The 5 most common methods of study in Psychology

How is the human psyche studied? We reveal the most commonly used methods and systems.

Many efforts are made to convert the chaos of psychological knowledge into a well-organized, systematized and empirically validated theoretical corpus that meets the criteria of the scientific method.

To this end, psychology employs a series of psychology employs a series of methods of study that allow psychologists to approach the questions they pose in the most optimal way and with the least number of biases, in order to build knowledge that will serve as a basis for new hypotheses.

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There is no one method better than another, each has its advantages and disadvantages. It is rather a matter of choosing the method that best approaches the phenomenon we want to know. Depending on our objective, we will use one or the other. Let us see below which are the most commonly used.

Research methods in psychology

Typically, research methods in psychology are divided into three large families.. The correlational method, the descriptive method and the experimental method, each with its own particularities and advantages over the others.

Although we will not look at the whole genealogical tree of study methods, we will specify some methodologies that are particularly important for the study of psychology.

1. Correlational method

When we speak of correlation, we refer to the association between two variables. A correlation indicates how many times we observe phenomenon A, we can observe phenomenon B at the same time. For example, if we take the variables "socioeconomic level" and "academic success" we can ask ourselves if these two correlatethat is, if the appearance of one predicts the appearance of the other. If, after examining a sample, we find that an increase in one is associated with an increase in another, we can speak of a positive correlation.

This is useful because it allows us to make predictions. If we know that weight and height correlate positively, when we see a tall person we can predict that he or she will have a high weight. At this point we must stop and make a distinction between association and causation.. 

A correlation indicates an association that makes it possible to predict, but does not offer an explanation that answers why it happens. We often reason in a fallacious way and assume that when two phenomena occur together, one causes the other. We often ignore the presence of third variables that mediate the relationship between one phenomenon and the other. This is why we use another method to deduce causality, which we explain at the end of the article.

Psychologists use the correlational method to obtain information about phenomena that are impossible to reproduce in laboratory conditions. under laboratory conditions. For example, if we want to examine the relationship between alcohol intake and the number of visits to emergency departments, it would be optimal to design a correlational study to see how, as alcohol consumption increases, the number of visits also increases.

Descriptive method

Psychologists choose this method of study when we want to describe a phenomenon as it occurs, in a thorough and exhaustive way.It consists of any attempt to determine or describe a phenomenon as it occurs, in a thorough and exhaustive way in all its aspects. It consists of any attempt to determine or identify what the phenomenon is without going into why, when or how.

It is the method we choose when we want to answer questions such as: "What attitudes do people over 65 years of age in rural environments have towards homosexuality? Through surveys, case studies and systematic observation, it is possible to answer non-quantifiable questions. It also allows a first approach to a question that can be more thoroughly addressed through correlational or experimental studies.

Experimental method

Among the methods of study in psychology, the experimental method aims to elucidate what is the cause-consequence relationship through the manipulation of one of through the manipulation of one of the variables. These are the so-called laboratory studies. This method has the advantage of being objective, the preconceived ideas of the researcher have little weight on the results and hardly generate biases.

For this reason, it is the method par excellence if we want to obtain safe, reliable and accurate data when the phenomenon to be studied allows it. This does not mean that they are the only type of valid studies to generate knowledge; it is possible to generate knowledge through correlational studies, but experimental designs allow a greater degree of certainty and explanation.

In experimental studies, the researcher modifies a variable that he controls, called the independent variable, to observe changes in a second variable, the dependent variable.

For example, if we want to observe the causal relationship between the administration of a drug and the disappearance of symptoms, we will use the experimental method of study.. By dividing the sample into two groups, where one is given a drug and the other a placebo, if we measure symptoms at various points in the investigation we will obtain experimental data on how the dependent variable "symptoms" disappears when we introduce the independent variable "drug".

To know how much the dependent variable has changed after the introduction of the change, it is essential to take data before the change. This is the so-called baseline, the experimenter's starting point.

4. Twin study

Sometimes psychologists use methods that do not quite fall into one of these three large families. For example, when we want to know whether personality is the result of socialization or whether it is inheritable, we use twin studies.. In these studies we take twins separated at birth who grow up in different families and study their personality at different points in their lives.

After a while, we compare the differences between twins and, with a large enough sample of twins, we can get an idea of how much is due to genetic factors and how much is due to the way the children are raised.

5. Computer models

Another way to study behavior is through computer modeling.. This is a very common method in the study of thinking. It consists of developing a theory about how a particular mental process works, for example word recognition, and creating a program that simulates this process as we think it occurs. We then test different hypotheses through this program, running simulations just as a human would. However, the validity of this method depends on how valid the underlying theory is.