PSYC 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Social Desirability Bias, Neuropsychological Test, Naturalistic Observation
4 Jan 2013
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Chapter 2 research methods in psychology (part 1) Build keep asking questions, more research, test new theories. Theory - set of formal statements that explain the relationship between events. Hindsight: i knew that all along! related events seem easily explainable, but are contradictory/misleading. Operational definition: determine how to observe variables; turn an abstract concept into something measureable. Case study: in depth analysis of an individual, group, etc. Social desirability bias people answer/behave/conform to social expectations. Reaction time how fast they respond to a stimulus. Unobtrusive measures records participants" behaviour in a way that they are not aware of. Neuropsychological tests diagnose brain functioning by looking at how well they perform mental and physical. Measure heart rate/ blood pressure, respiration, hormonal secretions, brain functioning. Determine emotions linked to a particular heart rate, etc. Allow for new hypotheses to develop and to study it closely. Observing behaviour in natural setting without interfering/influencing behaviour. Too many variables, so interpretation is biased.
