S-Chapter 2: Conducting Psychology Research in the
Real World
dinsdag 4 november 2025 18:51
~ Social Psychology Chapter 4 ~
Like said at the end of 1.1, doing research about causality within the domain of social psychology is very hard to do
via laboratory experiments.
Some research, however, is still done in the laboratory, but the big downside of this can be that you only look at
what CAN happen instead of what DOES happen in the real world (An experiment can say that someone that is in a
happier mood, because he saw a funny movie earlier, is more likely to donate to charity when that opportunity
presents itself, but maybe other factors in the real world, which the experiment doesn't take into account, can
influence this hypothesis). In the end, this makes generalizing these findings relatively difficult.
2.1: Rationale for Conducting Psychology Research in the Real World
When doing studies, scientists have to find a balance between:
- Internal validity: the degree to which a (correlational or) causal relationship between two variables is
established without any interference.
- External validity: the degree to which the setting and findings of the study can be transferred to the real
world. An extent of external validity can be found in ecological validity, which is the degree to what extent
findings are actually done within the everyday life, and thus not within a setting.
Most of the times, it's very difficult to hold both into account at the same time, because controlling all variables
within an experiment will change the situation to an extent where it doesn't seem like the real world anymore.
Scientists therefore often prioritize one over the other.
2.2: An Overview of Research Methods for Studying Daily Life
Psychologists have multiple ways to make a study as ecologically valid as possible:
1) Studying daily experiences: collecting data from people as they go through their daily life, by asking them
about their thoughts and feelings at random points of time during the day. This type of studying is easier to do
on a larger scale and results in more generalizable and externally valid information.
Some examples of studies that use daily experiences are:
- Experience sampling method: the basic term for people reporting on their feelings/thoughts at random
moments during a day.
- Ecological momentary assessment: the basic term for people reporting on their feelings/thoughts at
random moments during a day (same as above)
- Diary method: an experience sampling method where people report on their feelings/thoughts at the
end of a day with a questionnaire.
- Day reconstruction method (DRM): people reporting on their thoughts and feelings of a day by breaking
their day in parts and reconstructing these in the next day.
2) Studying daily behavior: observing people's behavior. This of course is more difficult for psychology, because
people can easily change their behavior when they know they are being observed or find the experiment
unethical.
Therefore, so-called naturalistic observations must be done, where someone doesn’t just observe a
participant of the experiment, but uses other methods to do so. Again, there are some examples of this type of
studying:
- Electronically activated recorder (EAR): the experimenter plants a sound device on the participant ('s
clothes), to measure conversations and interactions.
- Other subtle measurements: researchers done much more subtle things to create findings that are more
reliable than questionnaires (for example, looking at work environments to see how they impact
someone's mood, or searching for garbage to know how much alcohol someone consumes).
Social and Environmental Psychology Page 1
Real World
dinsdag 4 november 2025 18:51
~ Social Psychology Chapter 4 ~
Like said at the end of 1.1, doing research about causality within the domain of social psychology is very hard to do
via laboratory experiments.
Some research, however, is still done in the laboratory, but the big downside of this can be that you only look at
what CAN happen instead of what DOES happen in the real world (An experiment can say that someone that is in a
happier mood, because he saw a funny movie earlier, is more likely to donate to charity when that opportunity
presents itself, but maybe other factors in the real world, which the experiment doesn't take into account, can
influence this hypothesis). In the end, this makes generalizing these findings relatively difficult.
2.1: Rationale for Conducting Psychology Research in the Real World
When doing studies, scientists have to find a balance between:
- Internal validity: the degree to which a (correlational or) causal relationship between two variables is
established without any interference.
- External validity: the degree to which the setting and findings of the study can be transferred to the real
world. An extent of external validity can be found in ecological validity, which is the degree to what extent
findings are actually done within the everyday life, and thus not within a setting.
Most of the times, it's very difficult to hold both into account at the same time, because controlling all variables
within an experiment will change the situation to an extent where it doesn't seem like the real world anymore.
Scientists therefore often prioritize one over the other.
2.2: An Overview of Research Methods for Studying Daily Life
Psychologists have multiple ways to make a study as ecologically valid as possible:
1) Studying daily experiences: collecting data from people as they go through their daily life, by asking them
about their thoughts and feelings at random points of time during the day. This type of studying is easier to do
on a larger scale and results in more generalizable and externally valid information.
Some examples of studies that use daily experiences are:
- Experience sampling method: the basic term for people reporting on their feelings/thoughts at random
moments during a day.
- Ecological momentary assessment: the basic term for people reporting on their feelings/thoughts at
random moments during a day (same as above)
- Diary method: an experience sampling method where people report on their feelings/thoughts at the
end of a day with a questionnaire.
- Day reconstruction method (DRM): people reporting on their thoughts and feelings of a day by breaking
their day in parts and reconstructing these in the next day.
2) Studying daily behavior: observing people's behavior. This of course is more difficult for psychology, because
people can easily change their behavior when they know they are being observed or find the experiment
unethical.
Therefore, so-called naturalistic observations must be done, where someone doesn’t just observe a
participant of the experiment, but uses other methods to do so. Again, there are some examples of this type of
studying:
- Electronically activated recorder (EAR): the experimenter plants a sound device on the participant ('s
clothes), to measure conversations and interactions.
- Other subtle measurements: researchers done much more subtle things to create findings that are more
reliable than questionnaires (for example, looking at work environments to see how they impact
someone's mood, or searching for garbage to know how much alcohol someone consumes).
Social and Environmental Psychology Page 1
