GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
MA. LAUREEN SUSAN R. CONDE, MA
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
! Systematically acquiring knowledge and
understanding about behavior and other
phenomena.
! Provides guidelines to use in evaluating
discrete claims (called hypotheses) and
broader theories.
! Theory:
! broad expl anati ons and predi cti ons concerni ng
phenomena of interest
! is a comprehensive explanation of observable events and
conditions.

! Hypothesis:
! is a testable prediction of what will occur under a stated
set of conditions.
! educated guess about a phenomenon stated in a precise,
concrete language to rule out confusion or error in the
meaning of terms
! stems from theories




SCIENTIFIC METHODS
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
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METHODS AND TECHNIQUES IN
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCHES
Experimental Method
Quasi-Experimental Design
Correlational Design
Case Study Method
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
! A deliberate manipulation of a variable to see whether
corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the
determination of cause-and-effect relationships.
! True experimental design requires the utilization of experimental
and control groups with randomly selected participants.
! Requires two variables:
! Independent variable
! Dependent variable
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
! Experimental Group: subjects in an experiment who are subjected
to the independent variable.

! Control Group: Subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to
the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment
(controls for confounding variables).
! Independent Variable: the variable in an experiment that is
manipulated by the experimenter.
! Dependent Variable: the variable in an experiment that represents
the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the
experiment.
! Random Assignment: the process of assigning subjects to the
experimental or control groups randomly, so that each subject has
an equal chance of being in either group.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
! Advantage: has the greatest potential for identifying cause-and-
effect relationships with less error and bias than either surveys or
case studies.

! Disadvantage: information obtained in one experimental situation
or laboratory setting may not apply to other situations.
! Placebo: some intervention, such as taking a pill, receiving and
injection, or undergoing an operation, that resembles medical
therapy but which in fact, has no medical effects.
! Placebo Effect: the phenomenon in which the expectations of the
participants in a study can influence their behavior; change in the
patients illness that is attributable to an imagined treatment rather
than to a medical treatment.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
Experimental
Group (with
condition
Control Group
(without
Condition)
Sample of
participants
Measure

Measure

Scientifically
compare
performance
of the two
groups
The Effect of Art Therapy on the Depression Level of
Abused Female Children
The Effect of Caffeine on Memory
The Bystander Effect
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
! Similar to the experimental method but without randomization.
! Can be used to explore the effects of different treatments on pre-
existing groups of subjects.
! Disadvantage: experimenter bias, uncontrolled extraneous variables
CORRELATIONAL METHOD
! Measures of two variables go into a mathematical formula and
produce a correlation coefficient (r), which represents two things:
! the direction of the relationship
! the strength of the relationship
! Variables: anything that can change or vary. For ex:
! Behavior, Coping Mechanisms, Resiliency, Stress
! Acad performance, Job satisfaction
! Personality Traits, Organizational commitment
! Correlation coefficient number which indicates the strength of a
relationship between two or more events: the closer the number is to
-1.00 or +1.00, the greater the strength of the relationship.
! Correlation Versus Causation:
! Correlations cannot cannot indicate cause-and-effect
! Correlations can help predict behavior and point to where to
look for possible causes
CORRELATIONAL METHOD
! Perfect Positive Correlation Coefficient
! +1.00 means that an increase in one event is always matched by an
equal increase in a second event
! Virtually never found in applied psychological research
! Positive Correlation Coefficient
! indicates that as one event tends to increase, the second event tends
to, but does not always, increase
! increases from +0.01 to +0.99 indicate a strengthening of the
relationship between the occurrence of two events
! Zero Correlation:
! indicates that there is no relationship between the occurrence of one
event and the occurrence of a second event
! Negative Correlation Coefficient
! indicates that as one event tends to increase, the second event tends
to, but does not always, decrease
! -0.01 to -0.99 indicates a strengthening in the relationship of one event
increasing and the other decreasing
! Perfect Negative Correlation:
! -1.00 means that an increase in one event is always matched by an
equal decrease in a second event
! virtually never found in applied psychological research
CASE STUDY
! In depth analysis of the thoughts, feelings, belief, experiences,
behaviors, or problems of a single individual.
! Advantage: detailed information allows greater understanding of a
particular persons life.

! Disadvantage: detailed information about a particular person may
not apply to others; observer bias, data collection bias.
! Personal Belief: If we strongly believe in something, it may bias our
perception and cause us to credit an unrelated treatment or event as
the reason for some change.
! Self-fulfilling Prophecy: involves having a strong belief or making
a statement (prophecy) about a future behavior and then acting,
usually unknowingly, to fulfill or carry out the behavior.
NATURAL OBSERVATION
Observing subjects in
their natural
environments
" Researcher Jane
Goodall studies the
behavior of wild
chimpanzees in
their native
habitat.
LABORATORY OBSERVATIONS
Observing
subjects in
artificially
controlled
environments
" In this
experiment,
preschoolers
reactions to
the puppet
are
monitored.
SURVEY AND POLLS
! Obtains information by asking many individuals either
person-to-person or telephone, or by mail to answer a
fixed set of questions about particular subjects.
Population
Unrepresentative
sample
Representative
sample
Sampling
procedure
SURVEY AND POLLS
! Advantage: detailed efficient way to obtain much information from a
large number of people.
! Disadvantage: detailed information can contain errors; results can
be biased.