PSYC 101 Forum

PSYC 101 Week 2 Forum

Imagine you are going to conduct research investigating a human behavior that you would be interested in learning more about. 

1. Based on your readings and learning this week describe what research method you would use for investigating it.
2. What drew you to this method?  Why would it be well suited for your hypothetical research?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this type of research? 
4. When responding to your classmates for the reply posts requirement, take their research topic of interest and recommend a different type of research approach to the study of the topic they chose (Ex:  "Another method that might also work is _______" or "Have you thought of the _________ method?" - we want to be respectful and professional and not criticize a classmate's method choice) and explain why you would recommend that alternative method.  

To help jump start this part of the discussion, here is an example of a human behavior that has been researched:  Say you were interested in whether men or women approach each other first in social situations where they do not know one another.  You might have an opinion based on personal experience, but you want to avoid bias toward one's own experience and ideas that such might cause, so you are going to conduct a research study.  To research this, you might choose "naturalistic observation," which could require going into nightclubs and taking note of what you observe men and women doing.  Another research method would be to give out a survey to see how men and women respond to the question of whether they approach the other.  Each method has strengths and weaknesses. 

Hello className,A method that I think I would most likely use would be the “Naturalistic Observation” the reason why I would choose this method is because there are many different ways to observe someone when observing them in their own natural habitat. Sometimes we are a different person outside the walls of our own home or even in our car, and once we are in our private settings things tend to change, for example, one might act as if they are with today’s music but behind closed doors, sealed windows,  or even headphones they are more into jazz or maybe even classical music. But for the fear of being considered uncool or not with the “In crowd” they will try to hide it. The strength of naturalistic observation would be that I can observe a person or persons in their natural habitat. The weakness of this observation is that I would have to get permission to observe them in their natural habitat and even then they may still not portray their real characteristics, therefore giving me inconclusive results.

PSYC 101 Week 3 Forum

A great deal of controversy has surrounded the phenomenon of “false memory syndrome” and the implications that it has had in our society, particularly in the legal realm. One of the most influential psychologists in the area of memory and eye witness testimony is Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, who has spent three decades as a research psychologist and memory expert in legal cases. To learn more about the controversy surrounding “false memory syndrome,” visit the online LA Weekly website at
https://www.laweekly.com/memory-and-manipulation/

Based on the points that the Loftus article brings up and your readings and research this week respond to the following:

What kind of implications do particular limitations of human memory have on the use of eye-witness testimony in criminal and civil court cases?

After reading the article on Loftus, it really had me thinking about how much the justice system can rely on eyewitness memory.  When you have an eye-witness who is in shock from the trauma they have seen or been through sometimes your memory could be going in many different directions. Just using a person's memory can have good and bad results, especially if it deals with a memory that can be from many years before. I believe memories come from not only actual things happening but also from what we think of subconsciously or maybe even dream of, I believe that things like that can sometimes harness memories that never happened. I have many different thoughts about using memory only in a courtroom setting, I think that if we are going to use memory then there needs to be more evidence to help support the memory. I agree with the study that was done on the five-year-old about getting lost from their parent while in the mall, It shows how easy our memory can be manipulated and I think even as an adult you can still have your memory manipulated If you think about when a cop interrogates someone that could be overly stressed and exhausted the investigator can easily spin the truth around to where after awhile the witness will begin to believe what they are saying or what they have seen. In lesson three reading I learned about Prosopagnosia - A neurological disorder that impairs one's ability to recognize faces. So if you were to do a photo line up or an in-person line up that could convict an innocent person. I really enjoyed reading and learning more about memory and all the different ways that is can be changed to represent something that may not be true be it by sight, hearing, or even smell this lesson was a great read.