PSY 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Naturalistic Observation, Confounding, Dementia
Document Summary
2. 1 looking for laws: the scienti c approach to behavior: scienti c approach assumes that events are governed by some lawful order. Series of written questions designed to obtain info about attitudes, opinions, and aspects of behavior. Used to assess mental abilities or personality traits. Instrument used to monitor and record a speci c physiological process (heart rate, blood pressure) Advantages of the scienti c approach: offers two major advantages, clarity and precision, relative intolerance of error, research methods consist of differing approaches to the observation, measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies. Case studies: a case study is an in-depth investigation of an individual subject, techniques: interviews, direct observation, examination of records, and psychological tests, well suited for investigating certain phenomena (roots of psychological disorders) Surveys: survey: when researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather info about speci c aspects of participants" background, attitudes, beliefs, or behavior, disadvantage: self-report data.
