Psychology A
Research Methods
Examples of Methods
In
the assessment for Psychology A, you must answer questions relating to two schools of psychology and one research method. You will be asked
to give an example where this method has been used in psychology – you may
either use one of the examples outlined below, or you may use your own example
(Gross’ Key Studies in Psychology is
a good place to start).
As
you will not know which method you are to be tested on until one week before
the assessment, you should work through all
of the examples that follow.
Experiment – Milgram’s study
of obedience, 1963
Stanley
Milgram’s experimental study of obedience is one of the most famous
psychological studies of the 20th century, with far reaching
implications for our understanding of human behaviour and cruelty. Milgram’s
study was conducted at Harvard University, where a laboratory was set up for
the purpose. Milgram advertised in a local newspaper for men of working age to
participate in a study on memory, offering payment of $4.50 an hour.
Respondents were invited to the university, where they were greeted by an
experimenter wearing a white lab coat.
Still
under the impression that they were taking part in a study of memory,
participants drew were paired and drew lots for the part of ‘learner’ and
‘teacher’. Unknown to the participant, the other ‘participant’ was in fact an
actor, while the lots were fixed to ensure the real participant was always the
‘teacher’.
While
the learner was sent into a neighbouring room where they could be heard but not
seen, the participant remained with the experimenter. They were shown a
realistic machine which indicated different levels of electric shock, starting
at 15 volts and going up to 450v, with the last three levels marked as ‘XXX’. Participants
were asked to administer a shock whenever the learner made a mistake.
The
‘learner’ – in reality an actor – appeared to cry out in pain as the voltage
increased, banging on the door and demanding to be let out, and finally falling
quiet as the maximum voltage was reached. Participants were asked by the
experimenter to ‘please continue the experiment’ and were told that ‘no
permanent tissue damage will occur’.
No
participant stopped delivering the shocks before 300v, while 65% continued to
the maximum 450v, although a number showed visible distress during the
experiment. Participants were debriefed afterwards and thanked for their
participation. While Milgram’s original intention had been to conduct the
experiment in the US and Germany in an attempt to dispute the then-popular view
that Germans had an innate personality trait which had led to the atrocities of
WW2, this section of the experiment was never completed.
Questions
Case study – Little Hans,
1909
Little
Hans was a small boy who became the subject of a case study after his father
wrote to the psychologist Sigmund Freud regarding his son’s phobia of horses.
Freud conducted an in-depth study of the boy via letters to his father, and on
one occasion, through an examination of the boy himself. Freud took into
account reports of the boy’s dreams, behaviour and his father’s answers to
questions. Freud argued that Hans’ phobias were rooted in internal conflicts
that he was experiencing relating to the Oedipus Complex, and to fears and
conflicts in his unconscious mind following the birth of his sister. Freud also
related Hans’ problems to masturbation and the psycho-sexual stages of
development. Freud reported that after discussions with his father, Hans’
situation improved, and he had grown into a ‘strapping lad’ when Freud met him
again at the age of 19.
Questions
Interview study – Marcia,
1980
Marcia’s
study used the interview method to investigate the formation of identity during
adolescence. His research was based on work by the psychoanalytical theorist
Erik Erikson, who argued that each stage of the lifespan was characterised by
conflict, with adolescence dominated by conflict over ‘identity’. Marcia
conducted semi-structured interviews with young males, asking questions
relating to their career aspirations, political views, religious beliefs and so
forth. Analysing their responses, he generated four groups:
Questions
Observation Method –
Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’, 1971
Ainsworth’s
‘Strange Situation’ study used the observational method to study the behaviour
of young infants, specifically their relationships or ‘attachment’ to their
mothers. Ainsworth’s study followed the work of John Bowlby in the 1950s, who
argued that infants experience a critical period during the first few years of
life during which the mother’s care is best, and that infants who are separated
from their mothers during this time may experience ‘maternal deprivation’,
leading to psychological problems later in life. While Bowlby’s work has been
heavily criticised as being part of an ideological offensive in the 1950s to
persuade women who had worked during WW2 to return to the home, Ainsworth’s
study represented an important attempt to ‘test’ the theory using research.
The
study was conducted in a room prepared by the researcher, with two chairs and a
number of attractive toys. The mother and infant entered the room and the
mother was given a few minutes to settle the infant and engage the child in
playing with one of the toys. A second person, not known to the child, then
entered the room, spoke to the mother for a few minutes and attempted to engage
the child in play. The mother then left the room, leaving the child alone with
the stranger, who attempted to engage them in play. The mother returned after 3
minutes – less if the child became extremely distressed – and the stranger left
the room, giving the mother several minutes to comfort the child, if required,
and settle back down. The mother then left the room for a second time, leaving
the child alone in the room. After a few minutes the stranger entered the room,
tried to settle the baby, and then sat down. The mother then re-entered the
room and the stranger left.
The
whole process was observed and recorded via a one way mirror, known to the
mother and stranger but not the child.
Ainsworth
used the children’s responses to group them into three categories:
Type
A – anxious-avoidant
Type
A infants seemed indifferent to the mother’s presence, although they were
distressed when left alone. These infants treated both adults similarly and
could be comforted by the stranger, ignoring or avoiding the mother when she
returned to the room.
Type
B – securely attached
Type
B infants played happily with the mother present, but became distressed when
she left, seeking her as soon as she returned. The infants were quickly
comforted by the mother, and took some comfort from the stranger.
Type
C – anxious-resistant
Type
C infants were fussy and easily distressed with the mother present and became
very distressed when she left, refusing to be settled by the stranger. They
sought the mother’s attention on her return but were angry, difficult to settle
and reluctant to play after separation.
Ainsworth
found that the majority of children in the UK fell into category B, although
later studies found significant cross-cultural differences.
Questions