Topic 2 Research Methods Flashcards
Define The hawthorne effect
People being aware that they’re being studied so they behave differently E.g second guess what the researcher wants them to do and act this way
What happened in milgrams laboratory study (1974)
The participants were ordered by the researcher to administer electric shocks when the learner answered questions incorrectly. [Not aware no shocks were used participants were observed to sweat tremble groan bite their lips and dig their nails into their flesh
What is an example of where the hawthorne effect was in a study?
[Elton mayo] Workers production increases when conditions were improved or worsened suggesting that the workers were responding to the act that they were being observed and so wanted to please the interviewer
What happened in Rosenhans Pseudopatient field experiment
Researchers presented themselves at 12 california mental hospitals saying they had been hearing voices but acted normal when they were in.Staff still treated them as if they were mentally ill suggesting it wasn’t the patients behaviour which led them to being treated as sick but rather the label of schizophrenia
What happens in Durkheims [comparative method] study of suicide
Durkheim predicted protestants would have higher suicide rates. He tested his hypothesis by comparing suicide rates of catholics and protestants. Official statistics also supported his prediction
