Question

Analysis and Report - "The Science of Cool"

During this lesson, you've learned about the variety of research methodologies that a psychologist scientist may choose to use in answering a research question. Now it's your turn to think carefully and creatively through a research question and choose an appropriate method.

The research question:  

What is the concept of "Cool"? Can we identify people who are "cool"? Are there benefits (or effects) to being a "cool" person (i.e. what might cool people be able to accomplish that others have more trouble with)?  Can you make someone cool? (If so, how?)  

Suppose you have the whole range of research techniques/methods at your disposal. You also have all the time and money you might need to test out this question. You do NOT have superpowers, though, so you're still constrained by the laws of physics (no invisibility cloaks, super-hearing, or time travel please!).

Your task is the following:

Compare the experimental method with another method of your choosing (case study, naturalistic observation, survey, etc.). In your comparison, address the following questions in a 2-3 page paper (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point font):

How would you go about answering this research question for EACH research method? Be specific and outline the exact procedure you'd use for each method.

Be sure to identify the following:  operational definition you're using for the variables you identify, independent variable and dependent variable.  

Identify at least ONE strength and ONE weakness for each of the two research methods.

Discuss the reliability and validity of the actual measurement tools you'd be using for each of the two methods.

Finally, discuss whether or not EACH research method would allow for you to make conclusions about causality between aspects of cool/being cool and certain behaviors.

Things to think about to get you started:  

What’s your gut-level definition of this concept?

What types of people do you think exemplify “cool”?

What types of things do you think exhibit “cool”?

What are the key elements? List as many ideas as you can... then choose the MOST IMPORTANT five(5).

Consider selecting ONE research method to help you define, measure and identify people who are cool. Then, consider an experiment where you incorporate cool and "uncool" people as your research participants.

* Submit your 2-to-3-page write-up in the Assignments Tool, "Major Assignment - Research Design: Strengths and Limitations". Don't worry about APA formatting for this assignment, but do make sure your writing is clear and well-organized.

Answer 1

To determine what social attributes is considered cool , which psychological factors constitute in forming a cool personality in a person and does good aesthetics makes an individual cool , I will use Likert scale survey to a sample of 60 students.The population that consitutes this sample would be of high schoolers, aged between 16-18 years old. The likert scale is a psychometric test that measures a respondent's opinion and perspective on a typical five point scale.The survey would constitute 35 questions that would measure the following variables- asthetics, psychological factor and social attributes that makes a person cool. The sample(60 high school students) would answer each question by ticking any number between 1-5, where 1 is strongly agree, 3 is neutral and 5 is strongly disagree. The data would then be analysed using statistical method (quantitative).

▪Research question - Cool people(attitude) easily persuade others to conform to them.

After deriving the result from the survey done, I will choose experimental research(lab) to investigate the above hypothesis. Experimental research in psychology has following features. 1.There is an Independent variable which is controlled by the researcher. It's effect on the dependent variable is studied. This is done under controlled conditions.2. There is a control group which is introduced in the research design alongside the real subjects, to see the changes in behaviour in the subjects under investigation.3. The method of selecting subjects is based on random sampling. 4.This type of research stidy the cause-effect relationship i.e. the effect I.V has on the D.V, under controlled conditions. 5.This research use statistical techniques(Qualitative) to analyse the data gathered during the research.

Independent variable is the attitude (cool ) of a person and dependent variable is the number of times others conform to them. The research can be done in the lab where I would employ certain actors (control group) who would be divided into two groups.Group A set of actors who would act cool and group B set of actors would act uncool. Based on the survey data which reveals what makes a person cool , both group of actors will act in a similar set of attributes. Whether cool people easily persuade the subjects (real) to conform to them or not, is to be studied. This can be done in many trails and each time the real subjects would conform to a cool group i.e. actors in group A, their critical response would be noted down. The data gathered will be analysed using statistical technique(qualitative) to determine whether there is a positive correlation between cool attitude and its power to persuade others to conform to cool people. Strength of this kind of research is that the research has good control over the variables that are being studied. Since the research is carried under controlled conditions, the possibility of an extraneous variable effecting the deoendent variable is less. Also, it is easy to replicate the results of experimental research. The limitation of experimental research is the artificiality of the conditions. Since the reasecher is able to control the variables to his maximum capacity, the realism is low in its characteristics . Secondly, the experiment can be influenced by researcher's expectancy of how the sample subjects should act and respond so that it suits with the hypothesis of the research problem.

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