Master Handout 1.8
Name That Research Method
Here are the major research methods used by psychologists. Match each with one of the
following examples of research.
a. case history
b. naturalistic observation
c. laboratory observation
d. survey
e. psychological tests
f. experiment
1.
Frank is a professor who is interested in the factors that affect the performance of rats who
are learning to find their way through a complex maze. Every afternoon he gives each of
his 50 rats ten trials in the maze, counting the number of wrong turns each rat makes on its
way through the maze.
2.
Ben is counseling with Fennimore Jones in a small room in the neuropsychiatric hospital.
Ben is a graduate student in clinical psychology and Fennimore is his client. Fennimore
was admitted to the neuropsychiatric hospital when he came to the student health clinic
complaining that he hears voices shouting obscenities at him, and confiding that he thinks
he is going through a spontaneous sex change. After each session with Fennimore, Ben
writes a report describing Fennimores verbal and nonverbal behavior and his interpretations
of the behavior.
3.
Ada is testing the hypothesis that color preference can be influenced by associating a color
with a pleasant experience, such as eating. This afternoon she is delivering a supply of red,
yellow, blue, green, and white nursing bottles to the mothers of newborns who have
consented to let their infants be subjects in her research.
4.
Dee is an assistant professor who will teach introductory psychology for the first time next
term. She has chosen some films to show to her class of more than 200 students, and is now
preparing a questionnaire to administer to her students after each film. She thinks getting
student reactions to the films will be helpful next time she teaches the class.
5.
Ed is an undergraduate psychology major. For his senior thesis he is investigating the
nature of the audience for pornography. This afternoon he is sitting in his car across the
street from one of the pornographic bookstores in the area. He is taking notes on the sex,
approximate age, and ethnicity of the patrons as they enter and leave the store.
Which Method Would You Use?
The following examples can be used to generate a class discussion on the research methods used by
psychologists. Write the methods on the board: case histories, naturalistic observation, laboratory
observation, surveys, tests, correlational studies, and experiments. for Then, each situation, ask students
to decide which method is appropriate and briefly describe why.
1.
Determining the favorite food of adolescents.
Method: Survey
Explanation: Adolescents constitute a large population and the information sought should be
accessible through questionnaires or interviews. Care will be needed to construct a sample that is
representative of the population under consideration.
2.
Determining whether a person is introverted or extroverted.
Method: Psychological test
Explanation: The goal is to measure psychological qualities within an individual. Other methods
(e.g., case history, naturalistic observation) might be employed, but they are more timeconsuming and do not offer the degree of standardization, reliability, and validity found in a wellconstructed test.
3.
Determining if frustration causes aggression.
Method: Experiment
Explanation: Cause-and-effect information is being sought. In science this information is
obtained through experimentation in which the proposed causal variable is manipulated under
controlled conditions.
4.
Determining if level of education is associated with crime.
Method: Correlation
Explanation: This technique is used to determine if and how strongly two variables are related.
Establishing that a correlation exists, however, does not address the problem of why two things
are related.
5.
Determining how teenagers behave on their first date.
Method: Naturalistic observation
Explanation: A description of behavior as it occurs in a real-life situation is being sought. Making
the observations without arousing suspicion in subjects could be problematic, and the investigator
will need to be careful to prevent guinea-pig reaction.
6.
Determining the behavior of subjects who are anxious about participating in research.
Method: Laboratory observation
Explanation: The goal here can be readily achieved within an environment artificially set up by
the experimenter. The advantage of this approach is that the investigator has greater control over
the situation being studied.
7.
Determining why a housewife gave up a flourishing career.
Method: Case history
Explanation: Making this determination requires in-depth information about the way a variety of
psychological factors, expectations, values, motives, past experiences, and so forth, blend
together within the person. This kind of information is unique to the person and could not be
assessed through standardized tests.