Usefulness

Question 1

What is the usefulness debate about?

Answer 1

Research is useful if it has real-world practical applications that benefit people

But it will be less useful if the findings don’t apply to everyone or lack ecological validity

Question 2

How does Bandura relate to Usefulness?

Answer 2

useful for parents to be aware of not exposing children to negative influences such as violence on TV

Question 3

How does Loftus and Palmer relate to usefulness?

Answer 3

useful for the police in knowing the most effective way to question witnesses (i.e. not using leading questions)

Question 4

How does Sperry relate to usefulness?

Answer 4

only of limited practical use due to focusing on a very specific sample which is difficult to generalise from (split-brain patients)

Question 5

How does Freud relate to usefulness?

Answer 5

the findings lack validity and therefore are not particularly useful

Question 6

What are the strengths of psychological research being useful?

Answer 6

Can have practical applications that improve the quality of people’s lives

It can improve the reputation of psychology as an academic discipline and lead to more funding for future research

Question 7

What are the weaknesses of psychological research being useful?

Answer 7

If research has to be useful, it will stop research from being carried out which is not useful now but could be useful in the future

Research which is useful could also be put to negative uses which harm others

The need to carry out research that has useful practical applications could lead psychologists to break ethical guidelines