Solved by verified expert:Competencies Addressed in This AssignmentCompetency 1: Apply research findings to topics in human learning and cognition.Competency 2: Apply psychology theories and concepts to human learning and cognition.Competency 4: Analyze theory and research to solve problems and inform professional behavior in human learning and cognition.Competency 5: Apply psychological principles and research in industrial and organizational psychology to inform personal and professional behavior.IntroductionThink of how your behavior can change due to conditioning effects—how rewards and punishment have shaped your own behavior over the years. What role have rewards and punishment played in your life? For example, how did your parents encourage you to learn multiplication tables or drive a car? Even job incentives can be framed in terms of rewards and punishment to improve employee performance.In preparation for this assignment, research behaviorism and some of the classic John Watson and B. F. Skinner studies. It is important to understand the basic principles of behaviorism and how behaviorism fits into psychology research today. Find a peer-reviewed research study that addresses the theory or treatment of phobias that was published within the last eight years.DirectionsComplete the following:Conditioning treatment of phobias. Find a peer-reviewed research study published within the last eight years that addresses the theory or treatment of phobias. Summarize the methods used in the research and the conclusions made by the researchers. Describe the key aspects of the research that reflect behaviorist principles.Conditioning related to personal behavior. Describe how conditioning explains changes in your own behavior that you have observed at work or at home. Provide three examples. (If your examples are from personal experience, your descriptions may be in first person.) Be sure to relate theory and research to your examples. For example, you might describe how behavioral theory would explain your learning process in that situation. Cite scholarly articles to support your conclusions.Relevance of conditioning today. Analyze how behaviorism is still relevant today. What are the limits of behaviorism? Are there processes that it does not explain well? For example, behaviorists believed that babies and children learned language through rewards and punishments, but today we know that language learning is a much more complex process. The behaviorist approach was not sufficient to explain the totality of language learning.Strive to be as concise as possible and limit the length of your completed assignment to 5–6 pages of content.Additional RequirementsInclude a title page and a references page.Use at least three resources.Follow APA style and format.Use 12-point, Times New Roman type, double spaced.
cf_designs_and_methods_in_psyc.pdf
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Research Designs and Methods in Psychology
Designs
frequently used
in psychological
research
Experimental
Correlational
Longitudinal
Description
Strengths
Limitations
Examples
A controlled research design that
manipulates one or more variables to
determine if a change in one variable
causes a change in another variable.
Random assignment of subjects to
conditions is part of controlling the
independent variable.
Clear causeand-effect
relationships
can be
established;
variables can be
controlled; no
need to wait for
natural event.
May be
somewhat
artificial and not
reflective of
situations in the
“real world”;
some natural
behavior not
easily studied in
laboratory.
•
When experimental control of
variables in research is not possible,
correlational research may be used
to determine if there is a relationship
between two or more variables.
Correlation looks to determine if
there is a relationship between
variables, the direction of the
relationship (positive or negative),
and the strength of the relationship.
Demonstrates
the existence of
relationships;
allows
prediction; can
be used in lab,
clinic, or natural
setting.
•
Longitudinal research tracks
participants over time. Data is
collected at the start of the study and
is again collected at set points over
time with the same participants.
Longitudinal research can last
months, years, or even decades.
Can track
changes over
time and results
do not rely on
participants
memories; more
accurate results
Little or no
control is
possible;
relationships
may be
coincidental;
cause-andeffect
relationships
cannot be
confirmed.
Large time
investment and
sometimes large
investment of
resources; over
time participants
may drop out of
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A study researches the effects of
priming of emotion on eyewitness
recall.
A study tests the effects of a new
medication on depression using
placebos with a control group.
Mock experimental trials with random
assignment test how physical
appearance of defendants affects
jury perceptions.
A study examines the relationship
between teachers’ perceptions of
administrative support and level of
burnout.
A study examines the relationship
between social activity and sense of
well-being in late adulthood.
Examines the relationship between
attendance in early childhood
education programs and later early
adulthood adjustment (number of
arrests, attendance in college,
employment).
Examines the relationship between
1
about the group
of interest.
Cross-sectional
Sequential
Case study
Measures the area of research focus
for different age groups at the same
point in time.
A cross between longitudinal and
cross-sectional, sequential research
looks at two or more age groups,
collecting data on them at the same
points in time.
An intense description and qualitative
analysis of an individual or group.
Can eliminate
problems with
cohort effects of
longitudinal
studies; takes
less time than
longitudinal.
Has benefits of
longitudinal and
cross-sectional
by taking less
time than
longitudinal but
can be applied
to a larger
population.
Provides indepth
information on a
subject; can
serve as
examples or
support for
experimental
research
findings; can
develop or
the study;
results may
reflect cohort
effects that do
not generalize to
other cohort
groups
May not
recognize
differences
between groups
that are related
to cohort effects
(opposite
problem from
longitudinal).
May have some
combination of
the problems of
longitudinal and
cross-sectional
but to a lesser
degree.
Because case
studies focus
only on one or a
few individuals,
results may not
apply to a larger
population.
quality of attachment in infancy and
early childhood with quality of
attachments in adulthood.
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A study examines the relationship
between life demands and work
demands and productivity for several
age groups.
A study examines the relationship
between exposure to traumatic
events and health across numerous
cultures.
A series of 20 studies examines the
relationship between level of parental
control and level of relational
aggression in adolescents.
A series of studies examines the
relationship between physiological
arousal and self-injurious behavior.
A study examines the experiences of
several parents attempting to access
services for their autistic children.
A study examines the experiences of
a person with antisocial personality
disorder in an in-patient treatment
program.
2
challenge
theory; good
way to study
rare
phenomena.
Ethnography
Naturalistic
observation
An intense description and qualitative
analysis of a social phenomenon of a
culture.
Behavior is observed in participants’
natural setting.
Provides rich
insight into the
views and
practices of a
particular
culture.
Conclusions are
subject to
researcher bias;
can take a long
time to establish
thorough or
reliable results.
•
Participants may
act more
naturally than in
other types of
research; much
information is
obtained; and
hypotheses and
questions for
additional
research are
formed.
Little or no
control is
possible;
observed
behavior may be
altered by
presence of the
observer;
observations
may be biased;
causes cannot
be conclusively
identified.
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A study examines the experiences of
people in a specific geographic
location after a natural disaster.
A study examines the experiences of
English as a second language
students at a major university in the
United States.
A researcher observes the link
between symptoms of depression in
parents and behaviors of children at
preschool.
A researcher observes playground
activity after children have been
exposed to a program on how to
intervene in bullying.
3
Methods
frequently used
in data collection
in psychological
research
Physical tests
Description
Strengths
Limitations
Medical tests are implemented to
explore biopsycho (biological
combined with psychological)
aspects of human behavior.
Tests can yield
reliable and
unbiased
results.
Relies on
equipment,
which can be
expensive.
Examples
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Psychological
tests
Questionnaires
Standardized tests are used to
measure specific constructs in the
areas of personality traits, emotions,
interests, abilities, aptitudes, values,
and behaviors.
Questionnaires are often used to
measure levels of a psychological
construct in correlational research.
Standardized
tests can be
more reliable
then self-report
questionnaires.
Easy to
administer; can
be a low-cost
way to obtain a
large amount of
information; can
be a low-cost
way to test
theory or to
support or
challenge other
research.
Restricted to the
constructs the
tests measure;
requires
establishment of
good reliability
and validity;
cannot
determine cause
and effect.
•
Relies on
participants to
be accurate and
truthful;
constructs
measured can
be biased or
ambiguous.
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Functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) is used to image
areas of brain functioning while
performing complex tasks.
Biofeedback is tested as an
intervention for relieving anxiety and
improving performance.
A study uses the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2
(MMPI-2) to research the correlation
between personality factors and
likelihood of completing a drug
treatment program.
A study uses the Beck Depression
Inventory to research the correlation
between depression and chronic
pain.
A study uses the Attitudes about
Child Mental Health Questionnaire
(ACMHQ) to measure teachers’
perceptions toward children of
parents with mental health problems.
A study uses the Hospital Anxiety
and Depression Scale (HADS) to
examine the relationship between
fibromyalgia and symptoms of
depression and anxiety.
4
Surveys
Interviews
Gathers information on a large scale.
Surveys use a predetermined set of
questions with a representative
sample of the population of interest.
Questions survey opinions, attitudes,
and practices. Surveys may be
gathered through mail, in person, by
telephone, or electronically via the
Internet.
Allows
information
about large
numbers of
people to be
gathered; can
address
questions not
answered by
other
approaches;
ease of scoring
and analysis.
Obtaining a
representative
sample is critical
and can be
difficult to do;
answers may be
inaccurate;
people may not
actually do what
they state on the
survey.
•
Interviews are often used in
descriptive research such as case
studies. The participants are asked
to elaborate about their views and
experiences.
Allows for
in-depth
information
gathering from
participants’
descriptions
Subject to
researcher bias;
cannot
determine cause
and effect.
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Observations
Observations are the tool of
naturalistic research. Researchers
view the subjects of interest in a
natural setting without interference.
Low-cost
method to view
people in a
natural setting
Subject to
observer bias;
cannot
determine cause
and effect.
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A study uses a nationwide survey of
colleges to determine the numbers of
courses offered on gender studies.
A study uses surveys on the Internet
to examine people’s views about
online psychotherapy.
The case study examining
experiences of parents attempting to
access services for their autistic
children uses interviews to gather indepth information about those
experiences.
The ethnographic study examining
the experiences of people in a
specific geographic location after a
natural disaster uses interviews to
gather in-depth information from
participants.
Play patterns of children are
observed, which leads to
categorizations of types of play.
A study observes parents of various
cultures interacting with their children
in order to understand cultural
differences in parenting practices.
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Document
analysis
(archival)
Researchers extract information from
documents of record, such as
government or organizational
documents or records, statistical
records, or other written or visual
catalogued information.
Does not rely on
participant
performance;
can go back in
time for as long
as the records
have been kept,
which allows for
tracking of
changes over
time; low cost.
Relies on
accuracy of
records;
information is
collected after
the fact, which
gives
researchers no
control over
what and how
information is
collected; some
records may be
unavailable for
researchers.
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Researchers review military records
to determine rates of reported PTSD.
A study reviews records on rates of
employment for patients released
from in-patient mental health
programs.
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