Findings in social psychology are based on the scientific method. Scientific research describes a phenomenon (are people more aggressive when it is very hot outside?), makes predictions about it (will the rate of homicide increase during the summer?), and explains why it happens (why do people act more aggressively when it is hot?). | Research methods Chapter 2 Social psychology is a science Findings in social psychology are based on the scientific method. Scientific research describes a phenomenon (are people more aggressive when it is very hot outside?), makes predictions about it (will the rate of homicide increase during the summer?), and explains why it happens (why do people act more aggressively when it is hot?). Steps in the research process Form a question All research in social psychology and other scientific fields starts with a question. Many studies start with a question based on observation of a real-world event. Sometimes people form questions based on their own experiences of observations. Sometimes these questions are designed to test established theories in psychology. Question Many other hypotheses come from observations of everyday life, such as why people failed to help murder victim Kitty Genovese. Thirty-eight neighbors failed to call police during her prolonged and violent murder. Genovese’s neighbors might have assumed that someone else had called the police. Why did people fail to call police? Search the literature Because some ideas that you have are likely to have been studied by others, it is essential to start investigating these ideas by figuring out what other people might have found about the same, or similar, ideas. This can be conducted by going to the library, reading journal articles, or online internet searches. Form a hypothesis A hypothesis is a testable prediction about the conditions under which an event will occur. It is a statement about the expected cause and effect relationship between two variables, but has greater specificity than the original question you asked. Because a hypothesis can be directly tested, it includes a specific prediction. hypothesis Perhaps the bystanders would have been more likely to help had each thought he or she alone was witnessing the murder. Latané and Darley (1968) called this diffusion of responsibility. Once a . | Research methods Chapter 2 Social psychology is a science Findings in social psychology are based on the scientific method. Scientific research describes a phenomenon (are people more aggressive when it is very hot outside?), makes predictions about it (will the rate of homicide increase during the summer?), and explains why it happens (why do people act more aggressively when it is hot?). Steps in the research process Form a question All research in social psychology and other scientific fields starts with a question. Many studies start with a question based on observation of a real-world event. Sometimes people form questions based on their own experiences of observations. Sometimes these questions are designed to test established theories in psychology. Question Many other hypotheses come from observations of everyday life, such as why people failed to help murder victim Kitty Genovese. Thirty-eight neighbors failed to call police during her prolonged and violent murder. Genovese’s
