The aim of this essay is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of combining the two methodologies, qualitative and quantitative, when designing research in relation to the study of drug use
What are the strengths and weaknesses of combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies when designing research? Relate your answer to the study of drug use in particular. The aim of this essay is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of combining the two methodologies, qualitative and quantitative, when designing research in relation to the study of drug use. Qualitative methods of research and data focus more on the context and integrity of the material and produce research findings that are not arrived at by statistical summary or analysis. The methods used in qualitative research include participant observation, intense interviewing and focus groups which provide researchers with in depth information, unlike quantitative method. Quantitative refers to studies whose findings are mainly the product of statistical summary and analysis. In criminological research the quantitative research methods used are generally surveys and questionnaires. The rise of drug use in recent decades has prompted more research into this area using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies not only to attempt to evaluate the extent of drug use in individual areas but also to seek to understand the reasons behind it. A great number of researchers are more frequently using a mixed method research design now to try and increase the credibility of their findings. Individually each
An experiment to see if clustering of words improves word recall.
Title: An experiment to see if clustering of words improves word recall. Abstract This study tried to replicate the work of Cofer, Bruce and Reicher (1966), however the results of our data analysis for no significant difference between the groups, this may be explained choice of sample. Introduction Memory, one of the most important processes the brain conducts, it tells us everything about ourselves, what we know, how we do things. Much work has been done into the study of memory, its process and how to improve ones own memory. This side of psychology is of keen interest to cognitive psychologist. In the context of psychology memory is the capacity to retain and recall information. This in itself is further divided two main types of memory, long term memory (LTM) or short term memory (STM) Theories of memory processing such as the multi-store model, which is based on the assumption that there are three 'stores,' which make up human memory, these stores are the sensory register, short term memory and long term memory. The difference between them is how much memory is stored by each. The sensory register is a short acting memory store for the sensory record of the stimulus. There is no meaning to the stimulus at this point. From this store the stimulus information passes to the next store, the short term memory store. Peterson and Johnson (1971) showed that information
Investigation of the Effect of Bystander Behaviour on Helping Behaviour in a Non-Emergency Situation
Investigation of the Effect of Bystander Behaviour on Helping Behaviour in a Non-Emergency Situation Abstract One model explaining whether people offer assistance in emergency situations is diffusion of responsibility: the greater the number of bystanders present, the less personal responsibility is felt by each bystander. A second model, the normative theory, suggests that people comply with social norms, being more likely to help if an appropriate helping response is modelled by others. To investigate which model best accounts for helping behaviour, a naturalistic study was conducted in which participants were able to offer help in a minor emergency. The participants were 1122 undergraduates from Monash University. Most helping was demonstrated when no bystanders were present. The results supported the diffusion of responsibility theory more than the normative theory. In 1964, a New York city woman Kitty Genovese was brutally stabbed to death outside her apartment block. Of the 38 witnesses, none offered assistance, not even the simple act of notifying the police (Latane & Nida, 1981). This failure to help stimulated research into understanding why bystanders often fail to give assistance in emergency situations. Latane and Darley (1970) wondered why people were unwilling to offer assistance in emergencies when they were quite happy to help in non-emergencies. They
Personality Characteristics. Psychodynamic theory, made popular by Sigmund Freud, makes personality a completely biological construct. Freud believed that the building blocks of personality existed in the individuals drives and within the unconscious
Running head: PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS PAPER Personality Characteristics Paper ANTHONY STAMATOURAS UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX PSYCH 504 July 13, 2009 Personality Characteristics Paper Many theories exist on the development of personality. To some theorists, personality is built on purely biological factors. Other theorists consider personality to be a construct built entirely on environmental factors. Still other theorists believe that while personality development is based in biology, it is influenced by environmental factors. Even more confusing is that each one of these viewpoints can be effectively argued. Psychodynamic theory and trait theory are two of these personality development theories. The development of my own personality will be discussed in terms of these theories, psychodynamic theory and trait theory Psychodynamic theory, made popular by Sigmund Freud, makes personality a completely biological construct. Freud believed that the building blocks of personality existed in the individual's drives and within the unconscious and subconscious workings of the human brain. Psychodynamic theory relies on subjective decisions being made based on observations made by the therapist. On the other hand, trait theory is an objective theory that extends from testing done on measurable criteria. These criteria, the Big Five proposed as being consistent traits
What evidence is there for cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease? What brain systems might be affected in these patients to cause these deficits?
What evidence is there for cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease? What brain systems might be affected in these patients to cause these deficits? Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease, characterised by resting tremors, rigidity, slowing of physical movements (bradykinesia) and reduced or nonexistent voluntary movement (hypokinesia) (Ramírez-Ruiz). Although depletion of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra are predominantly the cause of these symptoms, the damage is not isolated as the peripheral, central, and enteric nervous systems are also affected (Braak and Braak 2000). The disease affects the neuronal cytoskeleton and as only selective cells can form this cytoskeleton abnormality, the damage caused by Parkinson's disease creates a particular pattern of lesions, making the symptoms and cognitive deficits roughly consistent between patients (Braak and Braak 2000). The dopamine depletion is continual, but for the symptoms to be sunstantial enough to be noticed the levels must have been reduced by around 90% (Gazziniga, Ivry and Mangun, 2002). Although Parkinson's disease has been linked to drug abuse and genetic factors, in most cases it is idiopathic (Gazzaniga et al, 2002). When Parkinson's disease was first described it was not appreciated that it had any affect on the mental state of the individual, with the original statement regarding
In the statement "All of the other ways of knowing are controlled by language", there are implications of language being superior to other
All of the other Ways of Knowing are controlled by language. What does this statement mean and do you think it is a fair representation of the relationship between perception, emotion, reason and language? In the statement "All of the other ways of knowing are controlled by language", there are implications of language being superior to other aspects of knowledge - perception, reason and emotion. Language does not necessarily "control" all the other ways of knowledge, but leans more towards "can heavily influence" the other ways of knowledge. Whether the two terms are synonyms or whether this statement is a fair representation of the relationship between perception, emotion, reason and language relies heavily on the definition of the word control, which is as each individual would interpret it. Therein lies one of the more important problems of knowledge in language; how would one know what the true definition of a word is? In this sense, what is true? In a society, through consensus gentium we determine the general "true" definition of a word; if so, the essentially the meaning of a word is only what we determine it to be. Control could arguably mean impact, influence, dictate all at the same time. What is the true meaning? In essence, the general meaning of control lies somewhere around "has a great deal (approx. 95% influence) over". Regarding the relationships between
Punishment is when a response is followed by a stimulus that suppresses the frequency of a response in the future and this stimulus is called the punisher.
Punishment is when a response is followed by a stimulus that suppresses the frequency of a response in the future and this stimulus is called the punisher. Bandura and Walters (1959) stated that children who are made to suffer grow up to be adults who make others suffer (as cited in Chance, 1999). They begin to deal with their problems in later life with troublesome behaviour and inflicting pain on others just like their punishers did to them when they were younger. Skinner suggested that it is possible to construct a society in which punishable behaviours occur infrequently or never. 'Basically if behavioural technology was used to control behaviour in nonpunitive ways, good behaviours would be common, and there would be little or no need for punitive measures' (Nye, 1993, pg. 104). Skinner's earliest work shows that punishment only has a temporary suppressive effect, rather than permanently decreasing responding. Conclusions form Estes' (1944) work shows that within limits more intense and frequent punishment produces greater response suppression providing that the punishment stimulus is reliable and immediately follows the response (as cited in Leslie, 1996, pg. 256). Misbehaviour persists in spite of punishment because it is also reinforced. This happens when the alternative of other behaviours are so daunting and unknown that they think they may receive more
Evaluate the contribution of the social perspective to our understanding of language and meaning and the psychology of sex and gender
DSE212: TMA06 [DSE212: TMA06] Question Evaluate the contribution of the social perspective to our understanding of language and meaning and the psychology of sex and gender. Essay Different psychological perspectives lead to different theories providing diverse insights into the same issue i.e. language and meaning. They focus their enquiry in different ways and consequently have dissimilar objects of knowledge. Each perspective asks different questions, use different methods and data and produce therefore different theories. These perspectives can be complementary, conflicting and/or coexisting, whereby each perspective and theory provides a variety of ways of applying their findings to everyday psychological problems. By focusing on the social psychological perspective, this essay will initially evaluate how this perspective contributes to a greater understanding in the formation, acquisition and use of language and how this understanding co-exists with, and may be complimented by or is in contrast to, other perspectives and how this fits in with the understanding of sex and gender. Social psychological perspectives emphasise the importance of investigating cognition by studying how meaning is created through participation and cultural practices and through language. The evolvement, acquisition and application of language used by humans, to express meaning and pursue
What, if anything, would be morally improper about carrying out medical experiments on human embryos with the aim of improving quality of life of subsequent born individuals?
What, if anything, would be morally improper about carrying out medical experiments on human embryos with the aim of improving quality of life of subsequent born individuals? Embryo experimentation is a relatively new and groundbreaking, yet contentious issue, which has inspired much debate in recent years. It involves the use of spare embryos that are created when couples turn to in vitro fertilisation, or IVF, as a means of conceiving when conventional methods prove to be ineffective. It is what is done with these 'spare' embryos that is the centre of debate. Some believe that simply removing a human egg from a woman for fertilization and implantation is immoral (Grobstein, 1982, p. 20), while others object to any experimentation on an embryo that results in it's destruction, due to the status of the embryo, and the belief that it has a right to life (Great Britain Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilisation and Embryology, 1985, p. 61). Others hold the view that it is morally permissible to experiment on the embryo, as doing so can be beneficial in many ways, including assisting in the diagnosis of fertility problems and the eradication of diseases (Fisher, 1989, p. 194). It is these breakthroughs that can help to improve the quality of life for future generations of people. IVF was created so that infertile couples would have the opportunity to reproduce, in
Essay Questions Concerning Deception in Stanley Milgram Research.
Essay Questions Concerning Deception in Stanley Milgram Research a) Deception was a key feature in the procedure of Milgram's study on obedience. A fundamental deception that was conducted was the fact that none of the participants were made aware that the study was about obedience. The participants were told that the study concerned learning and memory. Another deception that took place was the fact that all the participants were led to believe that the 'learner' was also a voluntary participant, and they believed they had a 50:50 chance between them of selecting the role of 'teacher' or 'learner'. In fact the 'learner' was an actor and the situation was set up so that the real participant would always become 'teacher'. One of the major deceptions in this study was that concerning the electric shocks. The participants believed they were administering increasingly higher electric shocks to the 'learner' in response to wrong or unanswered questions. However at no point during the study was an electric shock administered to the 'learner', all responses were on audio tape and the 'learner' was perfectly safe. b) Deception in Milgram's study gave cause for critism as it led to the breaking of other ethical guidelines. Firstly the participants were unable to give informed consent. This is a major ethical guideline, as experimenters should obtain informed consent
