Hello I have to write a paper and part of the paper is asking for information I am not sure which way to go if some one can please help me with this I would appreciate it the section I am having a problem with is
Explain the criticism of artificiality in the discipline of psychology and apply this criticism to at least three sub-disciplines within psychology.
The sub disciplines i am writing about is Abnormal psychology, social psychology and environmental psychology
I know that Artificiality is the research laboratory where the criticism is people do not believe these experiment are any good because they are not real world. How would I go about placing this with a discipline in psychology can someone please explain or give me a example I would really appreiciate it. Thank Ann
Another thing to consider is that the disciplines of any science (and especially psychology) are influenced by the culture in which the discipline is practiced.
For example, what is defined as abnormal in one culture might not be defined that way in another; e.g., having a "vision" in one culture might be classified as hallucinating in another.
I hope this gives you a start.
What is meant by artificiality in psychology?
Experiment conducted somewhere out of the laboratory where it cant be put in real life situations. This it not valid and reliable.
To explain the criticism of artificiality in the discipline of psychology and apply it to sub-disciplines such as abnormal psychology, social psychology, and environmental psychology, you will need to consider how each of these areas may be affected by the artificial nature of laboratory experiments.
1. Abnormal psychology: In the context of artificiality, you can discuss how the controlled and highly structured environment of a laboratory may not accurately reflect the complexities and diversity of real-world abnormal psychological conditions. For example, clinical diagnoses and treatments are often based on observations made in controlled settings, which may not fully capture the nuances of an individual's experiences in their natural environment. The criticism here is that the findings and conclusions drawn from such studies may not generalize well to real-life situations and may lack ecological validity.
2. Social psychology: Within social psychology, laboratory experiments often involve manipulating variables and observing individuals' responses in an artificial social context. While this approach provides valuable insights into human behavior, the criticism arises when researchers argue that these controlled situations do not accurately represent the complex and dynamic nature of real-life social interactions. The behaviors and responses observed in a laboratory may differ from those seen in everyday social settings, leading to concerns about the generalizability of findings.
3. Environmental psychology: In this sub-discipline, artificiality criticism relates to the study of how people interact with their physical surroundings. Laboratory experiments in environmental psychology typically create artificial environments to examine human behavior, perception, and cognition in response to specific stimuli, such as color, design, or spatial arrangements. Critics argue that these controlled settings may not accurately reflect the complexities and diversity found in real-world environments, limiting the applicability of the findings to everyday situations.
To address these criticisms effectively, you can suggest alternative research methods such as field experiments, observational studies, case studies, or surveys that allow researchers to examine behavior and phenomena in more naturalistic or ecologically valid contexts. Additionally, acknowledging the limitations of laboratory studies and emphasizing the need to combine findings from different research methods can help provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topics in question.