Methods of Data Gathering in Psychology 1.

Experiment The experiment is the most useful of all scientific methods because most of the basic facts in psychology are supplied by the results of experimental studies. This method is generally done in a laboratory setting involving many controlled variables. Socio-experiment -> mostly used studies related to social Psychology. This is an experiment that is conducted in the natural environment instead of a laboratory 2.Survey This is the most common method. There are two tools a researcher can use in a survey method questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire is best used when study requires many respondents. This saves you more time. The interview is used when the no. of respondents is just small. Interview is also used when respondents cannot read or write. 3.Case Histories and Clinical Studies This method is used when an intensive investigation about a certain case is needed. In this method, the researcher has to dig into all sorts of records about the subject including hospital, educational, family background and all other necessary data. 4.Observation Two kinds of Observation method +Participant Observation The researcher has to join the group under study in order to gather deeper and more intensive data. +Non-Participant Observation / Naturalistic Observation The researcher is just a plain observer. Oftentimes, the subjects do not know that they are under study. 5. Test Method This method uses Psychological Test as its instrument. Examples of Psychological Test are: - IQ Test -Problem Checklist -Aptitude Test -Free Association Technique -> used to study patients with mental problems -Study Habit Checklist

Definition DEVELOPMENT: the act or process of growing, progressing, or developing HEREDITY: Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring (from its parent or ancestors). This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause some species to evolve. MATURATION Maturation is the process of becoming mature; the emergence of personal and behavioral characteristics through growth processes.