general evaluation limitations

correlational

• fundamental weakness is cannot establish causal relationship between the co variables

• as there is no deliberate manipulation of an IV, the researchers cannot establish the direction of [topic]

• relationship may also be purely coincidental due to the third variable problem where an unmeasured, intervening variable is responsible for the change in both co-variables like [topic]

• means findings lack internal validity making the research less useful for [topic]

self report

• undermined by response bias threatening internal validity

• rely on participants’ honesty making it susceptible to social desirability bias to make answers look ‘good’ or ‘normal’ rather than truthful

• may fall victim of acquiescence bias or the interviewer effect

• data may be a reflection of how they wish to be perceived rather than reflection of true behaviour so lacks scientific accuracy

retrospective study

• reliance on retrospective recall is prone to inaccuracy and distortion

• human memory is a reconstructive process - memories can decay, be interfered or participants may engage in effort after meaning

• issue for internal validity leading to false conclusions

lab studies

• low ecological validity and mundane realism

• strictly controlled and artificial environments dont reflect complexities of real life settings, and tasks are often contrived

• can trigger demand characteristics

• findings struggle to generalise beyond lab setting limiting real world applicability

animal study - ethics

• speciesism argument by singer

• suggests inflicting suffering on animals is a form of discrimination, especially when findings may not generalise to humans due to significant biological and cognitive differences

• research fails to meet a positive cost benefit ratio, leading to a call for more human centric alternatives

• researchers must adhere to the BPS 3Rs framework - replace animals with computer models where possible, reduce no. animals used to minimum, refine procedures so least suffering

animal study - generalisability

• issue of extrapolation

• profound qualitative differences in brain structure, cognitive processing and social complexity

• humans have more developed prefrontal cortex, complex language abilities and more heavily influenced by conscious intentions and cultural norms - factors absent in other species

• lack population validity when applied to humans limiting usefulness by providing a misleading or incomplete picture of the multifaceted nature of humans