In my General Psychology classes today, our primary topic was the scientific method, and we discussed topics such as empircism, methods of collecting data, theory development, and so forth. Here are some comments made during class:
*Once a woman has children, her place is in the home with them.
*Marijuana should be legalized. Look at how it helps people with glaucoma and those experiencing nausea resulting from chemotherapy.
*My grandmother says that the even the dumbest woman is smarter than the smartest man.
*Most females are catty and sneaky.
*Smokers who are exposed to "scare tactics" will quit smoking.
*Smokers who are exposed to "scare tactics" do not necessarily quit smoking.
*My mother says the best way to deal with a bully is to hit back.
*Women who wear high heeled shoes are asking for it.
Do the above statements seem like topics that psychologists would tackle? Why or why not? Could any of them be altered in such a way that would make them more scientific?
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5 comments:
Whew, a few of those statements make me glad I'm not in charge of the classroom-speaking of tackling something!! But the statement regarding "scare tactics" and smoking could be used for a hypothesis quite easily. It seems the rest of the statements are opinions, emotionally driven, and would be harder to actually do a legitimate study on.
Thanks so much for responding. I was about to give up hope! About the comments, you just never know what someone might say in a classroom, and just when you think you've heard and seen it all, something happens to indicate otherwise.
You're right, of course. The statements are opinions, yet most of them could be turned around in such a way that a psychologist could use them as starting points. For instance, psychologists are interested in the effects of nonparental care, differences in intelligence, and the effects of marijuana (and all other drugs too. I also agree with you that the "scare tactics" statements can be turned into hypotheses. When these statements were made in class, both people said they KNEW their way was THE right way because they each knew someone who stopped (or didn't) smoking because of scare tactics.
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The above pppppppppppp is a mistake that I can't figure out how to remove. I was demonstrating (to a class) about how to post comments. Can someone tell me how to delete it? Psychologically speaking, why does it bother me that it's there?
I thought you were "blowing a raspberry" about the whole thing!
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