PS101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Naturalistic Observation, Abusive Power And Control, Dependent And Independent Variables
Document Summary
The scientific approach to behaviour: the scientific approach assumes that there are laws of behaviour that can be discovered through empirical research. Looking for causes: experimental research: experimental research involves the manipulation of an independent variable to ascertain it effect on a dependent variable. This research is usually done by comparing experimental and control groups, which must be somewhat alike: experimental designs may vary. For example, sometimes an experimental group serves as its own control group. And many experiments have more than one independent or dependent variable: an experiment is a powerful research method that permits conclusions about cause and effect relationships between variables. However, the experimental method is often not usable for a specific problem, and many experiments tend to be artificial. Looking for links: descriptive/ correlational research: psychologists rely on descriptive/correlational research when they are unable to manipulate the variables they want to study.
