Psychological Research
The importance and relevance of psychological research is well recognised almost in every
sphere of human life. Notable progress has been reported in the field of organisational
behaviour, applied aspects of human being, medical sciences and education, through
application of psychological research findings. Empirical and theoretical researches in
psychology are taking place in various fields, such as learning, motivation, perception,
concept learning and memory and so on. In the quest of psychological facts, laws and
theories, psychologists have found research studies very helpful in gauging human and
animal behaviour. Psychological research attempts to understand why people and animals
behave as they do. Psychologists usually define behaviour as overt activities, such as eating,
recalling stories, and so on. What about covert psychological processes, such as thinking and
feeling? Although thoughts and feelings are not directly observable, they influence such
aspects of behaviour as reaction time and blood pressure, which are often used to measure
these covert processes. Practical gains of psychological research are many, yet include
discoveries such as improved methods of treating psychologically disordered people, better
designs of vehicles to make them easier and safe to use, and new ways of enhancing the
performance and happiness of workers. Before we examine what researchers have found in
the major areas of psychology, we need to identify the ways psychologists gather data about
behaviour and mental processes. You may be a daily consumer of mass media reports on
research findings. Some of these are valuable, some are worthless, and others are confusing
and misleading. You will become a wiser consumer of research-based conclusions as you
develop your understanding of how psychological research is conducted and why the
scientific view of knowledge dictates such methods. Let us turn now how psychologists know
what they know. Recall that psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental
functioning of individuals. It is scientific because it uses the principles and practices of the
scientific method.
Empirical investigation in any field requires the use of the scientific method to observe,
measure, and experiment. Even if you never do any scientific research in your life, mastering
information on psychological research will be useful. You can improve your critical thinking
skills by learning how to ask the right questions about behaviour and how to evaluate the
answers you find. Psychological research process can be divided into two major categories
that usually occur in sequence, that is (i) getting an idea [context of discovery] and then (ii)
testing it [context of justification].
Role of Theories, Hypotheses and Paradigms in Psychological Research:
Psychological research focuses on four sets of concerns:
i) the stimulus events that cause a particular response to start, stop, or change in quality of
quantity; ii) the structure of behaviour that links certain actions in predictable, orderly ways
to other actions; iii) the relationships between internal psychological processes or
psychological mechanisms and observable behaviour patterns; and iv) the consequences that
behaviour has on the individual’s social and physical environment. Researchers begin with
the assumption of determinism, the idea that all events (physical, mental and behavioural)
result from specific causal factors. Researchers also assume that behaviour and mental
processes follow set patterns of relationships that can be discovered and revealed through
research. Psychological theories, in general, attempt to understand how brain, mind,
behaviour, and environment function and how they may be related. Any particular theory
focuses on a more specific aspect of this broad conception, using a body of interrelated
principles to explain or predict some psychological phenomenon. The value of a theory is
often measured in terms of the new ideas, or hypotheses, that can be derived from it and
tested. A hypothesis is a tentative and testable explanation of the relationship between two or
more events or variables. A variable is any factor that changes, or varies, in size or quality.
To illustrate this mood may be a variable, since people’s moods may vary from one situation
to another. Test performance is another variable, since a person’s score may vary from one
test to the next. A hypothesis is a testable explanation of the relationship between variables,
it is a tentative proposition based on observations, or it could be a hunch about how ideas go
together. An instructor, for example, may have a hypothesis about how varying teaching
techniques will cause changes in students’ test scores. Thus, instructor may have formed this
hypothesis by observing students; idea about better teaching techniques is also generated
from research in educational psychology. Finally, our understanding of a complex process is
also aided by using the correct paradigm. A paradigm is a model of the functions and
interrelationships of a process, a “way of thinking” about the world and how to study it.
Entire field of knowledge, including psychology, can change directions when new paradigm
challenges existing ones. When paradigms shift, revolutions of knowledge usually follow
(Kuhn, 1970). Before a new theory, hypothesis, or paradigm makes a difference in science, it
has to undergo an “ordeal of proof.” Most often this happens when researchers publish (i.e.
make public) their findings, and other scholars investigate whether they find the same
patterns in their own data. This process of publication and communication moves scientific
research into the public eye, where ideas are tested and proven.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Every science has goals. In physics, the goals are concerned with learning how the physical
world works. In astronomy, the goals are to chart the universe and understand both how it
came to be and what it is becoming. The goals of psychologist conducting basic research are
to describe, explain, and predict and control behaviour. The applied psychologist has a fifth
goal also, that is application of psychological techniques and principles to improve the quality
of human life. Most applied psychologist are able to conduct their own basic research,
scientifically studying particular problem in order to solve them. The process of
accomplishing one goal and moving on to the next is ideally a natural, flowing , experience,
energized, by the psychologist’s interest in the question being studied.
Description: What is Happening?
The first step in understanding anything is to give it a name. Description involves observing
a behaviour and noting everything about it, as for example, what is happening, where it
happens, to whom it happens, and under what circumstances it happens. For example, a
teacher might notice that a young girl in second-grade classroom is not behaving properly.
She’s not turning in her homework, her grades are slipping badly, and she seems to have a
very negative attitude toward school. The teacher here describes the student’s behaviour, and
this description of what she is doing gives a starting place for the next goal : why is she doing
it?
[Link]: Why is it Happening? To find out why the girl is not behaving properly, the
teacher would most likely ask the school counselor to administer some tests. Her parents
might be asked to take her to a pediatrician to make sure that there is no physical illness, such
as an allergy. They might also take here to a psychologist to be assessed. In other words, the
teacher and others are looking for an explanation for the young girl’s behaviour. Finding
explanation for behaviour is a very important step in the process of forming theories of
behaviour. A theory is a general explanation of a set of observations or facts. The goal of
description provides the observations, and the goal of explanation helps to build the theory. If
all the tests seem to indicate that the young girl has a learning problem, such as dyslexia (an
inability to read at expected levels for a particular age and degree of intelligence), the next
step would be trying to predict what is likely to happen if the situation stays the same.
[Link]: When Will it Happen Again? Determining what will happen in the future is a
prediction. In the example, the psychologist or counselor would predict (based on previous
research into similar situations), that this little girl will probably continue to do poorly in her
schoolwork and may never to be able to reach her full learning potential. Clearly, something
needs to be done to change this prediction, and that is the point of the last of the four goals of
psychology: changing or modifying behaviour.
[Link]: How can it be Changed ? Control, or the modification of some behaviour, has been
somewhat controversial in the past. Some people hear the word control and think it is
brainwashing, but that is not the focus of this goal. The goal is to change a behaviour from an
undesirable one (such as failing in school) to a desirable one (such as academic success).
Such efforts also include attempts at improving the quality of life. In the example of the
young girl, there are certain learning strategies that can be used to help a child (or an adult)
who has dyslexia . She can be helped to improve her reading skills.(Aylward
etal,2003;Shaywitz,1996). The psychologist and educators would work together to find a
training strategy that works best for this particular girl.
5. Application: Improving the quality of life Psychological research are often conducted to
solve various problems faced by the society at different levels such as individual,
organisation, or community. Psychological applications to solve problems in diverse settings,
such as in a classroom in a school, or in an industry, or in a hospital, or even in a military
establishment, demand professional help. Applications in the health sector are remarkable.
Because of these efforts quality of life becomes a major concern for psychologists. Not all
psychological investigations will try to meet all five of these goals. In some cases, the main
focus might be on description and prediction, as it would be for a personality theorist who
wants to know what people are like (description) and what they might do in certain situation
(prediction). Some psychologists are interested in both description and explanation, as is the
case with experimental psychologists who design research to find explanations for observed
(described) behaviour. Therapists, of course, would be more interested in control, although
the other four goals would be important in getting to that goal.
Types of research
Experimental research:
The experimental method involves the manipulation of variables to establish cause-and-effect
relationships. The key features are controlled methods and the random allocation of
participants into control & experimental groups.
an experiment is an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically tested. An
independent variable (the cause) is manipulated in an experiment, and the dependent variable
(the effect) is measured; any extraneous variables are controlled.
An advantage is that experiments should be objective. The researcher’s views and opinions
should not affect a study’s results. This is good as it makes the data more valid and less
biased.
1. Lab Experiment
A laboratory experiment in psychology is a research method in which the experimenter
manipulates one or more independent variables and measures the effects on the dependent
variable under controlled conditions.
A laboratory experiment is conducted under highly controlled conditions (not necessarily a
laboratory) where accurate measurements are possible.
The researcher uses a standardized procedure to determine where the experiment will take
place, at what time, with which participants, and in what circumstances.
2. Field Experiment
A field experiment is a research method in psychology that takes place in a natural, real-
world setting. It is similar to a laboratory experiment in that the experimenter manipulates
one or more independent variables and measures the effects on the dependent variable.
However, in a field experiment, the participants are unaware they are being studied, and the
experimenter has less control over the extraneous variables.
Field experiments are often used to study social phenomena, such as altruism, obedience, and
persuasion. They are also used to test the effectiveness of interventions in real-world settings,
such as educational programs and public health campaigns.
3. Natural Experiment
A natural experiment in psychology is a research method in which the experimenter observes
the effects of a naturally occurring event or situation on the dependent variable without
manipulating any variables.
Natural experiments are conducted in the day (i.e., real life) environment of the participants,
but here, the experimenter has no control over the independent variable as it occurs naturally
in real life.
Natural experiments are often used to study psychological phenomena that would be difficult
or unethical to study in a laboratory setting, such as the effects of natural disasters, policy
changes, or social movements.
For example, Hodges and Tizard’s attachment research (1989) compared the long-term
development of children who have been adopted, fostered, or returned to their mothers with a
control group of children who had spent all their lives in their biological families.
Case Study Method:
The objective of case study research is to uncover themes, patterns of behavior, and
influential contextual factors through an inductive investigative approach leading to greater
explanatory power and understanding of real-world phenomena.
Types of Case Studies
1. Explanatory case studies: Used to explore causation in order to find underlying
principles. Helpful for doing qualitative analysis to explain presumed causal links.
2. Exploratory case studies: Used to explore situations where an intervention being
evaluated has no clear set of outcomes. It helps define questions and hypotheses for
future research.
3. Descriptive case studies: Describe an intervention or phenomenon and the real-life
context in which it occurred. It is helpful for illustrating certain topics within an
evaluation.
4. Multiple-case studies: Used to explore differences between cases and replicate
findings across cases. Helpful for comparing and contrasting specific cases.
5. Intrinsic: Used to gain a better understanding of a particular case. Helpful for
capturing the complexity of a single case.
6. Collective: Used to explore a general phenomenon using multiple case studies.
Helpful for jointly studying a group of cases in order to inquire into the phenomenon.
Famous Case Studies
Anna O – One of the most famous case studies, documenting psychoanalyst Josef
Breuer’s treatment of “Anna O” (real name Bertha Pappenheim) for hysteria in the
late 1800s using early psychoanalytic theory.
Little Hans – A child psychoanalysis case study published by Sigmund Freud in 1909
analyzing his five-year-old patient Herbert Graf’s house phobia as related to the
Oedipus complex.
Bruce/Brenda – Gender identity case of the boy (Bruce) whose botched circumcision
led psychologist John Money to advise gender reassignment and raise him as a girl
(Brenda) in the 1960s.
Genie Wiley – Linguistics/psychological development case of the victim of extreme
isolation abuse who was studied in 1970s California for effects of early language
deprivation on acquiring speech later in life.
Phineas Gage – One of the most famous neuropsychology case studies analyses
personality changes in railroad worker Phineas Gage after an 1848 brain injury
involving a tamping iron piercing his skull.
