PSYC 308 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Social Neuroscience, List Of Universities In Canada, Naturalistic Observation
Document Summary
Formulating hypotheses and theories: theory: an organized set of principles that can be used to explain observed phenomena. Hypothesis: hypothesis: a testable statement or idea about the relationship between two or more variables. Research methods: three types of studies, non-experimental designs. The observation method: helpful when the goal is to describe what a particular group or people of type of behaviour is like. Involves systematic records measuring behaviour: ethnography: the method by which researchers attempt to understand a group of culture by observing it from the inside without imposing any preconceived notions they might have. Increasingly being used in social psych to describe cultures and generate hypotheses about psychological principles. Important to clearly define the behaviours of interest. Participant: observer is made known along with the purpose of the experiment, problem: people may act differently when they know they are being watched.
