Doing Psychology Flashcards
What is scientific observation?
Science based on observation of facts (independent of view) - e.g. Falsifiability
Why is scientific observation/objectivity limited?
We can only observe from a physical and mental position/perspective so we cannot see all the facts = Observations are always limited but we assume it is representative
Observation of mental phenomena as mental states are not directly knowable and are based on prior concepts
E.g. To know something is yellow we need to have the concept of yellow
Formal concepts/hypothetical constructs in psychology is the description of mental activity
Why is scientific observation theory-laden? (Based on prior understanding)
What we can see needs to be interpreted and we make assumptions about what has been observed and what hasn’t been
Even these interpretations are shaped by prior understanding so we see something from a particular viewpoint (Perceiving the physical world through the lense of meaning)
What are formal concepts?
Formal concepts - Must be defined based on theoretical assumptions
Measures need to be constructed
Data (observable) must be collected, analysed and interpreted
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What is the issue with introspection as an objective technique?
Practical problem in the early days of Psychology, when experimenters often relied on introspection to access mental experience
William James wrote of the ‘psychologist’s fallacy’, where the psychologist (in the process of introspection) confused his view of the stimulus (which provoked the sensation) with his view of the sensation (the mental state to be described)
It was difficult to separate thoughts from one’s own mental experience from the actual mental experience itself
How did early experiments try to deal with subjectivity?
Subjectivity from participants was dealt with by limiting responses = These responses were still inconsistent so inconsistencies were dealt with via statistics
Subjectivity of the experimenter was controlled by using mechanical devices and standardised procedures
How did Behaviourism deal with subjectivity?
Behaviourism removed subjectivity by using the method of direct observation
These methods are still subjective as someone has to decide what is being observed, how it is going to be done & how it is interpreted etc…
What is operationalism?
Mental phenomena was observed through measurement
Operationalism provided an objective definition of the concept and the concept was defined by the operation (what was measured/what the measurement meant)
If a specific operation (act of measurement) defines a given concept, then a different operation defines a different concept
Two different measurements are of two different things
What is convergence?
Convergence is used to overcome the limits of using specific methods
It uses multiple operations and treats concepts as independent of them
When there is evidence of convergence, then, different measures are regarded as being of the same thing
This remains an interpretation of the evidence, based on an assumption that there is something independent of the measures
What are the problems with social psychology and objectivity?
Psychologists have been restricted in the methods that they used which has been criticised - Social psychologists argued that some experiments included not passive subjects but active participants (Influence of demand characteristics and experimenter effects)
This caused a crisis in social psychology as there were methodological problems with experiments and questioned whether it could be applied to the real world accurately
Gergen, 1973 proposed that social behaviour is not fixed and so qualitative methods began to be used as an alternative which was a less restrictive approach
What is Quantitative research?
Makes predictions/establishes general laws
It establishes causes & correlations about human behaviour & cognitions
Quantitative measurements of cognitions/behaviours produces quantitative data by using a controlled procedure, experiments and correlational studies
Quantitative data undergoes statistical analysis
What is qualitative research?
Involves getting close to the real-life experiences/activities of people
Qualitative data is collected by watching and recording in detail what people are doing and saying & by talking to people about their experiences
Analysis of how people give meaning to their experiences , perform activities (requires different types of qualitative analysis)
What are the strengths of qualitative and quantitative research?
Quantitative research approach = Seen as a scientific approach as often from big samples and can provide statistical analysis
Qualitative research = Psychology is to understand/interpret how people feel and think in real life so it is a more realistic research method
Case studies and exploring individual humans whereas the quantitative approach treats individuals as numbers rather than human
What are the benefits of having different types of research methods?
They can allow us to ask different types of research questions about what we want to know
They can guide us on what method we want to use and provide alternative methods
In order to use research methods as a tool, the difference between the methods & what they contribute needs to be understood
What are the types of qualitative data/analysis?
Researchers can either get involved in the research themselves to collect data or listen to the data back (Participant or non-participant)
Thematic analysis, Conversation analysis, Narrative analysis, Discursive psychology
How do you plan out the qualitative research process?
Topic = Pick a topic and research question
Plan the methods = Plan data collection (e.g. observations etc.), Plan sampling, Plan resources, Plan ethics
Refining plans = Read previous research, test out data collection to see what will work, revise previous planning stage as necessary
Ethics = BPS ethical guidelines set out the profession code: Informed consent, Respect via confidentiality, anonymity & right to withdraw, Avoiding deception, Debriefing, Avoid harm and distress - a duty of care towards the participants. All studies at university undergo ethical review
What is the qualitative research process itself?
Collecting data = Such as interview data
Data preparation = Such as transcribing recordings from the interview to be a written representation of what the data collected
Coding of data = Marking and labelling the data in order to organise, reduce, interpret and analyse the data. Different levels, different stages, different methods of coding depending on what is in the data, the topic & the type of data
Producing an analysis (the final goal) = Interpreting and understanding the meaning of the data
What is thematic analysis?
A methods of analysing what is being said & its meaning = Analysis occurs by clustering either related codes or codes that represent some pattern in the data, identify relevant meaningful patterns in data & explaining the themes
Method of data analysis that enables to identify a limited number of themes which adequately reflect the data
Theme - An idea/subject in data, which is derived from the coding of data
Wiggins (2013): Theme is a coherent and meaningful pattern in the data
What type of data does thematic analysis use?
Can be used with multiple types of data
Interviews, Focus groups, Documents, Open-ended questions in surveys/questionnaires, Recording of naturalistic data
Any data can be examined for meaning (rich data) - both research generated (research interviews, focus groups) or naturalistic data
Use small & big data sets
Sampling is usually purposive
Transcription for audio-video recordings - often includes non-linguistic cues such as pauses, “mmm” and stresses
What are the different types of thematic analysis?
Deductive - Themes reflect existing theories or concepts and coding involves developing a code book
Inductive - Themes are generated from the data and aim at staying as close as possible to the meaning in the data
Or it can be both
Thematic analysis can lay the groundwork for Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Narrative Analysis, Grounded Theory
What are open-ended questions and what are the different types that can be used in thematic analysis?
Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their own way
Questions are set up by the researcher as in closed questions
There are different types of open questions (they can be specific or very broad)
Specific - Respondents are asked about a particular piece of information
Broad - Respondents can provide a whole range of answers
Very broad - Non-directive question about respondents experience of the overall topic of the questionnaire, can be useful for sensitive questions
We include open-ended questions as
Useful to confirm that all relevant issues related to the topic under investigation have been covered
To substitute a closed question
To explore new aspects of the topic
What are Braun & Clarke’s six steps of thematic analysis?
- Familiarising data
- Generating Codes
- Searching for themes
- Reviewing the themes
- Defining & naming themes
- Producing an analysis
What are psychological objects?
Formal definitions & measurements provides data that we can observe directly
Psychological descriptions are representations (represents certain features in a certain way)
They define the object of study & what data represents
Without language, data is meaningless
How do metaphors help us in psychology?
Metaphors provide a way of thinking about the mind & various aspects of the mind
Metaphors that we choose to describe items in everyday life, like ‘extraversion’ change over time & have practical implications
Limits to how the mind can be viewed
Prompts further thinking along similar lines (e.g. if we think memory is a container, we might think about capacity)
Metaphors reflect theoretical assumptions about mental phenomena
How do terms reflect theoretical assumptions?
Descriptions we use reflect theoretical assumptions
e.g. mind as an information-processor
But different branches of psychology focus in different descriptions
e.g. on mind as a tool for learning
Different terms reflect different theoretical assumptions
Same term (different definition) reflects theoretical assumptions
Emotion has been defined differently by psychologists
What are objects of psychological study?
Descriptions have changed over time, meaning different studies about emotion may be measuring different definitions of ‘emotion’
Agreed descriptions & assumptions lead to further enquiry on a similar basis
Conflation has occurred with psychological descriptions - Assumptions have been taken as literal
What is the aim of psychology as a science?
Aim - To provide a reliable and valid knowledge about mind & behaviour and about objects (as defined, measured) via (what seen as) scientific methods
It limits what kind of knowledge can be produced
Theory → Hypothesis → Data → Analysis → Result (Numerical Form)
Or can be to …
Aim - To be seen as scientific
Methods - E.g. quantitative
Theoretical frameworks - Overlapping ideas with biology, such as evolutionary psychologists)
Debunking pseudoscience (Boundary-work)
What is the aim of psychology as a science?
Aim - To provide a reliable and valid knowledge about mind & behaviour and about objects (as defined, measured) via (what seen as) scientific methods
It limits what kind of knowledge can be produced
Theory → Hypothesis → Data → Analysis → Result (Numerical Form)
Or can be to …
Aim - To be seen as scientific
Methods - E.g. quantitative
Theoretical frameworks - Overlapping ideas with biology, such as evolutionary psychologists)
Debunking pseudoscience (Boundary-work)
What is the aim of studying/researching psychology?
Aim - Make a living/profit or a difference
Will need an academic post, need funding, publishing
What areas of psychology are in demand?
Making a difference often means changing minds
What is the aim of psychology as applied knowledge?
Aim - To provide knowledge useful to others
Applied psychology is scientific psychology in place in the real world and also the real world influencing psychology
Psychological knowledge is designed to satisfy demands of other
How is psychology useful in education?
Believed psychological knowledge would be useful in education
Did a child study movement to learn about the minds of children
End of twentieth century, educational psychology shifted to suit the demand of administrators
How is psychology useful in business?
Psychology of advertising to increase sales
‘Laws of suggestion’ were regarded as important in the commercial world, and techniques for creating new ‘wants’
Industrial psychology to increase productivity in the work environment Psychological Corporation (1921) created to serve businesses
How is psychology useful in contexts such as war?
Psychology for propaganda to sway public opinion
Tests to assess competence and improve personnel selection
What is the aim of psychology in wider society?
Aim - Based on assumptions about what needs to be explained/changed
e.g. Women were assumed to be more emotional & less rational - Psychological tests supported these views that women had smaller brains etc.
What is an example of how psychology was used to enforce the gender divide?
Variability hypothesis: Physical and psychological traits of men were more variable than women = drove evolutionary progress and explained men’s greater intellectual eminence
Leta Hollingworth argued that this was only the case as women weren’t allowed to conduct psychological research at the time
20th century: Biological and social explanations are used to explain gender differences but ‘huge’ differences are generally disbelieved
What did Galton think about how the human species could be improved?
Galton - Human species could be improved via selective breeding (encouraging most able people to reproduce)
He created early mental tests to test suitability
How has psychology been used to enforce racial stereotypes?
In US - Found POC as a ‘lower race’ and having lower intellect and stuck in adolescence - Encouraged racial segregation
1930 - Racial prejudice study about how African Americans viewed race - Conditioned to choose the white doll rather than the one closest to themselves
How has psychology and its application to wider society changed?
Psychology reflects assumptions and aims of people and have mainly reflected the social norms of the time
As psychology has become more diverse, the assumptions and aims of psychologists have become more diverse
What are research ethics?
Ethics - Rules of conduct necessary when carrying out research
Ethics - The set of moral principles used by researchers to describe how participants in research should be treated
‘Research ethics’ - The moral principles guiding research from the beginning to completion/publication of results
What is your main research questions?
What data will you collect?
Whom will you collect your data from?
When did research ethics get introduced?
Began after WW2 because of what the Nazis did in some research experiments
The nuremberg code - Outlined the ethical treatment in psychological research
What are the basic principles shared by all ethics code?
Respect for people’s rights & dignity - Rights of individuals to privacy
Responsibility - Must safeguard the psychophysical health of the people they work with (staff and participants)
Integrity - Ensure honesty, transparency, fairness and truthfulness
What are the steps you need to take to make sure your research is ethical?
Informed consent, Issue of deception - Has to be justified, Freedom from coercion, Right to withdraw, Protection from physical and psychological harm, Protection of privacy, confidentiality or anonymity, The risk-benefit rule (Benefit should overwhelm the risk), Debriefing
When applying for research, you have to be clear about the aims and reasons for the research & will be framed within a theoretical question
Why is the declaration of human rights important when carrying out psychological research?
Have to be acquainted with them
Depending on the type of research you’re carrying out, you have to use a different declaration of human rights
Declaration of Helsinki (1964):
The experimental protocol must be reviewed by a “specially-appointed committee independent of the investigator and the sponsor”
This is not always the correct format to use
Research can be retracted if it is not ethical
How have research ethics changed over time?
Ethics has developed - e.g. no longer allow photographs to be taken of patients, so they cannot be recognised
Fake initials should be used unless they have consented to be
