Psychology Studies

[mmonte4]

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my class isnt buying into the results of different psychology studies we are going over. in fact, some say that they are not valid at all- "how can you say that 25%......."

what is the best way to explain the validity of most of these tests and tell how they use a representative sample of the population?

please help, im just a beginner!

 

[Psyduck]

the methods section of the study should explain how they chose their sample and how representative of the general population it is. without more specific info about the tests in the studies you were looking at, i can't really comment on their validity but you can check yourself by searching for articles on that test

 

[Psyclops]

I know the situation you are in MM. This is what I would do: I would stop the section you are currently in and explain to them that because of their skeptecism, you will have to give them a brief introduction to the science of psychology. Then, give them a day's lecture on research methods and the science of psychology. Explain that their skeptecism actually fits quite well with the spirit of the field, but that at some point you have to accept the results of some experiements or you would go nuts questioning everything. Which is why the field has a few general rules to perform researhc by, such as random sampling, or matched sampling depending on what you are looking at. Explain things like double blind and random assignement and controls. Give them the ture answer to their questions. This is how it's done, tell them. You don't have to break your back going into detail, but I think you can prepare a quick intro to this and get right back on track. But that's just what I would do. Basically though it is the same as having a relative at thanksgiving question the validity of something.

 

[Psyduck]

i think i slightly misunderstood what you were asking, as a teacher not a student. the above advice is a good start. depending on the nature of your class, you may want to go into even more detail than this