are different ages at the same time to see what differences can be attributed to age. | (1) quick and easy to conduct (2) generalizable results | (1) difficult to find a population that differs by only one factor (2) cannot measure changes over time |
Examples
Experiment
Whenever researchers want to prove or find causation, they would run an experiment.
An experiment you'll learn about in Unit 9 that was run by Solomon Asch investigated the extent to which one would conform to a group's ideas.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Each person in the room would have to look at these lines above and state which one they thought was of similar length to the original line. The answer was, of course, obvious, but Asch wanted to see if the "real participant" would conform to the views of the rest of the group.
Asch gathered together what we could call "fake participants" and told them not to say line C. The "real participant" would then hear wrong answers, but they did not want to be the odd one out, so they conformed with the rest of the group and represented the majority view.
In this experiment, the "real participant" was the control group, and about 75% of them, over 12 trials, conformed at least once.
Correlational Study
There could be a correlational study between anything. Say you wanted to see if there was an association between the number of hours a teenager sleeps and their grades in high school. If there was a correlation, we cannot say that sleeping a greater number of hours causes higher grades. However, we can determine that they are related to each other. 💤
Remember in psychology that a correlation does not prove causation!
Survey Research
Surveys are used all the time, especially in advertising and marketing. They are often distributed to a large number of people, and the results are returned back to researchers.
Naturalistic Observation
If a student wanted to observe how many people fully stop at a stop sign, they could watch the cars from a distance and record their data. This is a naturalistic observation since the student is in no way influencing the results.
Case Study
A notable psychological case study is the study of Phineas Gage:
Image Courtesy of Vermont Journal
Phineas Gage was a railroad construction foreman who survived a severe brain injury in 1848. The accident occurred when an iron rod was accidentally driven through Gage's skull, damaging his frontal lobes. Despite the severity of the injury, Gage was able to walk and talk immediately after the accident and appeared to be relatively uninjured.
However, Gage's personality underwent a dramatic change following the injury. He became impulsive, irresponsible, and prone to outbursts of anger, which were completely out of character for him before the accident. Gage's case is famous in the history of psychology because it was one of the first to suggest that damage to the frontal lobes of the brain can have significant effects on personality and behavior.
Key Terms to Review (27)
Adderall
: Adderall is a prescription medication containing two drugs, amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. It is used for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy.Association
: In psychology, association refers to any connection between thoughts, feelings, or experiences that leads one to recall another. It's often used in learning theories such as classical conditioning and operant conditioning.Case Studies
: Case studies are detailed investigations into one individual or small group. These studies provide rich qualitative data and can offer insights into unique situations that may not be captured in larger-scale research methods.Cause and Effect
: Cause and effect is a relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other. This is a combination of action and reaction.Conformity
: Conformity refers to adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard or expectation.Control Group
: In an experiment, the control group is the set that does not receive the treatment or intervention and is used as a benchmark to measure how other tested subjects do.Correlational Studies
: Correlational studies measure two variables and examine how they relate to each other without manipulating either one of them.Cross-Sectional Studies
: Cross-sectional studies are observational research methods that analyze data from a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time.Cross-Sectional Study
: A cross-sectional study is a type of observational research that analyzes data from a population at one specific point in time—it’s like taking a snapshot of the population.Ethical Issues
: Ethical issues refer to problems or situations requiring a person or organization to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right (ethical) or wrong (unethical).Experiments
: Experiments are a type of research method where the researcher manipulates one variable (independent variable) to determine its effect on another variable (dependent variable).Frontal Lobes
: The frontal lobes are areas at the front of each cerebral hemisphere involved with decision-making, problem-solving, control over voluntary movements or activity (motor skills), and complex behaviors such as social interactions and personality expression.Generalize Results
: Generalizing results means applying findings from a sample group in an experiment or study to larger populations outside the study.Hawthorne Effect
: The Hawthorne Effect refers to the alteration of behavior by the subjects of a study due to their awareness of being observed.Human Development Stages
: Human Development Stages refer to distinct phases that individuals pass through from birth until death, including physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes.Independent Variables
: An independent variable is what researchers manipulate during an experiment to measure its impact on dependent variables.Longitudinal Studies
: Longitudinal studies are research methods that involve repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over long periods of time, often many decades.Naturalistic Observations
: Naturalistic observation is an observational method where researchers observe individuals' behavior in their natural environment without intervention or manipulation.Personality Change
: A personality change refers to a significant shift in a person's established patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions. This can be due to various factors such as brain injury, mental health disorders, or life experiences.Phineas Gage
: Phineas Gage was a railroad construction foreman who survived a severe brain injury in the mid-19th century. His case is often studied in psychology because of the dramatic personality changes he experienced after his accident, which provided early evidence for the role of the frontal lobes in personality and behavior.Realism
: In psychology, realism refers to an orientation towards facts and reality, accepting them without distortion by personal feelings or prejudices.Replicate
: In psychology, to replicate means to repeat a research study, often with different participants and in different situations, to see if the basic findings can be observed again.Research Methods
: Research methods are the strategies, tools, and techniques used to collect and analyze data in psychology. They help psychologists understand human behavior and mental processes.Response Rates
: In psychology research, response rates refer to the proportion of people who respond out of the total number asked or surveyed.School Grades
: School grades are a measure of a student's academic performance in their coursework. They typically range from A (excellent) to F (failing).Solomon Asch
: Solomon Asch was a prominent psychologist best known for his experiments on conformity, where he demonstrated the influence of group pressure on individual behavior.Survey Research
: Survey research is a method of data collection that involves asking a large number of participants a series of questions or completing a questionnaire.
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