Research Methods, Scientific Methodology, Ethical Implications Of Psychological Research

Commonly Used Research Methods in Psychology

1. Discuss a range of research methods jcommonly used by phsychologists and explain why scientific methodology is crucial to psychology.
2. Evaluate these two approaches in terms of how effective they are in explaining jasck’s behaviour.
3. Adhering to ethical guidelines is vital when carrying out any psychological research. Becauwe we are dealing with people it is vital that their well being is safeguarded and that an ethical code of practive is followed. With this in mind discuss the ethical implications of psychological research.

1. A number of approaches are used in research methods. These methods vary on the sources of information from which they are derived, how sampling is done in the study, and what instruments are used in the study by the researcher. Sometimes, it also depends on qualitative data or quantitative data or on both. Usually, there are three main types of research conducted in psychology. These are:

• Co-relational research: These groups of researchers depend on a statistical relationship to determine the relationship between two random variables from two different sets of data and then they come to a conclusion (Myers, 2004).
• Descriptive research: These groups of researchers describe the characteristics of a particular population which they study. They do not pass on to respond the questions about how or why or when did a scrupulous trait happen. Rather, they centre their study on what is the distinctiveness that displayed the temperament traits. They submit to a few kind of uncompromising scheme also recognized as evocative categories (Myers, 2010).
• Experimental research: This group of researchers utilize human participant and creature subjects to learn a range of topics like feeling, awareness, recollection, cognition, erudition, inspiration, sentiment, developmental procedure, communal psychology and the unbiased neural substrates of all these.

Psychological research often varies over the periods of time over which the research is conducted. Based on such variation, the different approaches are Retrospective cohort study, Prospective cohort study, Cross-sectional study and a Longitudinal Study (Ratcliffe, 2007).

The scientific method is crucial to psychology because it is an arranged system of measures that is used in a research related to psychology. When scientific method is used, there are four main goals that are attached to it. Firstly, what the researcher wants to research is figured out, secondly, appropriate data is collected and analysed, thirdly, relevant conclusions from the data collected in second step is drawn and finally, the findings of the research are communicated to the pool of psychological knowledge.

The research is done in a very organized way by underlining a theory and a hypothesis. The researcher keeps a set goal to either prove or disprove the hypothesis. The researcher can also rely on several types of studies to prove his research. He can range from experiments, surveys, descriptive studies, non-descriptive studies and case studies. The key component in scientific method is critical thinking. Critical thinking relies on the formula as Reason + Conclusion = Argument.

2. There is boy of 22 years called Jack. He was convicted for robbery by using any fire weapon. He had no family as such. His parents were divorced. His biological father was also sentencing for some criminal offence and his step father abused his brutally. At the age of 15 he leaves he house and joint in different anti social activity.

Importance of Scientific Methodology in Psychology

There are different approaches to the psychology. For this case we can choose two approaches.

Humanism Approach:

Humanism approach is meant for the study of the whole human being.  The psychologists under this approach not only look though the eye of the person but also look from the perspective of that person whose behaviours are going to be analysis (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2010). This approach believes that the behaviours of any person are associated with the internal feeling of that person. This approach state the view that every individual is unique and exclusive and also possesses the free will which can change his or her life any of the point of time. This approach suggests that every individual is liable for his own happiness or sorrow. This perspective advocates for the full approach a human being.

If we consider this case study we can find that the person Jack is doing all this for the bad rearing and care in childhood. For that he mixed with bad people who spoil them totally. To understand his behaviour, it is important to study the whole human nature of the individual.  According to his study the internal sentimental level is very important. The obverse must understand the mind and perspective of the person who is under the observation. In this case the person Jack suffered a lot from the childhood and he has to accept all this wrong activities for living. At first he was not a criminal but slowly he engages in all the matters. So in this case to understand his psychology the process of humanism is most effected method. The whole study of his life style and perspective can provide accurate idea about his mental state.

Psychodynamic approach:

This approach advocates and assumes that the human behaviour is resolute by the unconscious factors of mind which are not seen by the man or they are unaware of the fact. The hidden motive and intention are actually liable for the behaviour of the human. This approach states that there were three biological elements (Frawley-O’Dea & Sarnat, 2001). Every person has biological influence like drinking, eating, sex, anger etc that identifies as id. These basic needs must be satisfied by the human being. But the super ego prevents these things. This is basically the morality part of the human brain. This part controls the anxiety and prevents a person from committing guilty. Between these two terms that is id and super ego there is another element called ego (Freud, 2001). This thing tries to look out the path of satisfying the id in the manner by which the super ego accepts the matters. This sometimes incorporate the use of defence structures converts the subconscious elements towards more acceptable mode (Freud, 2001). This theory is propounded by Sigmund Freud.

Ethical Implications of Psychological Research

This theory advocates the study of human being by observing the hidden concerns of human mind by which the individual performs anything or observes anything. Basically the theorist have collect huge amount of data about the individual (Freud, 2001). The case study method is appropriate in this connection. The observer must collect the data about the human being from all the behaviour and surroundings of that person and then analysis the matter in the light of this theory. The magic is involved in the three terms prescribed under this theory. If the id supersedes super ego then the people commits crime.  If the ego control and make proper harmony between these two then the individual must lead a balanced lifestyle. Everything in this society depends on these three mental stages of human being.

Now come to the case study, we can state that the mental behaviour of Jack can be understood in the light of this theory. As a human being Jack also possesses the three mental elements. Id states him to commit the crime but super ego prevents him. Ego try to create a linkup between these two. Due to huge exploitation and bad culture from the very childhood his superego actually did not prevent him from committing the crime or rather we can say that the id supersedes the effects of super ego. The super ego in his case could not prevent him from doing the crime because of the socio cultural effect on him. No one from the childhood helped him to learn what is good or what is bad. He struggle for his life and in this process he lost his super ego’s control on his mind.

3. Zimbardo prison experiment is a form of experiment where a group of student sent to jail to observe the life style of the prisoners (Haney & Zimbardo, 1998). In this study the students are divided into two groups. One group performed the role of prisoners and another group plays the role of prison personnel. They are instructed to act exactly like the two groups by observing the mentality of the two sects. After the whole experience it was observed that the prisoners are hugely exploited by the prison personnel (Zimbardo, 2006). They are not at all treated as a human being. The staffs tortured them like animal behave very badly. The treatments towards them are very unethical and brutal.

Different psychological approaches state that maximum of the offender commits the crime due to different mental complicacies. Some of them are not getting proper education and socio cultural background like a normal person so they commit the crime. Above all, the prisoners are also human being. They must be treated as human. This is very unethical to treat in a brutal way. The ethical sense indicates that the approaches which are incorporated in the prison policy are absolutely wrong. The ethical approach explains to behave more leniently with them. Actually in reality the moderate behaviour and approach helps the criminals to come out from the criminal mental set ups in many cases (Rawls, 1971). The brutal behaviours sometime create more complicacies in that situation. The ethical approach actually advocates establishing the human rights of the prisoners. The prisoners are also human being but to some extent psychological disbalance instigate them to commit crime. Punishment for crime is alright but in the name of punishment the exploitation of human rights is not at all welcomed by the ethical approach.

References

Frawley-O’Dea, M. and Sarnat, J. (2001). The supervisory relationship. New York: Guilford Press.

Freud, S. (2001). Complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud. Random House, 24.

Haney, C. and Zimbardo, P. (1998). The past and future of U.S. prison policy: Twenty-five years after the Stanford Prison Experiment. American Psychologist, 53(7), pp.709-727.

Martin, G., Carlson, N. and Buskist, W. (2010). Psychology. Harlow, England: Allyn and Bacon.

Myers, D. (2010). Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers.

Ratcliffe, M. (2007). Rethinking commonsense psychology. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Schneider, K., Bugental, J. and Pierson, J. (2001). The handbook of humanistic psychology. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Shaver, P. and Mikulincer, M. (2005). Attachment theory and research: Resurrection of the psychodynamic approach to personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 39(1), pp.22-45.

Wade, C. and Tavris, C. (2000). Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Weinstein, L., Perez-Rodriguez, M. and Siever, L. (2014). Personality Disorders, Attachment and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Psychopathology, 47(6), pp.425-436.

Zimbardo, P. (2006). On rethinking the psychology of tyranny: The BBC prison study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45(1), pp.47-53.