Additional info

Question 1

Evaluate the use of case studies in psychological research

Answer 1

• the info is very detailed
• the info cannot be applied to a wider pop bcs it is very specific to the ppt involved
• ethical concerns. ppt are so unique that it may be possible to identify them from any reports of the results. Prevents the ppt from remaining confidential.
• good way of studying unusual behaviours/phenomena that cannot be studied by other methods. help our understanding of what is normal.
• record behaviour over time, allowing changes in behaviour to be seen

Question 2

Evaluate the use of correlations in psychological research.

Answer 2

• Correlations can be used to investigate the relationships without the researcher manipulating variables. This means that correlations can be used when other research methods are not suitbale due to ethical or practical reasons - for example, to investigate whether social media is linked to mental health problems.
• Correlations can provide a useful starting point for resaerch because they allow a researcher to see whether these two co-variables are connected. If a pattern is established between variables, a researcher can then use an experiment to further investigate this relationship.
• Correlations cannot be used to establish cause and effect relationships between two co-variables. E.g, we might find a correlation between playing video games and aggressive behaviour. However, we cannot show that one causes the other as there may be a third variable that could explain the relationship.
• Correlations can be used to identify and investigate non-linear relationships between two variables, e.g stress level and task performance.
• large amounts of info are required for correlational research to be useful. This is because establishing relationships from small samples may not be reliable.
• Collecting a large enough data set for correlations to be considered reliable can be time consuming and expensive for researchers.

Question 3

Justify the use of deception in studies of conformity

Answer 3

• Conformity is about changing behaviour because of pressure from the group - knowing the pressure was not real but part of an experiment, would reduce the effect on behaviour and make any findings less valid.
• Once participants know what the real aim of the study is, they oculd try to help/hinder the researcher. This means that the behaviour being mesured would be less likely to be natural behaviour. This may make the findings less reliable/valid.