How do researchers develop hypotheses and theories?
social psychology: an Empirical science A fundamental principle of social psychology is that social influence can be studied scientifically.
formulating Hypotheses and theories Social psychological research begins with a hypothesis about the effects of social influence. Hypotheses often come from previous research findings; researchers conduct studies to test an alternative explanation of previous experiments. Many other hypotheses come from observations of everyday life, such as Latané and Darley’s hunches about why people failed to help Kitty Genovese.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of various research designs that social psychologists use?
research designs Social psychologists use three research designs: the observational method, the correlational method, and the experimental method.
the observational method: describing social Behavior The observational method,
the correlational method: predicting social Behavior The correlational method,
the Experimental method: answering causal questions
What impact do cross-cultural studies, the evolutionary approach, and social neuroscience research have on the way in which scientists investigate social behavior?
new frontiers in social psychological research
culture and social psychology
the Evolutionary approach
social neuroscience
How do social psychologists ensure the safety and welfare of their research participants, while at the same time testing hypotheses about the causes of social behavior?
Ethical Issues in social psychology Social psychologists follow federal, state, and professional guidelines to ensure the welfare of their research participants. These include having an institutional review board approve their studies in advance, asking participants to sign informed consent forms, and debriefing participants afterwards about the purpose of the study and what transpired, especially if there was any deception involved.
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