Psychology and Research Methods

1. EXPERIMENTS
PSYCHOLOGY

2. WHY DO WE
ACT AS WE
DO?

3. Do you think our
individual beliefs,
values and
behaviours
impact the
community we
live in? LEASIDE NIMBY BEHAVIOUR

4. Why and how do we change/not
change thoughts and behaviours and
how does this affect society at large?
CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE: If we become more healthy
and stable does this improve the stability of society?
CHANGE AND CONTINUITY: How we think, what we value
and believe and how we act reflects changes in social
attitudes and practices
PERSPECTIVE: If we know what drives individuals, we can
better predict overall changes and help individuals make
personal changes that contribute to the health of society

5. WHY DO PEOPLE SMOKE?

6. WHY DO TEENAGERS HAVE BABIES
WHEN THEY ARE STILL CHILDREN?

7. WHY DO PEOPLE DO HORRIBLE
THINGS WHEN THEY ARE DRUNK?

8. WHY DO PEOPLE BECOME TROUBLED TEENS AND
OPEN FIRE ON THEIR CLASSMATES?

9. HOW CAN SEEMINGLY GOOD/NORMAL PEOPLE ALLOW
ATROCITIES TO HAPPEN? FOLLOW AN EVIL AUTHORITY?

10. CAUSE AND EFFECT (CONSEQUENCE)
• ENABLE RESEARCHERS TO FOCUS ON
POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF ONE OR MORE
FACTORS
• CAN MANIPULATE THE FACTORS
• CAN CONTROL THE FACTORS
 An experimenter manipulates a factor to determine its
effects

11. Milgram Obedience Study
How does Milgram manipulate factors in his experiment?
What were his findings about authority and obedience?

12. What is the effect of working and
living in a prison?
STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT