Describe and evaluate psychological research into conformity and obedience in humans, and consider ways in which this research can be applied to real life.
Joleen Moret 25th November 2002 Access to H.E. Psychology Coursework Describe and evaluate psychological research into conformity and obedience in humans, and consider ways in which this research can be applied to real life. Conformity is a change in behaviour or beliefs as a result of real or imagined group pressure; the feeling that others are putting pressure on us to change our beliefs or behaviour. Asch (1956) compiled a study to see how many subjects would conform and give an incorrect answer to a simple unambiguous task. Apart from one naïve participant, all other members of the group were confederates of the experimenter. The group were sat around a table and asked what line (with a choice of three) matches the single line in a box. The lines were easy to distinguish and if tested on their own, observers made few if any errors. The confederates were instructed to give the same wrong unanimous answer to see if the naïve participant would conform. Thirty-two percent conformed to the group's answer, and seventy-four percent conformed once; thus denying the evidence of their own eyes, giving the wrong answer when it was their turn. During post-experimental interviews with his participants, Asch found that conformity occurred at three levels. Few conforming participants experienced distortion of perception, most conforming participants experienced a distortion
Understanding and using research
Unit 10 Understanding and using research Introduction For this assignment I will research in different fields of health and social care to come up with my hypothesis. I will base my research on factors affecting individual's health. I will then find out which health condition seems to be most popular in affecting individual's health. After doing some primary and secondary research on the different factors, I will then look more into depth in the condition that seems to be affecting pupils in large amounts. So I will base my hypothesis on the condition which is most popular in the world today. Research is mainly used in health and social care fields to investigate new aspects of care related situations by carrying out surveys and collecting qualitative data of some kind. It is also used to test and review existing knowledge from different sources such as internet books and is also used to test and review treatments and practices. It helps to explain the relationship between factors affecting health and well-being and helps to evaluate service interventions and policies and helps to make new policies and plans. There are different types of research methods in health and social care fields. Research methods are used to achieve the aim they have been carried out to achieve such as a hypothesis. They are then carried out to test their hypothesis to see if it's proved to be
Outline some of the main differences between quantitative and qualitative Research methods. (1000 words)
EMMA SMITH SOCIOLOGY - SOCS 101 - SEMESTER A SEMINAR GROUP C- Thursday 2-3pm 2A) Outline some of the main differences between quantitative and qualitative Research methods. (1000 words) The discipline of sociology dates back to the end of the 18th century, and for many, it seems a difficult term to accurately define. It covers a wide range of topics such as poverty and gender to race and relationships, and its focus is on understanding the modernised, and industrialised world, which has developed throughout this time. Sociology enables us to take a step back and look at things which are familiar to us in a new way. Methodology and theories give us the ability to see things from a new perspective. The term 'methodology' defines the theory and analysis of how research should proceed. Any good research should have a basis in science, and the factor that distinguishes sociological arguments from common sense is systematic knowledge, which is developed through rigorous research processes. In doing research, people are trying to produce knowledge that is accurate; a description of some aspect of the world that is as close as possible to how it actually is. They also try to make sure that this knowledge is objective and value-free, meaning that the information must be gathered in a way that limits the chances of the researcher influencing or distorting the
Research Methodology
Research Methodology Paper Donna L. Stefanick Psych 535 February 7, 2011 Dr. Frances Kelley Research Methodology Paper Research methods are a variety of techniques that people use when studying a give phenomenon. Research methods are well thought out and planned, scientific based and value neutral. This means that in order to have good research methods, a researcher must design the research in a way that maximizes the accuracy of the results. Research methodology is the framework used to study and compare different approaches of individual methods. Multicultural research, or sometimes called cross-cultural research, focuses on uncovering an individual's behaviors that are impacted primarily by cultural influences. It is designed to examine human behavior and test hypotheses about the influences of behavior and culture. The ability to conduct multicultural research is becoming more of a challenge for researcher as the United States becomes more culturally diverse. For researchers to conduct competent research, they need to consider how culture may influence areas like definitions of concept and methodological issues. Researchers need to consider how things like sampling, recruiting participants, developing and/or translating the instruments, and disseminating findings are affected by culture, race and ethnicity. This paper will compare and contrast the variables
The Theme of Ethics in Psychological Research making reference to Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology research
Table of Contents The Theme of Ethics in Psychological Research making reference to Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology research 2-4 References 5 The Theme of Ethics in Psychological Research making reference to Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology research The aim of psychology is to provide us with a greater understanding of ourselves and the way we think. To achieve this understanding psychologists often have no other choice than to investigate human subjects for results and evidence. Humans however can experience physical pain and anxiety but can also be affected mentally through embarrassment or loss of self esteem. The existence of ethical constraints is a serious but necessary limitation on the advancement of Psychology as a science and now many countries have ethical guidelines for conducting research. Since 1985 the British Psychology Society has regularly published and updated a code of conduct as a guideline for all chartered Psychologists to follow. These guidelines are broken down into these considerations which psychologists should follow when carrying out a study: * Consent - Have the subjects made an informed decision about taking part in the research? Have the parents of the child subjects given informed consent to research procedures? * Deception - Have the subjects been deceived? Where there any other possible ways to carry out
Should scientific research be restricted in any way?
Should scientific research be restricted in any way? Science is the study and knowledge of the physical world and its behaviour that is based on proven facts. It has existed since a long time ago, in every part of the world. Not only has it increased our standard of living tremendously, it has also continuously improved the efficiency and quality of work done. Scientific research has come up with innovative ways that have helped us solve many problems; such as poverty, through improvements in economy, and found cures to diseases through the invention of medicines. However, some would claim that scientific research should be restricted due to the harm that science brings about. Inventions due to scientific research such as cars have brought about detrimental effects such as air pollutions, deleterious weapons invented from science research such as bombs have caused destruction and research on human life have disrupted the normal way of life. Should scientific research be restricted in any way? I would say that it should not be restricted as it have benefited us greatly and although it has also brought about unwanted problems, new solutions have been found to solve them. Firstly, scientific research is the solution to palliate poverty. Science is the golden path to alleviating poverty and brings success to many of the developing countries in our world today. Through scientific
Memory research
Much of the traditional laboratory research on memory conducted in the past century has followed Ebbinghaus (1895) in using tightly controlled experiments that facilitate the quantification of memory (see Baddeley, 1990; Schacter, 1989). This tradition has been strongly criticized in the past two decades, however, most notably by Neisser (1978), who provocatively dismissed the laboratory research of the past 100 years as largely worthless for answering "the important questions about memory," and called for a shift to the "realistic" study of memory. Since Neisser's call, there has been a growing number of studies on such varied topics as autobiographical memory, eyewitness testimony, prospective memory, "flashbulb" memory, memory for action, memory for faces, memory for places, etc. (see, e.g., Cohen, 1989; This new wave of everyday memory research has resulted in a proliferation of research methods that are quite removed from those traditionally employed in the laboratory. The rift between proponents of naturalistic and laboratory memory research, as well as efforts at reconciliation, may be seen in the lively debate) sparked by Banaji and Crowder's (1989) paper. It is apparent from the commentaries that "everyday memory" is an ill-defined category (Klatzky, 1991), and that the dimensions of the controversy are not simple to specify. In general, the battles appear to be
Discuss the use of animals in psychological research.
Discuss the use of Animals in Psychological research. (30 marks) There is much debate into the use of non-human animals in Psychological research in regards to their scientific suitability. In addition there are many ethical issues both in favour and against the use of animals in psychological research. There are a number of psychological experiments that over time have used animals as a means of testing various hypotheses, for example psychologist Harry Harlow used baby rhesus monkeys whilst researching the "cupboard love" theory into attachment which taught us that we do not merely attach for food but for other reasons in addition to this such as comfort. Pavlov also famously used dogs to investigate into operant conditioning. The use of animals in research however is heavily controlled, for instance there are strict guidelines in place and some animals are no longer frequently used in research such as cats and dogs, and great apes have been outlawed from usage in animal research completely. Research must also be approved prior to any studies beginning and must be carried out on licensed premises by competent licensed people. Studies also have to use the smallest number of animals it can and must keep discomfort and suffering to a minimum. There are several scientific reasons against using animals in psychological research. The biggest argument perhaps being that
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of stress on the immune system and coronary heart disease.
Outline and evaluate research into the effects of stress on the immune system and coronary heart disease. (18) The immune system is made up of cells and chemicals that seek and destroy bacteria and viruses. When someone is experiencing a stressful situation, all the body's resources are diverted and this suppresses the immune system by stopping the production of white blood cells-lymphocytes. Over a long period of time, (a long-term stress response), the person's immune system stops functioning properly and is left open to infection. Long-Term stress can affect the cardiovascular system. Short-term stress involves the suppression of the immune system, known as immunosupresssion- as part of the need to divert all resources into coping with the emergency. Various studies have been devised to test whether stress makes us more vulnerable to infection and illness. Research on both humans and animals has supported the theory that stress can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. Brady et al's study of stress and the development of ulcers showed that monkeys being given electric shocks, every 20 seconds in 6 hour sessions, proved that the 'executive' monkeys-who pushed the lever to delay shocks- would develop illnesses and later die. Brady's findings showed that the 'executive' monkeys were more likely to develop an illness (ulcers) and later die. The illness and death
Examine the weakness of different types of documents used in a sociological research. Examine why positivist prefer quantitative data whilst interpretivists prefer qualitative data.
a. Examine the weakness of different types of documents used in a sociological research. (20 marks) Documents are secondary data developed by individuals, groups, and organisations, in which sociologist may find particularly advantageous in their research. Taking that into account, there are two types of documents both personal and public. Public documents are items such as letters, diaries, autobiographies, notes and photo collections. Personal documents may be noted as unrepresentative, because some groups are unlikely to produce personal documents such as diaries and letters, because they have got limited leisure. Therefore, their views may not be represented, whilst those with the time and literacy skills may be overrepresented. When it comes to examining the personal documents, it somehow lacks the authenticity. There may be possibly missing pages, or someone must have reproduced another copy, making it seem fake. For example, there was claim that Hitler diaries were fakes. Personal documents may also potentially lack the credibility. Documents may be difficult to believe, when considering the author's sincerity. For example, politicians may write diaries that inflate the own importance. The availability of personal documents may be difficult for researchers to gain access to. For example, private documents such as diaries are becoming less available sociologist.
