General Evaluations

generic ao3 evaluations for psychology that can be applicable across various topics

limitation of lab studies

• lack of ecology validity.

• such situations fail to reflect real-world situations where x occurs → Participants may behave differently in natural environments where social pressures and consequences are much more realistic.

• Therefore, the artificial nature of lab studies limit the applicability of results to the real world behaviour.

strength of lab studies

• high level of control over variables.

• e.g … researchers able to standardise the procedure, ensuring that all participants experienced the same conditions.

• level of control → researchers can isolate and manipulate the IV + minimise influence of extraneous variables. → high internal validity → researchers establish cause and effect relationships between variables. → particularly valuable when testing specific psychological theories under controlled conditions.

• high degree of control → reliable method for identifying causal relationships → strengthens scientific credibility of the findings.

limitation of artificial tasks

• lack mundane realism.

• tasks don’t accurately reflect how x works in real-world situations. → participant responses in a controlled lab setting may not represent how they would react in real-life contexts. → reduces ecological validity → harder to generalise findings to everyday behaviour.

• use of artificial tasks limit ability to fully explain psychological processes as they occur in real life.

limitation of deception

• fails to regards ethical guidelines.

• raise serious ethical concerns regarding informed consent + potential psychological harm, → leads to stricter ethical guidelines in modern research.

• while deception can be valuable in uncovering authentic psychological responses, participants should leave study as they entered it. How they’re treated in experiments can’t affect their psychological well-being + how they view psychologists and their research in future which may lead to a distrust of the discipline

demand characteristics

• compromise validity of experiment’s findings.

• participants change behaviour to match what they believe the researcher expects → results no longer reflects genuine thoughts or behaviours → reduce internal validity → findings may be more about participant expectations than actual cognitive processes.

• demand characteristics pose serious challenge to obtaining accurate + reliable data in psychological research.

individualistic vs collectivist cultures

• fails to account for collectivist cultures

• Individualistic cultures (the west) emphasize personal achievement, independence, + self-expression → collectivistic cultures prioritize group harmony, loyalty, and interdependence.

• cultural differences can influence behaviour in studies → cultural context can affect generalisability of theories developed primarily in the West.

• understanding distinction between cultures is essential for interpreting research findings accurately + ensuring they are culturally relevant.

limitation of temporal validity

• findings may not remain relevant over time.

• societal values and attitudes toward x changed → people today may behave differently in the same experimental conditions → reduce the ability to generalize findings to modern-day behaviour.

• limited temporal validity undermines relevance of research across time periods, → crucial to consider when evaluating the study’s applicability.

strength of real life application

• findings can be used to address real-world issues and improve everyday life.

• demonstrates research goes beyond theoretical understanding + has practical value

• enhances usefulness + societal relevance of research → more valuable to both individuals and institutions.