Traditional/Experimen

tal/ Positivism/Mainstrea

m psychology/ Constructivism

AND Critical Social

Psychology/ Social constructionism

Revision – Social PsychologyTheory and Method

Leah SpasovaStaffordshire University

Experimental/Positivism/mainstream psychology/ ConstructivismKey words

HypothesisExperimentQuantitative dataQuestionnaires, SurveysTop downObjectiveObservation of phenomenonRandom allocation of participants

Critical Social Psychology/ Social constructionismKey words

Research Q emerges from dataQualitative dataInterviews/focus groups/language as dataBottom upSubjective views in contextConstruction of ideas

Experimental social psychology Critical social psychology

Informed by positivism• [Social] Psychology as a science• Hypothetic-deductive method

Informed by social constructionism• Shared meaning• Importance of cultural/historical

context

Data collection methods are quantitative • Experiments• Surveys • Statistical analysis

Data collection methods are qualitative• Interviews/focus groups/language

as data• Discourse analysis

Social identity is complex but• Stable• Can be measured• Part of our cognition

Social identity is complex and• Fluid• Shaped by cultural/historical

context

Attitudes are• Stable• Hard to measure, but can be• Part of our cognition

Attitudes• Don’t really exist as a stable

cognition• Are not ‘in the head’

The many namesTraditional/Experimental Social Psychology

Critical Social Psychology

Constructivism ExperimentalPositivismMainstreamHypothetico-deductiveconventional psychology

Social Constructionism

Constructionism Argues– We must Examine talk/language and– Consider/value

shared meaning & importance of context Cultural context Historical context

– Conversation is the most important means of maintaining, modifying and reconstructing subjective reality.

– Reality is subjective and constructed ‘on the fly’– We are social beings and our actions/behaviours are

meaningful– To understand meaningful behaviour we need to interpret it – Stop considering social psychology like a ‘natural science’– SC challenges biometrical reality and questions apparently

self-evident and stable realities.– Stresses multiple-meanings/interpretation

Advantages of Social ConstructionismProvides in-depth findingsConsiders social environment and influencesBecause of close researcher involvement, the researcher gains

an insider's view of the field. This allows the researcher to find issues that are often missed (such as subtleties and complexities) by the scientific, more positivistic enquiries.

Qualitative descriptions can play the important role of suggesting possible relationships, causes, effects and dynamic processes.

Because statistics are not used, but rather qualitative research uses a more descriptive, narrative style, this research might be of particular benefit to the practitioner as she or he could turn to qualitative reports in order to examine forms of knowledge that might otherwise be unavailable, thereby gaining new insight.

Qualitative research adds flesh and blood to social analysis.

Criticism on Constructionism Accused of being anti-realist, in denying that knowledge is direct

perception of reality, Craib, 1997 It doesn’t recognize objective reality, Bury, 1986Not reliable/valid findings - The problem of adequate validity or

reliability is a major criticism. Because of the subjective nature of qualitative data and its origin in single contexts, it is difficult to apply conventional standards of reliability and validity.

Cannot be replicated - Contexts, situations, events, conditions and interactions cannot be replicated to any extent nor can generalisations be made to a wider context than the one studied with any confidence.

Lengthy - The time required for data collection, analysis and interpretation is lengthy.

Researcher's presence has a profound effect on the subjects of study.The viewpoints of both researcher and participants have to be

identified and elucidated because of issues of bias.

About the ExperimentalFocus on what makes individuals do what

they doSystematic creation of a hypothesis and

subjecting it to an empirical test.Experiments are conducted in an attempt to

answer certain questions. Control: This is the most important element

because it enables the scientist to identify the causes of his or her observations.

Advantages of the ExperimentalCan be replicatedReliabilityValidityExperiment variables can be controlled- through

sampling and designPrecision - through quantitative and reliable

measurementAbility to produce causality statements, through

the use of controlled experimentsStatistical techniques allow for sophisticated

analyses

Disadvantages of Experimental Because of the complexity of human experience it is difficult to rule out

or control all the variables; Because of human agency people do not all respond in the same ways

as inert matter in the physical sciences; Its mechanistic ethos tends to exclude notions of freedom, choice and

moral responsibility; Quantification can become an end in itself. It fails to take account of people's unique ability to interpret their

experiences, construct their own meanings and act on these. It leads to the assumption that facts are true and the same for all people

all of the time. Quantitative research often produces banal and trivial findings of little

consequence due to the restriction on and the controlling of variables. It is not totally objective because the researcher is subjectively involved

in the very choice of a problem as worthy of investigation and in the interpretation of the results.

Source:http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/staff/academicstaff/chughes/hughesc_index/teachingresearchprocess/quantitativequalitative/quantitativequalitative

Social Constructionism Criticisms on Experimental

– Social constructionists argue that positivist conceptions of social are outdated

– European approach of universal group theories that can apply to any group

– European idea that group membership is a cognitive thing

– Positivism does not allow a focus on meaning/ interpretation and context -Reductionist

– Only simple responses can be given & the parameters are pre-set - No opportunity to explain response

– Complex, varied responses cannot be given

Why does the approach matter?Traditional Approach

Outcomes:Numerical dataGeneralisable

Research questions:The effect of X on Y

The relationship between X and Y

Measurement tools:Quantitative (reaction time, cognitive tasks,

questionnaires)

Critical Approach

Outcomes:Talk

No generalising intended

Research questions:How is X constructed?

Measurement tools:Qualitative (discourse

analysis)

In a nutshell......

POSITIVIST Dr Zimbardo

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST Kenneth Gergen

All we have to do is the RIGHT EXPERIMENTS to find out what’s REALLY GOING ON

All we can do is examine how people CONSTRUCT their lives using LANGUAGE in the HERE AND NOW