OPPapers.com

Discussion Board

Phase 1 – Biological Models and Theoretical Foundations of Psychology – DB
Felicia K. Allison
Colorado Technical University Online
Professor Lyssa Kerrigan
PSY105-0903A-09
July 8, 2009

In the late nineteenth century, Darwin, a British naturalist, proposed the principle of natural selection. His ideas emerged with the ideas of Johannes Muller, a German physiologist, who proposed that an important part of the brain is to associate incoming sensory information with appropriate motor responses. These two proposed concepts are the main roots of psychology.
Usually when people hear the word psychologist you immediately assume that that individual’s profession is that man or woman sitting in the chair with his or her pad and pencil-taking notes while you spill all you guts out about your life story. In all actuality, psychologists are researchers that tie in philosophy and natural sciences, like biology and physiology. “Psychologists use the scientific method to conduct studies and research in psychology. The basic process for conducting psychology research involves asking a question, designing a study, collecting data, analyzing results, reaching conclusions, sharing the findings (About.com, 2009).”
Psychology research methods vary from simple to very complex research. The three types that I have been reading about in my studies are descriptive, correlational, and experimental research. (Santrock, 2004) Descriptive research serves the purpose of observing and recording behavior and mental states. An example of this type of research would be if someone takes a poll on which mayor people plan a voting for in the next election.
Correlational (Relational) research (Santrock, 2004) describes the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics and is a key method of data analysis. The more related the two events, the more effective the prediction. For instance, psychologist may want to determine the amount of...