Issues and debates: practical issues (cog)

Question 1

INTRO

Practical issues

Answer 1

Practical issues include trying to control research to ensure replicability and increase reliability. Researchers often have to balance practical questions such as what design is appropriate with cost and time constraints. Practical issues can include sampling participants, and choosing which research method is most appropriate to investigate a topic, balancing realism with control.

Question 2

A01 & A03 (are) case studies

Answer 2

A01:
+ Provide rich in depth data about unique individuals. It can be highly useful but lacks generalizability.
- How to replicate as each individual unique difficult to find others with same condition
- Not reliable as individual would forget what researcher talking about. Plus friends and family may be biassed and provide inaccurate info.

A03:
Case study of HM
- The surgery HM had can never be replicated, so therefore it is very difficult to check how valid his results were.
- The study cannot be replicated, so the reliability of the study is also very unsure.
- However, his findings are very detailed towards the way that his brain damage can affect him.

Question 3

A01 & A03 (aren’t) lab experiments

Answer 3

A01:
- High control over extraneous variables such as can control external noise which can distract P during memory task, affecting performance.
- However, artificial task not applicable to real world doesn’t accurately represent how someone acts in a day-to-day life.

A03:
- Baddeley: The case study was standardised and can be easily replicated, which presents high reliability.

Question 4

Judgement

Answer 4

Overall, cognitive psychology has practical issues when using case studies but generally avoids them with controlled lab experiments.