Chapter.2 : How Social Psychologists Do Research ?
2.1 : How Do Researchers Develop Hypotheses and Theories ?
Social Psychology : An Empirical Science
- A fundamental principle of social psychology is that social problems can be studied scientifically.
o The results of the experiments are obvious because the topics are intimately familiar.
- When we study human behavior, results seem predictable. There is a well known human tendency
called hindsight bias.
o Hindsight Bias : after something occurred, people exaggerate how they could have predicted
it before occurrence.
Formulating Hypotheses and Theories
- Researchers begin with a hunch or hypothesis that they want to test.
- INSPIRATION FROM EARLIER THEORIES AND RESEARCH : Many studies stem from
researcher’s dissatisfaction with existing theories.
o Ex. Leon Festinger dissatisfied with the theory of behaviorism, so he formulated a new
approach.
o Social psychologist engage in continual process of theory refinement.
▪ Theory Refinement : a theory is developed; specific hypotheses from theory are
tested; based on results, theory is revised and new hypotheses formulate.
- HYPOTHESES BASED ON PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS : Social psychology also deals with
phenomena we encounter in everyday life.
o Ex. Genovese murder in which nobody reported the murder to the police. It might be because
the neighbors assumed someone else called police which is called diffusion of responsibility.
o In science, idle speculation isn’t enough but researches must collect data.
, 2.2 : What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Various Research
Designs that Social Psychologists Use ?
Research Designs
- Social psychology is a scientific discipline with a set of methods for answering questions about social
behavior.
o There are three types of methods : observational method, correlational method, and experimental
method.
o Part of creativity in social psychology research involves choosing the right method,
maximizing its strengths and minimizing weaknesses.
The Observational Method : Describing Social Behavior
- If goal is to describe what a particular group of people or type of behavior is like, observational method
is helpful.
o Observational Method : a researcher observes people and records measurements or
impressions of their behavior.
- ETHNOGRAPHY : An example of observational method is ethnography.
o Ethnography : method by which researchers attempt to understand a group by observing it
from the inside without any preconceived notions.
o The goal is to understand the richness and complexity of the group by observing it in action.
▪ It is the chief method of cultural anthropology (study of cultures and societies).
o The key is to avoid imposing preconceived notions on the group and to understand their
point of view.
o We know accuracy by establishing inter-judge reliability.
▪ Inter-judge Reliability : the level of agreement between two or more people who
observed independently and code a set of data.
• When two or more judges come up with the same observations, researchers
ensure the observation are not subjective.
- ARCHIVAL ANALYSIS : The researcher can also examine the accumulated documents of a culture a
technique known as archival analysis.
o Ex. Diaries, novels, suicide notes, popular music lyrics, television shows, movies, magazines.
- LIMITS OF THE OBSERVATIONAL METHOD : Certain kinds of behavior are difficult to observe
because they occur only rarely only in private.
o Social psychologists want to predict and explain behavior; therefore, there are more
appropriate methods.
2.1 : How Do Researchers Develop Hypotheses and Theories ?
Social Psychology : An Empirical Science
- A fundamental principle of social psychology is that social problems can be studied scientifically.
o The results of the experiments are obvious because the topics are intimately familiar.
- When we study human behavior, results seem predictable. There is a well known human tendency
called hindsight bias.
o Hindsight Bias : after something occurred, people exaggerate how they could have predicted
it before occurrence.
Formulating Hypotheses and Theories
- Researchers begin with a hunch or hypothesis that they want to test.
- INSPIRATION FROM EARLIER THEORIES AND RESEARCH : Many studies stem from
researcher’s dissatisfaction with existing theories.
o Ex. Leon Festinger dissatisfied with the theory of behaviorism, so he formulated a new
approach.
o Social psychologist engage in continual process of theory refinement.
▪ Theory Refinement : a theory is developed; specific hypotheses from theory are
tested; based on results, theory is revised and new hypotheses formulate.
- HYPOTHESES BASED ON PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS : Social psychology also deals with
phenomena we encounter in everyday life.
o Ex. Genovese murder in which nobody reported the murder to the police. It might be because
the neighbors assumed someone else called police which is called diffusion of responsibility.
o In science, idle speculation isn’t enough but researches must collect data.
, 2.2 : What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Various Research
Designs that Social Psychologists Use ?
Research Designs
- Social psychology is a scientific discipline with a set of methods for answering questions about social
behavior.
o There are three types of methods : observational method, correlational method, and experimental
method.
o Part of creativity in social psychology research involves choosing the right method,
maximizing its strengths and minimizing weaknesses.
The Observational Method : Describing Social Behavior
- If goal is to describe what a particular group of people or type of behavior is like, observational method
is helpful.
o Observational Method : a researcher observes people and records measurements or
impressions of their behavior.
- ETHNOGRAPHY : An example of observational method is ethnography.
o Ethnography : method by which researchers attempt to understand a group by observing it
from the inside without any preconceived notions.
o The goal is to understand the richness and complexity of the group by observing it in action.
▪ It is the chief method of cultural anthropology (study of cultures and societies).
o The key is to avoid imposing preconceived notions on the group and to understand their
point of view.
o We know accuracy by establishing inter-judge reliability.
▪ Inter-judge Reliability : the level of agreement between two or more people who
observed independently and code a set of data.
• When two or more judges come up with the same observations, researchers
ensure the observation are not subjective.
- ARCHIVAL ANALYSIS : The researcher can also examine the accumulated documents of a culture a
technique known as archival analysis.
o Ex. Diaries, novels, suicide notes, popular music lyrics, television shows, movies, magazines.
- LIMITS OF THE OBSERVATIONAL METHOD : Certain kinds of behavior are difficult to observe
because they occur only rarely only in private.
o Social psychologists want to predict and explain behavior; therefore, there are more
appropriate methods.
