Instructions Psychological Factors You want to create a study to examine the psy
ID: 3442981 • Letter: I
Question
Instructions Psychological Factors You want to create a study to examine the psychological factors affecting how teenagers in an impoverished urban area spend their time outside of school. For this assignment, you will design this study. Below is a list of each of the components on which you will be evaluated. You will be evaluated based on the following: Use of the scientific method. Discussion of which methods you used, why, and potential sources of error. Explanation of the relationship between the hypothesis vs. the null hypothesis; and connection to your study. Analysis of potential ethical issues, their importance in research, and how to address them. Discussion of potential issues regarding culture, gender, diversity, or the environment and how to address them. Explanation of which types of sources were used and how these choices may affect results. An overview of how you would present your findings and why they can be classified as being within the field of psychology.
Explanation / Answer
Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. Also, I gather from the assignment that your teacher wants a research proposal and not a conclusion at this point. Therefore my response will be more of a guideline or a framework of how you should conduct your research and not a direct response.
(Answer) Perspective: I am choosing a perspective to the research simply because when you stick to one side, the results are far less messy and the process of writing your paper will be less confusing. The perspective I suggest you choose is that students with wealthier parents or better bank credit scores are more likely to spend their time responsibly at school.
Hypothesis: Students who believe that they have more financial security are more likely to be better encouraged academically. The psychological implication is that when a student knows that they have no money for college, they will have no hope in an academic future. This, in turn, is reflected in their behaviour in school.
Null Hypothesis: Since the focus is on the financial background of the student, the results can be objectively analysed without the consideration of racial denominations. In other words, a student from a higher income family is more likely to take school seriously, regardless of their ethnic background.
Research Method: Primary Data Analysis. For this, I recommend data sheets from PEW research. I am not allowed to post links in the response. However, if you head to PEW research and type “college education economic background” you will be lead to several graphs and charts of the same. When you open an article with the desired headline, click on report materials on the right or any other useful source.
“Use of the scientific method. Discussion of which methods you used, why, and potential sources of error.”
Since your teacher has asked you to mention your method and also point out any possible flaws, I recommend using correlation coefficient. It is a method that highlights the causal relationship between A and B.
To point out any flaws in your research, I recommend looking for a confounding variable. A confounding variable is when A and B are not reciprocal to each other but rather possibly cause by another factor – C. You could assume C to be a psychological factor that affects the students. Your teacher has said “Discussion of potential issues regarding culture, gender, diversity, or the environment and how to address them.” You may use this very point as a confounding variable towards the end of your paper.
“An overview of how you would present your findings and why they can be classified as being within the field of psychology.”
For this, there are two psychological theories that should suffice for your entire paper. They are: ‘The psychology of encouragement’ and ‘the theory of motivation’. Both theories suggest that motivation and encouragement influence the success of an individual. Considering that being financially encouraged and motivated is the crux of this paper, you would find it easy to link.