The Descriptive Method: Because psychology is an observational science, it necessarily relies on the experimenter to observe, catalogue, quantify, and interpret variables suspected of a causative relationship. While observation is, therefore, essential to the study of psychology, it also presents a potential weakness in the results observed (Carlson 2006). For example, in the above experiment, the experimenter could, through a series of well designed experiments, determine that: (1) domestic violence perpetrators have, on average, a higher testosterone level than non-perpetrators; (2) other criminals do not, on average, have a higher testosterone level than non-criminals; and (3) none of the domestic violence perpetrators have a lower testosterone level than either non-perpetrators or non- criminals. Those results would seem to validate the initial hypothesis, that high testosterone levels are a causal factor in male perpetrators of domestic violence. However, the preceding series of experiments establishes only that there is a correlation between high testosterone levels and domestic violence; it does not necessarily justify any conclusion that the former causes the latter. In fact, it may be the exact reverse: perpetrating domestic violence may be the cause of high testosterone levels rather than the reverse. Actually, researchers have determined that aggression and testosterone are sometimes related in precisely that fashion: aggression does sometimes raise testosterone levels temporarily (Gerrig & Zimbardo...
Their purpose is to compare the variables considered in any experiment to identify errors in initial assumptions as well as among the variables themselves. In the case of the proposed connection between testosterone and domestic violence, correctional studies would suggest using the control groups of non-criminals and non-violent criminals. More importantly, correctional studies would also consider whether high testosterone and domestic violence are merely concurrent results of another variable rather than being causally related to each other. Perhaps early foundational experiences, such as witnessing domestic violence as a child, or being physically abused as a child) cause both high testosterone in adult males and increased incidence of domestic violence perpetration, in which case neither is a cause of the other.
Psychology Research Methods Imagine studying correlation research. Is there a possibility that this measure can get used in an actual psychology study? What does a positive, negative or zero correlation mean? Can a relationship exist between two variables? One will study in depth correlation through much evaluation and research. The correlational research method is appropriate when an individual wants to study two different variables to see if there is a link between
Article 2 - Teens Who Watched Wrestling More Violent: The research method used in the referenced study was primarily survey/interview and correlation. The researchers collected their data by surveying and interviewing teenagers. The researchers then correlated the data to the research question and formed conclusions based on the apparent correlation between exposure to a specific form of televised violence and the incidence of actual violence among those teenagers The following passage provides
The U.S. would be the attractive woman, minimally dressed, as well as the snake which sometime represents male reproductive prowess. The UR would be a general feeling of sexual excitement targeted toward men but could be experienced by either gender. The brand of vodka is the CS while the intended CR is a feeling of sexual excitement when viewing the brand. Figure 1 - Smirnoff Ad (Crooked Brains, 2012) 3.How could
Tolman's objective was to comprehend human mental processes by using experimental methods. Even though he used rats in mazes as his method, and was a behaviorist in his approach, he also included major ideas from Gestalt psychology. Cognitive maps are a kind of mental processing, or cognition, that is made up of a series of psychological transformations by which a person can obtain code, store, recall, and decode information
I believe I have learned many things in class that will help make me more effective and successful in my personal life. Perhaps the most evident thing I have learned is how to determine my own conscious motivators and recognize how my unconscious beliefs and morals may impact my attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. This falls more into the realm of social psychology. I have learned exactly how critical environment can
Psychology first developed as a formal discipline in the late 19th century, even though its origins actually date back to ancient Greece (Wright, 2011, p.407). As philosophers began to probe the nature of the human mind, the theory of psychology and its overall acceptance in society began to evolve. As we look back at psychology's early beginnings, evidence of the emergence of several different schools of thought are revealed and
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