Scientific Methods and Scientific Thinking
How do psychologists figure out WHY people act the way they do?
1. Which one of these four research methods that were described in Chapter 1 (naturalistic observation, case study, correlational study, or experiment) would best allow psychologists to determine WHY people act the way that they do? In other words, which method best allows researchers to actually TEST possible explanations for behavior? (Note that being able to generate possible explanations – and actually testing them – are two different things). Explain the major advantages of the method that you choose.
2. Compare your chosen method to the other methods and explain WHY the method you chose is better than the others.
IMPORTANT: When providing evidence for your answers, you MUST cite the textbook where appropriate by listing the author and page number(s) as in the following “example”:
A correlation tells us the strength of the relationship between two variables (Santrock, p. 28).
Topic: Scientific Methods and Scientific Thinking
Psychology is a SCIENCE
–
250
words
How do psychologists figure out WHY people act the way they do?
1. Which one of these four research methods that were described in Chapter 1 (naturalistic observation,
case study, correlational study, or experiment) would best allow psychologists to determine WHY people
act the way that they do? In other words, which m
ethod best allows researchers to actually TEST
possible explanations for behavior? (Note that being able to generate possible explanations
–
and
actually testing them
–
are two different things). Explain the major advantages of the method that you
choose.
2. Compare your chosen method to the other methods and explain WHY the method you chose is better
than the others.
IMPORTANT: When providing evidence for your answers, you MUST cite the textbook where
appropriate by listing the author and page number
(s) as in the following “example”:
A correlation tells us the strength of the relationship between two variables (Santrock, p. 28).
Topic: Scientific Methods and Scientific Thinking
Psychology is a SCIENCE – 250 words
How do psychologists figure out WHY people act the way they do?
1. Which one of these four research methods that were described in Chapter 1 (naturalistic observation,
case study, correlational study, or experiment) would best allow psychologists to determine WHY people
act the way that they do? In other words, which method best allows researchers to actually TEST
possible explanations for behavior? (Note that being able to generate possible explanations – and
actually testing them – are two different things). Explain the major advantages of the method that you
choose.
2. Compare your chosen method to the other methods and explain WHY the method you chose is better
than the others.
IMPORTANT: When providing evidence for your answers, you MUST cite the textbook where
appropriate by listing the author and page number(s) as in the following “example”:
A correlation tells us the strength of the relationship between two variables (Santrock, p. 28).