Research Methods in Psychology – PSYC-101-502 2025FA General Psychology
For this assignment you must watch the following YouTube video:
Research Methods in Psychology
Links to an external site.
Then answer the questions on the following Word document.
Click on the following link to open the assignment as a Word document:
PSYC-101.Research methods.Assign.doc
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Research Methods in Psychology
Psychology is a science. Psychologists use an empirical approach to study how people think and behave, and the brain processes that underlie them. The empirical approach that psychologists use is called the scientific method. Using the scientific method, psychologists can explore why humans behave and think the way they do using many different research methods. The 3 main types of methods that psychologist use are:
- Descriptive methods – case studies, observation studies, and self-reports.
- Correlational method – this method examines the association between 2 or more variables.
- Experimental methods – a very rigorous research method that examines the relationship between independent and dependent variables.
Each research method has benefits and limitations.
You must use information provided in the video to answer these questions!
Case studies
- What is a case study?
- Provide 1 limitation of using the case study and 1 benefit of using a case study.
- Why was the case of Phineas Gage so important to psychologists?
Observational method and Self-report method
- What are 3 benefits of using the self-report method
- What are 2 limitations of using the self-report method.
- What is 1 limitation of both the observational and self-report methods?
Experimental methods:
- What is the independent variable and the dependent variable?
- What is the control group and the experimental group?
According to the video, what research methods do most psychologists use and why?
According to the video, what does the it mean when it states that most psychology studies have a WEIRD bias?
