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Running head: FIELD PSYCHOLOGY SCIENTIFIC METHOD 1

FIELD PSYCHOLOGY SCIENTIFIC METHOD 1

Field Psychology Scientific Method

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PSY/635

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Field Psychology Scientific Method

In social psychology, there is a subtopic known as social cognition. Social cognition’s main focus is on how individuals store, process and apply information concerning social situations and other people. It shows us the role of cognitive processing in our social interaction. In order for people to have the advantage of being part of certain social groups, various psychological processes have to take part and they are controlled by social cognition.

Various social signals are of importance to social cognition. These signals enable individuals to learn about the world that surrounds them. These signals include facial expressions such as disgust and fear which warn us of danger, as well as eye gaze direction which shows the direction of interesting things.

In the article, “The Role of Social Cognition Skills (SCS) and Social Determination of Health (SDH) in Predicting Symptoms of Mental Illness,” the author uses a quantitative method of research. The article focuses on mental health and psychiatric disorders. In the study, the method used was implemented from a randomized sample assessed in the Colombian National Mental Health Survey to evaluate the role of SCS, SDH and psycho-physical factors as predictors of mental illness symptoms (Santamaría-García, 2020).

The results from the assessment that the best predictors of symptoms of mental illness were cognitive functioning, the presence of chronic diseases, a medical history of psychiatric disorders, social adverse factors as well as emotion recognition skills. According to the author of the article, the study provided unprecedented evidence on social factors and the impact it has on predicting symptoms of mental illness as well as highlighting the importance of these factors in order to track the onset and early stages of the disease.

To explore social cognition and social psychology as a whole and for better understanding, there are different special research methods that can be used. The methods used in the research to answer questions are both qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative research method is used to make an analysis of data that is not reducible to numbers.

The methods of collecting information and data and generating it include interviews; an interview involves a conversation between a researcher and the respondent. The researcher sets questions with the agenda in place and the interviewee will give answers. There is also focus groups which have a moderator who leads in the group discussions. Thirdly there is the use of naturally occurring data, this is the information that is produced in the occurrence of everyday life. Lastly, there is the use of structured methods of collecting data such as open-ended questioners or vignettes.

Under qualitative data analysis, the methods of collecting data include, qualitative data analysis. This method involves developing categories and counting the number of times in which these categories appear in a corpus of data. And experimental and none experimental methods (Figgou, 2015).

From the article, the study was not based on different research methods to draw a conclusion. The only method of research used was SEM which is a quantitative model of research. The author should have also used a qualitative method by having interviews with patients with mental illness and having open-ended questioners to have a better-drawn conclusion. The validity and reliability of one method of research is questionable. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative method can help a research come up with better results.

References

Figgou, L. (2015). Social Psychology: Research Methods. Research Gate.

Santamaría-García, H. (2020). The Role of Social Cognition Skills (SCS) and Social Determinants of Health (SDH) in Predicting Symptoms of Mental Illness. SSRN.