In psychology there are different methods of investigation, these would be observation, survey, clinical (case study), correlation and experimental methods.

Andrew Barker 50128485

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Observation method

Within this method, there are 5 different types, Participant Observation, Non-participant Observation, Structured Observation, Non-structured Observation and the Naturalistic Observation. These observation methods are a non-experimental type; most of these are planned and have an organised way of observing and recording behaviour. They can also be overt or covert.

The Participant Observation is where the observer sets up and also takes part within the study. An advantage to this would that it has less chance of not understanding the behaviour as the researcher is the participant, a disadvantage to this is where there could be an absence of objectivity from the observer.

The Non-participant Observation is where the observer only sets up but watches the person they are studying from a distance. An advantage here would be there is no effect on the participant from the observer. A disadvantage would be that the observer is away from the study so they rely on perception which may be inaccurate.

The Structured Observation is planned, it watches and records behaviours as they happen in a controlled environment. An advantage here is that it gives a safe place to observe the participant, which in this type is normally a child. A disadvantage to this would be the lack of ecological validity.

The Unstructured Observation is not planned; it does the same as the Structured Observation but is set in a natural environment. An advantage here is that it is can give an extensive summary of the situation. A disadvantage would be that it is only suitable as a first look at a participant to give an overview of the situation.

The Naturalistic Observation is a planned observation, and it records behaviours as they occur in the natural environment. An advantage to this is that it is really good for observing specific participants. A disadvantage would be if the observation ...

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One researcher, Laud Humphreys, done a study called Tea Room Trade in 1970, which was the study of homosexual acts that was happening in public toilets. Humphrey took up the role of ‘watchqueen’ which meant he was on the lookout for police officers passing by, by playing this role he managed to study the encounters taking place. Not all the people in this study were homosexual or bisexual, in fact Humphreys was able to show that 54% of the people were straight.

Survey Method

This method collects information about different people. These surveys can be done in a number of different ways such as through the post, where questionnaires are sent through the post, there is the phone way which is where people phone and speak to the participant on the phone, on-line surveys which are focused on the participants experience and finally the home interviews, which is where the researchers go to the participants home and interview them. Advantages to this method are that it allows the researcher to get a lot of information in little time and that the surveys do not cost as much as other techniques. A disadvantage to this method would be that the choices of answers are limited and they may not reflect on the way that the participant truly feels.

Researchers Hazan and Shaver made up a survey called the Love Quiz; this was to see if there was a connection between a child’s attachment type and the romantic relationships they have later on in life. Their findings found that there was a connection between the two.

Clinical Method (Case Study)

This method is an in-depth study of one person or a small group. With this type of study, a lot of the participant’s life is looked at to find patterns and reasons for behaviour. Advantages to this kind of study is that it has possibilities for later testing of hypothesis and the study can also give good descriptions of certain cases. Disadvantages to this would be that it is really hard to work out the findings to a bigger crowd of people and that it does not test hypothesis itself.

Researcher John Bowlby did a study in 1944 known as the 44 Juvenile Thieves, in which the aim was to find a connection between maternal deprivation and adolescent delinquency. Bowlby looked at 44 thieves which had been to child guidance clinic and compare them to 44 others who did not steal. From this study, Bowlby found that there was a connection between the two.

Correlation Method

This method looks into relationships between 2 or more variables. A correlation could be positive or negative. A positive correlation would be that the positive relationship between 2 covariates would mean that if one gets better, so does the other one. A negative correlation would be where one gets better the other gets worse. Advantages to this would be that it gives exact information about the level of the relationship that is recognised by the correlation coefficient, and also there is no influence to behaviour required. A disadvantage to this is that no cause and effect can be established.

In 2004, researcher Dr. Craig Anderson done a meta-analysis, he looked at cases that studied links between violent video games and different behaviours such as aggression. He found that violent video games made aggression grow in people. The correlation study that he did showed more answers than the original studies did.

Experimental Method

This method includes manipulating one variable to determine if changes in one variable can change another variable. It counts on controlled methods and the manipulation of variables to test a hypothesis. Some of the advantages to this method would be that it allows exact control of variables and the experiments are the only way that cause and effect can be established. Some disadvantages to this could be that where the experiments are in a laboratory, behaviour could be different to what it normally would be outside and the experiments most of the time involve lying to the participants in some way.

Researcher Ivan Pavlov did a study on dogs. He found that the salivation in the dogs was a learned response. He decided to use food as an unconditioned stimulus and use the sound of a metronome as a natural stimulus. The dogs were made to listen to the sound of the metronome first and given food straight after. When this had been carried out a few times, Pavlov noticed that the dogs were beginning to salivate just from the sound of the metronome. He found that the metronome had become a conditioned stimulus that created a conditioned response being the dog’s salivation.