Why Study Methodology
1-The reason to study methodology is that it can help you identify fallacies in your own
or other people’s thinking. For instance, we are all vulnerable to the confirmation bias,
the tendency to look for evidence that supports our ideas and to ignore evidence that does
not. Sometimes this bias can have profound personal consequences. Some adults who
were physically or sexually abused early in life are afraid to have children because they
think that their experience has ruined them. Social workers, judges, and other
professionals sometimes make the same assumption: one judge denied a woman custody
of her children only because the woman had been abused as a child, even though she had
never harmed her children. Judgments such as these rely on the notion that abuse
inevitably breed abuse – an inference based mainly on the confirming cases of abused
children who later become abusive adults.
Is an abused child likely to become an abusive parent?
Abused as a Child
Yes
No
Yes
Abused children who become
abusive parents.
Abused children who do not
become abusive parents.
No
Nonabused children who
become abusive parents.
Nonabused children who do not
become abusive parents.
People often base their answers solely on confirming cases, represented by the upper lefthand cell of this table. Psychological researchers consider all four types of evidence in
the table.
2- A second reason for studying methodology is to become a more critical and
sophisticated consumer of psychological findings. You should not accept every reported
finding uncritically.
What Makes Research Scientific?
1-Precision. Scientists usually start out with a hypothesis, a statement that attempts to
describe or explain behavior. Some hypotheses are suggested by previous findings.
Others are derived from a general theory. A hypothesis leads to explicit predictions
about what will happen in particular situations. In a prediction, vague terms such as
anxiety or a threatening situation are given operational definitions: A precise definition
in a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process
or phenomenon being defined. For example, anxiety might be defined as a score in an
anxiety questionnaire and a threatening situation as the threat of an electric shock.
2- Skepticism. Scientists do not accept ideas on faith or authority; their motto is “Show
me!”
3- Reliance on empirical evidence. The evidence for a scientific idea must be empirical,
that is, based on systematic observation. A collection of personal accounts or anecdotes,
or an appeal to authority, will not do.
4- Willingness to make risky predictions. A scientist must state an idea in such a way
that it can be refuted, or disproved by counter-evidence. This principle is called the
principle of falsifiability: the principle that a scientific theory must make predictions
that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation, that is,
the theory must predict not only what will happen, but also what will not happen.
5- Openness. Scientists must be willing to tell others where they got their ideas, how
they tested them, and what the results were. They must do this clearly and in detail so
that other scientists can repeat, or replicate their studies and verify the findings.
Issues in Data Collection
Suppose a researcher plans to devise a questionnaire to measure test-taking anxiety. To
develop this instrument and to collect research data, several important questions must be
considered:
Are the subjects from whom data are being collected representative of the general
population? (Sampling)
Are the subjects’ responses on the questionnaire consistent from one testing to
another? (Reliability)
Does the questionnaire successfully measure test anxiety? (Validity)
These three questions refer to the concepts of sampling, reliability, and validity.
1- Sampling
In selecting sample subjects, researchers frequently use random selection to ensure that
all the members of the population have an equal chance of being selected into the sample.
If we do not use random sampling
a. the sample will not be representative of the population
b. the procedure used will result in a biased (unrepresentative) sample.
Example: The famous Literary Digest poll of 1936, which predicted a landslide victory
for Landon (57% to 43%). In fact, Roosevelt won, gaining 62% of the ballots. The
Literary Digest prediction was grossly in error. Why? Later analysis showed that the
error occurred because the sample was not representative of the voting population. It was
a biased sample. The individuals selected were chosen from sources such as the
telephone book, club lists, and lists of registered automobile owners. These lists
systematically excluded the poor, who were unlikely to have telephones or cars.
2- Reliability
Reliability refers to the degree of consistency with which a test or scale measures
something. If a researcher measures the same phenomena today, tomorrow, and again
next week, and gets approximately the same results each time, then the measuring
instrument is reliable.
Reliability also refers to the amount of agreement between individuals who are observing
the same behavior.
3- Validity
It is the extent to which a test or scale measures what it is supposed to measure. When
a variable, such as hostility, must be inferred from behavior, the researchers need to ask
whether the behavior they are measuring actually demonstrates that variable.
Example: Suppose a four-year-old builds a tower of blocks and then knocks the tower
over. Is this an expression of hostility, frustration, or the happy exuberance that comes
from a feeling of control over the environment? The researcher must determine what it
means.
a. Internal Validity
Refers to when what happened to the experimental group actually caused the new
behavior.
b. External Validity
Refers to the extent to which the experiment corresponds to what happens in the real
world.
c. Construct
Feeling confident when the things you are manipulating and measuring in your study
represent the ideas you have in mind.
Data Collection Techniques
1- Descriptive Method
Approaches that primarily involve the observation and description of behavior
A. Case Studies
A detailed description of a particular individual under study or treatment.
They involve extensive, in-depth Interviews with a particular individual or small
group of individuals. They often are used not just to learn about the individual being
interviewed, but also to derive broader principles or draw tentative conclusions that
might apply to others. For example, case studies have been conducted on children
who display unusual genius and on children who have spent their early years in the
wild. These case studies have provided important information to researchers, as well
as suggesting hypotheses for future investigation.
This approach has some drawbacks:
The lack of standardization inherent in most interviews almost ensures that the
questioning process will vary slightly from one individual to another. This can lead
the investigator to draw false conclusions.
Reliance on language as a medium of communication limits this technique to subjects
who have a well-developed language system- thus eliminating such subjects as
children, the retarded, and the deaf.
B. Systematic Observation
It is a study in which the researcher carefully and systematically observes and records
behavior without interfering with the behavior. There are two kinds of systematic
observation:
Naturalistic observation describes behavior as it occurs in the natural environment
such as studying apes and other animals in the wild or studying whether people in
bars drink more when they are in groups than when they are alone. In observational
studies, it is important to count, rate, or measure behavior in a systematic way.
These procedures help to minimize the tendency of most observers to notice only
what they expect or want to see. Careful record keeping ensures accuracy and
allows different observers to cross-check their observations.
Laboratory observation. It is sometimes preferable to make observations in the
laboratory rather than in the real-world settings. In laboratory observation, the
psychologist has more control. For example, if you want to know how infants of
different ages respond when left with a stranger, you could observe them at a nursery
school but most would probably already be toddlers and would know the nursery
school teachers. You can visit private homes, but that might be slow and
inconvenient. A solution would be to have parents and their infants come to your
laboratory, observe them together for a while through a one-way window, then have a
stranger enter the room and, a few minutes later have the parent leave. You could
record signs of distress, interactions with the stranger, and other behavior.
One shortcoming of laboratory observation is that the presence of researchers and
special equipment may cause subjects to behave differently than they would in their
normal surrounds.
C. Surveys
Surveys are questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their
experiences, attitudes, or opinions. Surveys produce a great amount of data, but they
are not easy to do well. The biggest hurdle is getting a sample, a group of subjects
that is representative of the larger population that the researcher wishes to describe.
A representative sample is a sample that matches the population in question on
important characteristics such as age and sex. Sometimes you have volunteers to
participate in an experiment but then we have what we call volunteer bias which is a
shortcoming of findings derived of a sample of volunteers instead of a representative
sample.
D. Psychological Testing
Objective Tests
They measure beliefs, feelings or behaviors of which the individual is aware. It has
more reliability and validity than projective tests.
Projective Tests
They are designed to tab the unconscious feelings or motives.
Because objective tests are relatively transparent, many feel they do not tap the
deeper, more dynamic layers of personality. Therefore, they prefer to use projective
tests: tests whose stimuli are relatively ambiguous.
I. Association Techniques
The Rorschach Inkblot
It consists of ten inkblots devised by Herman Rorschach (1884-1922) in the second
decade of this century. He formed the inkblots by dribbling ink on a sheet of paper
and folding the paper in half. The examinee is asked what the inkblot represents.
The Word Association Test
The examiner reads words, one at a time, requesting the examinee to say the first
word that comes into his mind. These tests are used clinically to derive diagnostic
hypothesis:
Blocking (inability to offer an association) - Typical in deteriorated schizophrenics
and inhibited preschizophrenic persons.
Slowness of reaction - Indicate depression.
Distant reaction (e.g., breast- “frankness”) - May indicate that the stimulus word is a
conflictual topic for the examinee.
II. Completion Techniques.
Sentence Completion Tests
For example: “My best characteristic is _________.”
Rooter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB)
Consists of 40 sentence stems written mostly in the first person. The scores go from
0-6 and they are based on categorizing of each response as follows:
Omission – no response or too short to be meaningful. No score:
Conflict response: “I hate … the entire world.” Scores 4,5,6.
Positive response: “The best … is yet to come.” Scores 2,1,or 0.
Neutral (neither positive or negative response): Most girls … are women. No
score.
The adjustment score can vary from 0 – 240, with higher scores indicating greater
maladjustment.
Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study
It comes in three forms: child, adolescent, and adult- each consisting of 24 comicstrip pictures depicting a frustrating moment. One person in the comic strip is
uttering words that provoke the other person. The examinee is supposed to say what
the provoked person is supposed to say.
The test is supposed to assess the examinee’s characteristic manner of reacting to
frustration.
III. Construction Techniques
The thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
It was introduced by Christina Morgan and Henry Murray in 1935.
It is designed to reveal the individuals’ basic personality characteristics through the
interpretation of their imaginative productions in response to a set of 30 ambiguous
pictures in black and white.
The Picture Projective Test (PPT)
The examiners use pictures that elicit strong negative stimulus “pull” on story telling.
The criteria for selecting the pictures are as follows:
The pictures had to show promise of eliciting meaningful projective material.
Most of the pictures had to include more than one human character.
About half of the pictures had to depict humans showing positive affective expression
(e.g., smiling, dancing)
About half of the pictures had to depict humans in active poses, not simply standing,
sitting, or lying down.
IV. Expression Techniques
The draw-A-Person Test
Karen Machover used the Draw-A-Person task as a basis for clinical assessment. It is
a popular test in the U.S. Unfortunately, the interpretive premises suggested by
Machover were based on psychodynamic theory, not observed facts. The empirical
support for her hypotheses is somewhere between meager and nonexistent.
The House-Tree-Person Test
The examinee is given almost complete freedom to draw a house, a tree and a person.
It is used as a projective measure of personality. The interpretation is based on these
assumptions:
The house drawing mirrors the examinee’s home life and intrafamilial relationships
The tree drawing reflects the manner in which the examinee experiences the
environment.
The person drawing echoes the examinee’s interpersonal relationships.
2- Correlational Studies
Correlational research examines the relationship between two variables to determine
whether they are associated, or correlated. For instance, researchers interested in the
relationship between televised aggression and subsequent behavior have found that
children who watch a good deal of aggression on TV tend to be more aggressive than
those who watch only a little. But does this mean that we can conclude that the viewing
of televised aggression causes the more aggressive behavior of the viewers? Not at all.
Consider some of the other [possibilities. It might be that being aggressive in the first
place makes children more likely to choose to watch violent programs. In such a case,
then, it is the aggressive tendency that causes the viewing behavior, and not the other way
round.
3- Experimental Techniques
The data-collection methods such as interviews and observational techniques are
concerned with the establishment of correlational relationships between variables. They
usually tell us a little about cause-effect relationships. This limitation has prompted
many researchers to adopt a different strategy in their study of developmentexperimental techniques.
Example: Consider this hypothetical finding. A researcher who has used interview and
observational techniques to obtain her date reports that children who score high in
imaginative ability are more likely to come from homes that contain many storybooks
and other symbolic play material.
What does this statement mean?
Has the researcher shown that the development of imagination is somehow causally
linked to playing with certain types of toys? The answer is no.
All that has been established is that children’s imagination co-varies with the presence of
storybooks and symbolic play material. In other words, a positive correlation (or
association) exists between these two variables:
Playing with certain types of toys (independent variable)
Imagination (dependent variable)
In experimental research, the investigator manipulates one set of variables – called
independent variables- and observes their influence on another set of variables- the
dependent variables. To the extent that the experimental manipulation leads to changes
in subjects’ behavior, the experimenter is justified in assuming a cause-effect relationship
between the independent and dependent variables.
Example: A study by Oden and Asher (1977). The investigators wanted to determine
what effect coaching in social skills would have on peer acceptance and the formation of
friendships in socially isolated children.
Questions: Who are the subjects?
What is the independent variable?
What is the variable that is going to change because of manipulation?
What is the dependent variable?
Children in grades three and four who had been identified as being socially isolated were
randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions, only one of which – the
coaching condition - was designed to instruct children in social skills. The researchers
found that socially isolated children coached in social skills were better accepted by their
peers than were children assigned to other conditions. Thus, the researchers concluded
that coaching was a help (or causative agent) to children in forming relationships.
Research Designs
1-Cross-Sectional Design
Individuals of different ages are tested or observed at the same point in time
Example: If a psychologist wants to compare the level of moral reasoning of 30 and 60year-olds, she might interview subjects in those age categories, within the relatively short
period of a week or two. If the 30-year-olds demonstrated higher levels of moral
reasoning than the 60-year-olds, the researcher might conclude that young adults are
morally more sensitive than older adults.
Questions: What were they testing here? Give the study a name. (The effects of aging
on moral reasoning)
How would you conduct this experiment? (Interviews)
Do the subjects change because of the study? (no)
How many groups did they have in the study? (2)
What do you call each group? (cohort/generation)
A cohort is a group of individuals born during the same time period who presumably
were exposed to similar experiences during the socialization process.
Limitations
It tells us more about age groups than about development within individuals.
The people from different age groups (cohorts) differ not only in chronological age but
also in the time period in which they were born and raised. In other words, age groups in
cross-sectional research constitute different generations.
2- Longitudinal Design
A research method in which the same group of individuals is repeatedly tested over a
period of time. We use this method to overcome many of the problems inherent in the
cross-sectional method.
Example: A classic longitudinal study is the study of gifted children that began by Lewis
Terman more than 75 years ago. In the study, which has yet to be concluded, a group of
1,500 children with high IQs were tested about every 5 years. Now in their 80s, the
participants- who call themselves “Termites”- have provided information on everything
from intellectual accomplishment to personality and longevity.
Advantages: Provides a good picture of development within individuals and not just an
overview of differences between age groups.
Drawbacks:
It involves large investments of the time and money.
It has serious methodological problems. Because such research continues for months or
years, some subjects invariably will drop out or even die.
When subjects are exposed to repeated testing over long periods of time, they often
become testwise particularly if the time period between tests is short.
Some changes in individuals are due to the time of measurement rather than
development. For example times have changed since the 1950s, as society as whole has
become more permissive regarding the expression of sexuality.
3- Cross-sequential Studies
Because both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies have drawbacks, researchers have
turned to some compromise techniques. Among the most frequently employed are crosssequential studies, which are essentially a combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional
studies.
In cross-sequential studies, researchers examine a number of different age groups at
several points in time. For instance, an investigator interested in children’s moral
behavior might begin a cross-sequential study by examining the behavior of three groups
of children, who were either 3 years old, 4 years old, or 5 years old at the time the study
begins. (This is no different from the way a cross-sectional study would be done.)
However, the study wouldn’t stop there, but would continue for the next several years.
During this period, each of the research participants would be tested annually. Thus, the
3-year-olds would be tested at ages 3, 4, and 5; the 4-year-olds at ages 4, 5, and 6; and the
5-year-olds at ages 5, 6, and 7. Such an approach combines the advantages of
longitudinal and cross-sectional research, and it permits developmental researchers to
tease out the consequences of age change versus age difference.
Ethics and Research
In seeking to understand the roots of aggressive behavior, U.S. government researchers
proposed holding a conference in the mid 1990s to examine possible genetic roots of
aggression. Based on work conducted by biopsychologists and geneticists, some
researchers had begun to raise the possibility that genetic markers might be found that
would allow the identification of children as being particularly violence-prone. In such
cases, it might be possible to track these violence-prone children and provide
interventions that might reduce the likelihood of later violence.
To help researchers deal with such ethical problems, the major organizations of
developmentalists, including the Society for Research in Child Development and the
American Psychological Association, have developed comprehensive ethical guidelines
for researchers.
1- Freedom from Harm. Researchers must protect participants from physical and
psychological harm. Their welfare, interests, and rights come before those of researchers.
In research, subjects’ rights always come first (Sieber, 1998).
2- Informed Consent. Researchers must obtain consent from subjects before their
participation in a study. If they are above the age of 7, participants must voluntarily
agree to be in a study. For those under 18, their parents or guardians must also provide
consent.
3- Use of Deception. Although deception to disguise the true purpose of an experiment
is permissible, any experiment that uses deception must undergo careful scrutiny by an
independent panel before it is conducted. Suppose, for example, we want to know the
reaction of subjects to success and failure. It is ethical to tell subjects that they will be
playing a game when the true purpose is actually to observe how they respond to doing
well or poorly on the task. However, such a procedure is ethical only if it causes no harm
to participants.
4- Maintenance of Privacy. Subjects’ privacy must be maintained. If they are
videotaped during the course of a study, for example, they must give their permission for
the videotapes to be viewed. Furthermore, access to tapes must be carefully restricted.
Develop Your Research Method
You want to test how violence on TV affects the behavior of a group of 7year-olds immediately after watching a TV show that presents violence.
Develop your own research.
1- Give your research a name.
2- How many groups are you going to have?
3- What is the hypothesis? What do you expect to happen?
4- What method are you going to use?
5- What is the procedure?
6- Where are you going to conduct your observation?
7- What method are you going to choose?
8- What research design are you going to use, longitudinal, cross-sectional,
or cross-sequential?
9- Why?
10-Do you want to establish causality or correlation?
11-Why?
12-What are the variables?
13-Decide how many subjects you would like to have in your groups and
follow these steps for sampling to assure the group is representative of the
population:
Assign a number to each one in the population.
When you are drawing for the intersection (0-9), decide whether you are
going to start with column or row.
Decide about the direction (right, left, horizontal, or vertical)
Write the numbers you choose.
14-What are the ethical considerations that you have to follow?
Different Perspectives in Psychology
Perspective
Neuroscience
Focus
How the body and brain create
emotions, memories, and
sensory experiences
Evolutionary
How nature selects traits that
promote the perpetuation of
one’s genes
How much our genes, and our
environment, influence our
individual differences
Behavior genetics
Psychodynamic
How behavior springs from
unconscious drives and
conflicts
Behavioral
How we learn observable
responses
Cognitive
How we encode, process,
store, and retrieve information
Social-cultural
How behavior and thinking
vary across situations and
cultures
Sample Questions
How are messages transmitted
within the body? How is
blood chemistry linked with
moods and motives?
How does evolution influence
behavior tendencies?
To what extent are
psychological traits such as
intelligence, personality,
sexual orientation, and
depression attributable to our
genes? To our environment?
How can a person’s
personality traits and disorders
be explained as the disguised
effects of unconscious
motivations and early
childhood traumas?
How do we learn to fear
particular objects or
situations? What is the most
effective way to alter our
behavior, say, to lose weight
or stop smoking?
How do we use information in
remembering? Reasoning?
Solving problems?
How are we—as Americans,
Asians, Australians, or North
Americans—alike as members
of one human family? As
products of different
environmental contexts, how
do we differ?