Research Methods in

Social Psychology
PY-307

Ms. Mona Khurshid

Content
• Descriptive Method
• Correlation Method
• Experimental Method
Why do we research in Social Psychology?
• Is Social Psychology a Common Sense?
• Hindsight Bias: The tendency to think that we could have predicted
something that we probably would not have been able to predict
something.
• Research —systematic inquiry aimed at the discovery of new knowledge
• A true understanding of social behavior can only be obtained through a
systematic approach.
• Social psychologists believe that the study of social behavior should
be EMPIRICAL—that is, based on the collection and systematic analysis
of observable data.
To test theories and verify hypotheses
• Theory: An integrated set of principles that explain
and predict observed events.
• Hypothesis: Tentative /Testable statements
Describe: Systematic description of the social behavior in social set up to
make a generalization
Goals of Research in Social Psychology
Explain the Causal Analysis

Theory Building: The theory will understand the reasons behind any behavior.

Application: knowledge about social psychology and its principles can be

applied to various social problems e.g conflict resolution
Key Concepts in Research

• Construct: a construct is a concept or idea that is used to describe and

explain human behavior e.g Confirmity

• Variable: It is a measurable characteristic.

• Experimental and Control Group

• Confederates: In social psychology experiments, confederates are

individuals who are secretly working with the experimenter to deceive the
other participants.
Selecting a research topic/Problem

Searching the research literature

Formulating hypothesis

Selecting a research method (Research design, sample)

Components
of Research
Collecting the data

Process
Analyzing the data

Reporting the results

Descriptive method
• Descriptive research is defined as a research method that
describes the characteristics of the population or
phenomenon studied.
• This methodology focuses more on the “what” of the
research subject than the “why” of the research subject.
• For example: What are the attitudes of college students
towards social media?
Naturalistic observation

Case studies

Archives
Descriptive
methods
Surveys

Self report
 • Direct observation
• The researcher observes the behavior under
study in its natural setting while attempting to
avoid influencing or controlling it.
• The observations are done in a naturalistic
setting without any preparation or participation
Naturalistic/Systematic of the researcher.
Observation • Widely used research technique
• The behavior is observed in public places,
streets, homes, and schools. Observing people
from other cultures’ responses in the same
setting is a way to provide information for cross-
cultural research.
Case Studies
• A Case study involves the in-depth
observation of a single individual or
group.
• Life records in which few respondents
are analyzed in depth with reference to
their reaction to a specific event
• Mostly used to produce information.
• To gain insight of the phenomenon that
cannot be produced in lab settings.
Archival Research

• Analysis of existing data collected for another purpose

• It is a valuable tool for social psychologists because it allows them to
study social phenomena over time and across different cultures e.g
Effect of fear on behavior, Natural disasters in specific areas, Industrial
catastrophes
• Allows researcher to test hypotheses about changes in attitudes or
behavior over time
Used to describe people’s attitudes, feelings, and reported behaviors in
regard to a particular event

Make a questionnaire – select a sample, ask questions

Survey
Useful as it attempts to uncover how people react to a real situation

Method
to measure attitudes toward specific issues such as smoking, to find out
how voters feel about various political candidates, to determine how
people feel about members of different social groups, and even to assess
student reactions to professors.
Self Report
• Most common technique of data collection in social
psychology.
• This method includes tests, questionnaires,
and interviews.
• Give the subject a stimuli, i.e. the question, and get a
response.
• Allow the investigator to measure subjective states
like perception, attitudes & emotions
• Advantage: Ability to inexpensively and rapidly collect
vast amounts of data.
• participants’ honesty
Correlation Method
• In this approach, social psychologists attempt to determine whether, and to
what extent, different variables are related to each other.
• The purpose is to examine whether and how TWO variables changes together.
• Example: if studying increases , then what happens to grades?
• suppose that a correlation is observed between marital behaviors and divorce
risks.
• When two behavior changes together, we can use one to predict other
• Example: the more someone studies the more their grades will be.
• certain patterns of behavior in married couples (e.g., the tendency to criticize
each other harshly) and the likelihood that they will later divorce.
How accurately can such predictions be made?
• The stronger the correlation between the variables in question, the
more accurate the predictions.
• Correlation can range from 0 to -1.00 to +1.00.
• Positive correlation means when two variables increase or decrease
together.
• Example: As hourly pay increases, employee morale increases.
• Negative correlation means when one variable increase the other
variable decreases.
• Example: as hours of sleep decreases, level of stress increases.
• It only describes the direction of relationship.
• social psychologists attempt to determine whether, and to what
extent, different variables are related to each other.
• This involves carefully measuring each variable, and then performing
appropriate statistical tests to determine whether and to what degree
the variables are correlated.
• Correlation coefficient: A numerical value that expresses the
degree/strength of the relationship and its direction and represented
by the letter r.
• The most important thing is to remember that correlation does not
mean causation.
Experimental Method
• In order to attain the goal of explanation, social psychologists employ
a method of research known as experimentation or the experimental
method.
• A method of research in which one or more factors (the independent
variables) are systematically changed to determine whether such
variations affect one or more other factors (dependent variables).
• Experiments are performed under highly controlled conditions, in
order to help determine cause and effect.
Overview of experimental variables

Independent variable Dependent variable

• The variable that causes a • The variable that is measured
change in the other variable is after the manipulation of the
called the independent independent variable is called
variable(IV). This is the variable the dependent variable(DV).
that the researcher will
deliberately manipulate, while
trying to keep all other variables
constant.
Different types of experiments
• Laboratory experiments: strict controls, easier to replicate, artificial
and therefore participants may react differently than in real life.
Ecological validity—the extent to which the results predict behavior
outside the laboratory—is critical in laboratory experiments
• Field experiments: takes place in a natural environment, but
researchers still manipulate the variables. It has ecological validity but
researchers are unable to control all variables.
• Does exposure to violent video games increase the likelihood that
people will aggress against others in various ways (e.g., verbally,
physically, spreading false rumors, or posting embarrassing photos of
them on the Internet. How can this possibility be investigated by using
the experimental method?
EXPERIMENTATION: TWO KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR ITS
SUCCESS
Random assignment of participants to experimental conditions
• A basic requirement for conducting valid experiments. According to
this principle, research participants must have an equal chance of
being exposed to each level of the independent variable. (for
example, one group is from judo group and other is from singer
group)
Confounding variable
• all factors other than the independent variable that might also affect
participants’ behavior must be held constant. (researcher’s
personality).
Points to consider with experiments

• Confounding variables: undesirable variables that influence the

relationship between the IV and the DV. Examples are:
• Demand characteristics: participants act differently because they
know that they are in an experiment. Known as the Hawthorne effect.
They may try to guess the aim of the study and attempt to alter the
results to match the aim. A single blind study is one way to counteract
the Hawthorne effect.
Points continued
• Researcher bias: also called observer bias, occurs when the
experimenter sees what he or she is looking for. The researcher’s
expectations affect the findings of the study. A double blind control
may help avert this. Neither the researcher nor the participant knows
which group is the control group and which group is the treatment
group.
• External Validity: To what extent can the findings of experiments be
generalized to real-life social situations.
The Quest for Knowledge and the Rights of Individuals: In Search of
an Appropriate Balance

• Deception
• A technique whereby researchers withhold information about the purposes
or procedures of a study from people participating in it.
• informed consent
• A procedure in which research participants are provided with as much
information as possible about a research project before deciding whether to
participate in it.
• debriefing
• Procedures at the conclusion of a research session in which participants are
given full information about the nature of the research and the hypothesis or
hypotheses under investigation.
• The guiding principles for all researchers planning to use this
procedure should be:
• (1) Use deception only when it is essential to do so—when
no other means for conducting the research exists
• (2) always proceed with caution
• (3) make certain that every possible precaution is taken to
protect the rights, safety, and well-being of research
participants.
Research Ethics

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmYjWNssLTQ