Ncert free essay sample

You may now be curious to know how psychologists study these phenomena. In other words, what methods are used to study behaviour and mental processes? Like all scientists, psychologists seek to describe, predict, explain and control what they study. For this, psychologists rely on formal, systematic observations to address their questions. It is the methodology that makes psychology a scientific endeavour. Psychologists use a variety of research methods because questions about human behaviour are numerous and all of them cannot be studied by a single method. Methods such as observation, experimental, correlational research, survey, psychological testing and case study are more frequently used to study the problems of psychology. This chapter will familiarise you with the goals of psychological enquiry, the nature of information or data that we collect in psychological studies, the diverse range of methodological devices available for the study of psychology, and some important issues related to psychological studies. Like any scientific research, psychological enquiry has the following goals: description, prediction, explanation, and control of behaviour, and application of knowledge so generated, in an objective manner. Let us try to understand the meaning of these terms. Description : In a psychological study, we attempt to describe a behaviour or a phenomenon as accurately as possible. This helps in distinguishing a particular behaviour from other behaviours. For example, the researcher may be interested in observing study habits among students. Study habits may consist of diverse range of behaviours, such as attending all your classes regularly, submitting assignments on time, planning your study schedule, studying according to the set schedule, revising your work on a daily basis etc. Within a particular category there may be further minute descriptions. The researcher needs to describe her/his meaning of study habits. The description requires recording of a particular behaviour which helps in its proper understanding. Prediction : The second goal of scientific enquiry is prediction of behaviour. If you are able to understand and describe the behaviour ccurately, you come to know the relationship of a particular behaviour with other types of behaviours, events, or phenomena. You can then forecast that under certain conditions this particular behaviour may occur within a certain margin of error. For example, on the basis of study, a researcher is able to establish a positive relationship between the amount of study time and achievement in different subjects. Later, if you come to know that a particular child devotes more time for study, you can predict that the child is likely to get good marks in the examination. Prediction becomes more accurate with the increase in the number of persons observed. Explanation : The third goal of psychological enquiry is to know the causal factors or determinants of behaviour. Psychologists are primarily interested in knowing the factors that make behaviour occur. Also, what are the conditions under which a particular behaviour does not occur. For example, what makes some children more attentive in the class? Why 23 Chapter 2 †¢ Methods of Enquiry in Psychology some children devote less time for study as compared to others? Thus, this goal is concerned with identifying the determinants or antecedent conditions (i. . conditions that led to the particular behaviour) of the behaviour being studied so that cause-effect relationship between two variables (objects) or events could be established. Control : If you are able to explain why a particular behaviour occurs, you can control that behaviour by making changes in its antecedent conditions. Control refers t o three things: making a particular behaviour happen, reducing it, or enhancing it. For example, you can allow the number of hours devoted to study to be the same, or you can reduce them or there may be an increase in the study hours. The change brought about in behaviour by psychological treatment in terms of therapy in persons, is a good example of control. Application : The final goal of the scientific enquiry is to bring out positive changes in the lives of people. Psychological research is conducted to solve problems in various settings. Because of these efforts the quality of life of people is a major concern of psychologists. For example, applications of yoga and meditation help to reduce stress and increase efficiency. Scientific enquiry is also conducted to develop new theories or constructs, which leads to further research. Steps in Conducting Scientific Research Science is not so defined by what it investigates as by how it investigates. The scientific method attempts to study a particular event or phenomenon in an objective, systematic, and testable manner. The objectivity refers to the fact that if two or more persons independently study a particular event, both of them, to a great extent, should arrive at the same conclusion. For instance, if you and your friend measure the length of a table using the same measuring device, it is likely that both of you would arrive at the same conclusion about its length. The second characteristic of scientific research is that it follows systematic procedure or steps of investigation. It includes the following steps: conceptualisation of a problem, collection of data, drawing conclusions, and revising research conclusions and theory (see Fig. 2. 1). Let us discuss these steps in some detail. (1) Conceptualising a Problem : The process of scientific research begins when a researcher 1 Conceptualising a Problem Selecting a topic for study 2 Collecting Data Participants, methods, tools and procedure Revising Research Conclusions Restating existing hypothesis/ formulating revised or a new theory 3 Drawing Conclusions Using statistical methods Fig. 2. 1 : Steps in Conducting Scientific Enquiry 24 Psychology selects a theme or topic for study. Then s/he narrows down the focus and develops specific research questions or problems for the study. This is done on the basis of review of past research, observations, and personal experiences. For example, earlier you read that a researcher was interested in observing the study habits of students. For this purpose, s/he may identify different facets of study habits first, and then decide whether s/he is interested in study habits shown in the class or at home. In psychology we study a diverse range of problems related to behaviour and experiences. These problems may be related to (a) understanding our own behaviour (for example, how do I feel and behave when I am in a state of joy or grief? How do we reflect on our own experiences and behaviour? Why do we forget? ); (b) understanding other individual’s behaviour (for example, Is Abhinav more intelligent than Ankur? Why is someone always not able to complete her or his work on time? Can the habit of smoking be controlled? Why do some people suffering from chronic illness not take medicines? ); (c) group influences on individual behaviour (for example, why does Rahim spend more time meeting with people than doing his work? , Why does a cyclist perform better when cycling before a group of persons than when cycling alone? ); (d) group behaviour (for example, why does risk-taking behaviour increase when people are in a group? ), and (e) organisational level (for example, why are some organisations more successful than others? How can an employer increase the motivation of employees? ). The list is long and you will learn about these various facets in subsequent chapters. If you are inquisitive, you can write down a number of problems which you may like to probe. After identification of the problem, the researcher proceeds by developing a tentative answer of the problem, which is called hypothesis. For example, based on the earlier evidence or your observation, you might develop a hypothesis ‘greater is the amount of time spent by children in viewing violence on television, higher is the degree of aggression displayed by them’. In your research, you shall now try to prove whether the statement is true or false. (2) Collecting Data : The second step in scientific research is to collect data. Data collection requires developing a research design or a blueprint of the entire study. It requires taking decisions about the following four aspects: (a) participants in the study, (b) methods of data collection, (c) tools to be used in research, and (d) procedure for data collection. Depending upon the nature of the study, the researcher has to decide who would be the participants (or informants) in the study. The participants could be children, adolescents, college students, teachers, managers, clinical patients, industrial workers, or any group of individuals in whom/ where the phenomenon under investigation is prevalent. The second decision is related to the use of methods of data collection, such as observation method, experimental method, correlational method, case study, etc. The researcher needs to decide about appropriate tools (for example, interview schedule, observation schedule, questionnaire, etc. ) for data collection. The researcher also decides about how the tools need to be administered to collect data (i. e. individual or group). This is followed by actual collection of data. (3) Drawing Conclusions : The next step is to analyse data so collected through the use of statistical procedures to understand what the data mean. This can be achieved through graphical representations (such as preparation of pie-chart, bar -diagram, cumulative frequencies, etc. ) and by the use of different statistical methods. The purpose of analysis is to verify a hypothesis and draw conclusions accordingly. 4) Revising Research Conclusions : The researcher may have begun the study with a hypothesis that there exists a relationship between viewing violence on television and aggression among children. S/he has to see whether the conclusions support this 25 Chapter 2 †¢ Methods of Enquiry in Psychology hypothesis. If they do, the existing hypothesis/ theory is confirmed. If not, s/he will revise or state an alternat ive hypothesis/theory and again test it based on new data and draw conclusions which may be verified by future researchers. Thus, research is a continuous process. Alternative Paradigms of Research Psychologists suggest that human behaviour can and should be studied following the methods adopted by sciences like physics, chemistry, and biology. The key assumption of this view is that human behaviour is predictable, caused by internal and external forces, and can be observed, measured, and controlled. In order to achieve these goals, the discipline of psychology, for larger part of the twentieth century, restricted itself to the study of overt behaviour, i. e. the behaviour that could be observed and measured. It did not focus on personal feelings, experiences, meanings, etc. In recent years, a different method known as interpretive has emerged. It emphasises understanding over explanation and prediction. It takes the stand that, in view of complex and variable nature of human behaviour and experience, its method of investigation should be different from the method of investigation of the physical world. This viewpoint emphasises the importance of how human beings give meaning to events and actions and interpret them as they occur in a particular context. Let us take the experiences that may occur in some unique contexts, such as persons experiencing suffering due to external factors (for example, people affected by tsunami, earthquake, cyclone) or internal factors (for instance, prolonged illness, etc. ). In such types of situations, objective measurement is neither possible nor desirable. Everyone interprets reality in her/his own way based on past experiences and contexts. Therefore, we need to understand the subjective interpretation of the reality. The goal here is to explore the different aspects of human experiences and behaviour without 26 Psychology ttempting to disturb its natural flow. For example, an explorer does not know what s/ he is looking for, how to look for it, and what to expect. Rather, s/he tries to map an uncharted wilderness, with little or no prior knowledge of the area, and her/his main task is to record detailed descriptions of what is found in a particular context. Both scientific and interpretive traditio ns are concerned with studying behaviour and experiences of others. What about our own personal experiences and behaviour? As a student of psychology, you may ask yourself the question: why am I feeling sad? Many times you take a pledge that you will control your diet or devote more time to studies. But when it actually comes to eating or studying you forget this. You might be wondering why one does not have control over one’s behaviour. Should psychology not help you in analysing your own experiences, thought processes, and behaviour? It certainly should. The psychological enquiry does aim at understanding the self by reflecting on one’s own experiences and insights. NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DATA You may want to consider how psychological data are different as compared to other sciences. Psychologists collect a variety of information from different sources employing diverse methods. The information, also called data (singular = datum), relate to the individuals’ covert or overt behaviour, their subjective experiences, and mental processes. Data form an important input in psychological enquiry. They in fact approximate the reality to some extent and provide an opportunity to verify or falsify our ideas, hunches, notions, etc. It should be understood that data are not independent entities. They are located in a context, and are tied to the method and theory that govern the process of data collection. In other words, data are not independent of the physical or social context, the persons involved, and the time when the behaviour occurs. We behave differently when alone than in a group, or at home and in office. You may hesitate to talk in front of your parents and teachers but not when you are with friends. You may have also noticed that not all people behave in exactly the same manner in the same situation. The method of data collection (survey, interview, experiment, etc. ) used and the characteristics of respondents (such as, individual or group, young or old, male or female, rural or urban, etc. also influence the nature and quality of data. It is possible that when you interview a student, s/he may report behaving in a particular manner in a given situation. But when you go for actual observation you may find just the opposite of what s/he had reported. Another important feature of data is that it does not in itself speak about reality. Inferences have to be made from data. A researcher attaches meaning to the data by placing it in its proper context. In psychology, different types of data or information are collected. Some of these types are : i) Demographic Information : This information generally includes personal information like name, age, gender, birth order, number of siblings, education, occupation, marital status, number of children, locality of residence, caste, religion, parental education, occupation, and family income, etc. ii) Physical Infor mation : This category includes information about ecological conditions (hilly/desert/forest), mode of economy, housing conditions, size of rooms, facilities available at home, in the neighbourhood, in the school, mode of transportation, etc. ii) Physiological Data : In some studies physical, physiological and psychological data are collected about height, weight, heart rate, level of fatigue, Galvanic Skin Resistance (GSR), electrical activity of the brain measured by Electro-encephalograph (EEG), blood oxygen levels, reaction time, duration of sleep, blood pressure, pattern of dream, amount of salivation, running and jumping rates (in case of an imal studies), etc. , are collected. iv) Psychological Information : Psychological information collected, may relate to such reas as intelligence, personality, interest, values, creativity, emotions, motivation, psychological disorders, illusions, delusions, hallucinations, perceptual judgment, thought processes, consciousness, subjective experiences, etc. The above information could be from the point of view of measurement somewhat crude. Like, in the form of categories (such as high/ low, yes/no), ranks which provide ordinal data, viz. first, second, third, fourth, etc. , or scores (10, 12, 15, 18, 20, etc. ) on scales. We also obtain verbal reports, observation records, personal diaries, field notes, archival data, etc. Such types of infor mation is analysed separately using qualitative methods. You will get some idea about this later in this chapter. SOME IMPORTANT METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY In the previous section you read about wide variety of data that we collect in psychological studies. All these varieties of data cannot be collected through a single method of enquiry. Psychologists use a variety of methods like Observation, Experimental, Correlational, Survey, Psychological Testing, and Case Study to collect data. The aim of this section is to guide you to select the methods which may be appropriate for different research purposes. For example: †¢ You can observe the behaviour of spectators watching a football match. †¢ You can conduct an experiment to see if children taking an examination do better in the classroom in which they had studied the subject or in the examination hall (cause-effect relationship). †¢ You can correlate intelligence with, say, selfesteem (for prediction purposes). †¢ You can survey students’ attitude towards privatisation of education. †¢ You can use psychological tests to find out individual differences. †¢ You can conduct a case study on the development of language in a child. The main characteristics of these methods are described in the following sections. 27 Chapter 2 †¢ Methods of Enquiry in Psychology Observational Method Observation is a very powerful tool of psychological enquiry. It is an effective method of describing behaviour. In our daily life, we remain busy with observing numerous things throughout the day. Many times, we do not take notice of what we are seeing or what we have seen. We see but we do not observe. We remain aware of only a few things that we see daily. Have you experienced such a thing? You may also have experienced that if you carefully observe a person or event for some time, you come to know many interesting things about the person or the event. A scientific observation dif fers from day-to-day observation in many respects. These are : (a) Selection : Psychologists do not observe all the behaviour that they encounter. Rather, they select a particular behaviour for observation. For example, you may be interested to know how children studying in Class XI spend their time in school. Two things are possible at this stage. As a researcher, you might think that you have a fairly good idea about what happens in school. You might prepare a list of activities and go to the school with a view to finding out their occurrences. Alternatively, you might think that you do not know what happens in the school and, by your observation you would like to discover it. (b) Recording : While observing, a researcher records the selected behaviour using different means, such as marking tallies for the already identified behaviour whenever they occur, taking notes describing each activity in greater detail using short hand or symbols, photographs, video recording, etc. c) Analysis of Data : After the observations have been made, psychologists analyse whatever they have recorded with a view to derive some meaning out of it. It is important to know that making good observations is a skill. A good observer knows what s/he is looking for, whom s/he wants to observe, when and where the observation 28 Psychology needs to be mad e, in what for m the observation will be recorded, and what methods will be used to analyse the observed behaviour. Types of Observation Observation can be of the following types : (a) Naturalistic vs Controlled Observation : When observations are done in a natural or real-life settings (in the above example, it was a school in which observation was made), it is called naturalistic observation. In this case the observer makes no effort to control or manipulate the situation for making an observation. This type of observation is conducted in hospitals, homes, schools, day care centers, etc. However, many a times you might need to control certain factors that determine behaviour as they are not the focus of your study. For this reason, many of the studies in psychology are conducted in the laboratory. For example, if you read Box 2. 1, you will come to know that smoke could only be introduced in a controlled laboratory situation. This type of observation, called Controlled Laboratory Observation, actually, is obtained in laboratory experiments. (b) Non-Participant vs Participant Observation : Observation can be done in two ways. One, you may decide to observe the person or event from a distance. Two, the observer may become part of the group being observed. In the first case, the person being observed may not be aware that s/he is being observed. For example, you want to observe the pattern of interaction between teachers and students in a particular class. There are many ways of achieving this goal. You can install a video camera to record the classroom activities, which you can see later and analyse. Alternatively, you may decide to sit in a corner of the class without interfering or participating in their everyday activities. This type of observation is called non-participant observation. The danger in this type of setup is that the very fact that someone Box 2. 1 Example of an Experiment ignored; within four minutes the room contained enough smoke to interfere with vision and breathing. Latane and Darley were primarily interested in knowing how frequently students simply got up and left the room to report the emergency. Most (75 per cent) of the students who were waiting alone reported the smoke, but those reporting in groups were far less. Groups consisting of three naive students reported it only 38 per cent of the time. When the students waited with two other confederates, who were instructed before hand by the researchers to do nothing, only 10 per cent students reported smoke. Two American psychologists, Bibb Latane and John Darley, conducted a study in 1970. In order to participate in this study, the students of Columbia University arrived individually at a laboratory. They were given the impression that they would be interviewed on a certain topic. Each student was sent to a waiting room to complete a preliminary questionnaire. Some of them found two other people already seated in the room, while others sat down alone. Soon after the students had started working on the questionnaire, smoke began filling the room through a wall vent. The smoke could hardly be (an outsider) is sitting and observing may bring a change in the behaviour of students and the teacher. In participant observation, the observer becomes a part of the school or the group of people being observed. In participant observation, the observer takes some time to establish a rapport with the group so that they start accepting her/him as one of the group members. However, the degree of involvement of the observer with the group being observed would vary depending upon the focus of the study. The advantage of the observation method is that it enables the researcher to study people and their behaviour in a naturalistic situation, as it occurs. However, the observation method is labour intensive, time consuming, and is susceptible to the observer’s bias. Our observation is influenced by our values and beliefs about the person or the event. You are familiar with the popular saying: We see things as we are and not as things are. Because of our biases we may interpret things in a different way than what the participants may actually mean. Therefore, the observer should record the behaviour as it happens and should not interpret the behaviour at the time of observation itself. Activity 2. 1 A few students can observe one period when the psychology teacher is teaching in the class. Note down, in detail, what the teacher does, what the students do, and the entire pattern of interaction between the teacher and the students. Discuss the observations made with other students and teacher. Note the similarities and differences in observation. Experimental Method Experiments are generally conducted to establish cause-effect relationship between two sets of events or variables in a controlled setting. It is a carefully regulated procedure in which changes are made in one factor and its effect is studied on another factor, while keeping other related factors constant. In the experiment, cause is the event being changed or manipulated. Effect is the behaviour that changes because of the manipulation. The Concept of Variable You read earlier that in the experimental method, a researcher attempts to establish causal relationship between two variables. What is a variable? Any stimulus or event 29 Chapter 2 †¢ Methods of Enquiry in Psychology which varies, that is, it takes on different values (or changes) and can be measured is a variable. An object by itself is not a variable. But its attributes are. For example, the pen that you use for writing is NOT a variable. But there are varieties of pens available in different shapes, sizes, and colour. All of these are variables. The room in which you are sitting is NOT a variable but its size is as there are rooms of different sizes. The height of the individuals (5 to 6) is another variable. Similarly, people of different races have different colours. Young people have started dyeing their hair in different colours. Thus, colour of hair becomes a variable. Intelligence is a variable (there are people with varying levels of intelligence — high, moderate, low). The presence or absence of persons in the room is a variable as shown in the experiment in Box 2. 1. Thus, the variation can be in the quality or quantity of objects/events. Variables are of many types. We will however focus on independent and dependent variables. Independent variable is that variable which is manipulated or altered or its strength varied by the researcher in the experiment. It is the effect of this change in the variable which the researcher wants to observe or note in the study. In the experiment conducted by Latane and Darley (Box 2. 1), the researchers wanted to examine the effect of the presence of other persons on reporting of the smoke. The independent variable was presence or absence of other persons in the room. The variables on which the effect of independent variable is observed is called dependent variable. Dependent variable represents the phenomenon the researcher desires to explain. It is expected that change in the dependent variable will ensue from changes in the independent variable. The frequency of reporting of smoke in the above case was the dependent variable. Thus, the independent variable is the cause, and dependent variable the ef fect in any experimental situation. One must remember that independent and dependent variables are interdependent. Neither of them can be defined without the 30 Psychology other. Also, independent variable chosen by the researcher is not the only variable that influences the dependent variable. Any behavioural event contains many variables. It also takes place within a context. Independent and dependent variables are chosen because of the researcher’s theoretical interest. However, there are many other relevant or extraneous variables that influence the dependent variable, but the researcher may not be interested in examining their effects. These extraneous variables need to be controlled in an experiment so that a researcher is able to pin-point the cause and effect relationship between independent and dependent variables. Experimental and Control Groups Experiments generally involve one or more experimental groups and one or more control groups. An experimental group is a group in which members of the group are exposed to independent variable manipulation. The control group is a comparison group that is treated in every way like the experimental group except that the manipulated variable is absent in it. For example, in the study by Latane and Darley, there wer e two experimental groups and one control group. As you may have noted, the participants in the study were sent to three types of rooms. In one room no one was present (control group). In the other two rooms, two persons were already seated (experimental groups). Of the two experimental groups, one group was instructed not to do anything when smoke filled in the room. The other group was not given any instructions. After the experimental manipulation had occured the performance of the control group measured in terms of reporting of smoke was compared with that of the experimental group. It was found that the control group participants reported in maximum numbers about the emergency, followed by the first experimental group members where the participants were not given any instructions, and the second experimental group (consisting of onfederates) reported the emergency situation, the least. It should be noted that in an experiment, except for the experimental manipulation, other conditions are kept constant for both experimental and control groups. One attempts to control all those relevant variables which can influence the dependent variable. For example, the speed with which smoke started entering the rooms, the total amount of smoke in the rooms, physical and other conditions of the rooms were similar in case of all the three groups. The distribution of participants to experimental and control groups was done randomly, a method that ensures that each person has an equal chance of being included in any of the groups. If in one group the experimenter had included only males and in the other group females, the results obtained in the study, could be due to the differences in gender rather than due to experimental manipulation. All relevant variables in experimental studies that might influence the dependent variable need to be controlled. These are of three major types: organismic variables (such as anxiety, intelligence, personality, etc. ), situational or environmental variables operating at the time of conducting the experiment (such as noise, temperature, humidity), and sequential variables. The sequence related variables assume significance when the participants in experiments are required to be tested in several conditions. Exposure to many conditions may result in experimental fatigue, or practice effects, which may influence the results of the study and make the interpretation of the findings difficult.