The Study of Human Perception

The first research that I participated in is The Study of Human Perception. The research is conducted at the University of Mannheim in Germany by Yuri Shevchenko who is a holder of Ph.D. in the Experimental Psychology chair at the University, and Dr. Arndt Bröder, who acts as the supervisor in this research. The fundamental aim of the research is to find out how the perception of an individual varies with his or interaction with the environment. It enquires on the emotional state of an individual and then exposes them to a scenario that is likely to change that and then again enquires of the emotional state to note any changes in the moods. The study ensures that anyone who participates in the survey gives their consent and that they are of age. The researchers assure the participants that all of the information that they provide will not be used against them as their details are not attached to their responses (Shevchenko, 2018).

Independent and Dependent Variables

Some of the independent variables within the research are age, gender and the participant’s country of residence. These are used in the study to enable grouping of data according to the participants’ country of origin, age, and gender. There are no attributes provided for age, while for gender one has to select either male or female. The country of origin has a list of countries provided as attributes. The age variable ensures that only individuals of a given age can take part in the study. The participant is given a list of countries so that they select theirs. The gender attribute serves to enable easy grouping of responses regarding male and female responses. Some of the dependent variables in the research are respondent’s emotional state before and after watching the movie, whether or not they had seen the film before and whether there were distractions during the viewing. For all of the dependent variables, a scale exists. The monitoring of the emotional state enables the researchers to monitor the change in emotions regarding the just viewed movie. The inquiry as to whether the participant is familiar with the film has a significant effect on the emotional impact of the film. The presence of distractions also has a similar impact on the emotional state (Shevchenko, 2018).

The research seems to perform its roles reasonably well when it comes to data collection. It is short and straightforward to its questions. Therefore, it is not time-consuming. Furthermore, it offers remuneration for its participants; they gain a chance to participate in the lottery. In the end, the participant has the opportunity to receive information on future related studies to participate in any that may interest them. The research offers the participants the option of terminating their participation in any case they feel disinterested by the study. They also have the opportunity of not answering some questions if they find them offensive. The study has a perfect design in that the first research question is on the respondent’s emotional state after which he or she sees a short movie, and the asked the same question again. It is at this point that the questionnaire goes further into finding out in details the participant’s emotional state. Here, I feel that the researchers should have gone to the same extent to find out the respondent’s emotional state before the video as they do after.

Early Childhood Experience and Psychological Well-Being

This study was carried out at Barry University by Dr. Linda Bacheller who is the professor in the Department of Psychology. The principal purpose of this study is to determine whether or how a person’s experiences during childhood influences their psychological well-being when they grow up. Consequently, the research tries to answer the question of whether one’s childhood wellbeing affects how they turn out when they grow up. The researchers assure the respondents of the confidentiality of the data that come from them. The truth in this is enhanced by the fact that the survey tool involved in the data collection is anonymous and is known not to provide respondents’ personal information. The survey tool used encrypts the data provided so that it is only accessible to the receiver’s end with no intermediaries. The researcher explains this to the respondent to assure them of confidentiality (Becheller, 2018).

Independent and Dependent Variables

Before the onset of the research, the survey asks for some independent variables from the respondents. These variables may vary from person to person as each one is unique with different personal details. Three of the independent variables relevant to the research are one’s ethnicity, who they lived with while growing up and their gender. The attributes provided for gender are either male or female. Gender enables easy classification and analysis of data. It is similar to one’s ethnicity. Ethnicity has six attributes namely; Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Caribbean, Asian or any other. The question of who a person lived with while growing up is essential as biological parents are more likely to bring up a child better than a single parent or a foster parent. The respective attributes are biological mother and father, biological mother, biological father, grandparents, grandmother, grandfather, another family, guardian or foster parent. Some of the dependent variables in the research include the psychological well-being of the respondent, childhood trauma, and locus of control survey. For each, one has a list of statements to which they either agree or disagree. The psychological well-being of the respondent depends on how one may have been brought up. Childhood trauma as, a variable in the survey, helps to indicate whether or not it results into an individual with poor psychological well-being, while the locus of control survey attempts to find out by how much a person differs from the ideal (Becheller, 2018).

Generally, the research has the right design and content and as such, adequately plays its role. Its structure is in a way that it tries to analyze the psychological state of an individual and then looks at whether they went through trauma as children. The structure of the research makes it easy to try to equate the two and come up with a definite relationship between them. Furthermore, the study is also necessary to the respondent in that it helps widen their perception and may even help answer some questions to which they have always wanted answers. A disadvantage of the survey is that it is long and as such, may be time-consuming. It may lower the number of those who take the survey to the end. Also, the section of the questionnaire which determines the extent to which one differs from the ideal contains questions which are widely fetched and may, therefore, seem irrelevant to the respondents. The researcher should try to relate the items to the issue at hand.

Why do we choose to offend?

The study is conducted at Charles Sturt University. The researchers involved were Myrto Chatzimike Levidi at the Charles Sturt University who was the chief investigator, Dr. Danielle Sulikowski who is also at the Charles Sturt University and Peter Kyriakoulis who is a clinical psychologist. The main aim of the research is to attempt to find out why one commits a crime or the factors that may cause one to take part in criminal activity. It does so by asking on one’s personality, moods, and emotional status. One also answers on the experiences of past arrests through which they may have gone. The researchers address the concerns of the respondents by assuring them that their identity will not be attached to the information that they provide. Additionally, it offers them the chance of changing their minds on participation once they feel uncomfortable at any section of the questionnaire. Consequently, the respondent feels in control and there are high chances that he or she may take part (Levidi, Sulikowski and Kyriakoulis 2018).

Independent and Dependent Variables

Some of the independent variables applied in the study include the age, gender, and employment status of the respondent. Various attributes are attached to these variables, for example, under gender one may choose either male, female or other. Gender makes easy the classification and analysis of the data once collected. The attributes listed under employment status include full time, part time, seeking employment, not working, student or retired. No attributes are listed under age as one fills in any numerical data in place of age. The study also incorporates the use of dependent variables in the body of the questionnaire. They inquire whether one is good at resisting temptations, whether one has a hard time breaking bad habits or whether one often acts without thinking. They are in statement form, and each has attributes in the way of a scale. The scale has the following responses: not at all, not much, undecided, somewhat, very much. The respondent chooses the statement which best fits him or her in response to the comment. The questionnaire also contains a dependent variable with no attributes; one has to describe any crime they may have committed (Levidi, Sulikowski and Kyriakoulis 2018).

The study is comprehensive as just from the title one has an idea of what it entails. It aims to find out why some people decide to offend while others choose not to. The structure is also significant in that after collecting the details of an individual’s personality and perceptions, it goes ahead to give practical examples to find out what one would do. The resultant data is then compared to the previously provided data during analysis. It is after all of these that a conclusion arises. Consequently, the findings are highly reliable. The statements within the questionnaire also seem to be revolving around the topic, and this lowers the chances of the participants getting bored or feeling that the poll is irrelevant. Additionally, despite the fact that some of the questions asked in the poll are personal, the respondents are assured of confidentiality about the data they provide.

Conclusion

As a social science research participant, I feel that the studies are usually of importance even to the participants themselves. The participant, not only takes part but also learns in the process as the questions and statements that they respond to make them think in a different perspective from the way they usually would. Before I took part in any of the surveys, I felt that I would be compelled to answer every question in the study to the end. It is only after going through the survey guidelines that I realized that I could stop whenever I feel uncomfortable, and I do not necessarily have to answer any questions if I think they are invasive. Additionally, I have learned that all of the information I provide is kept confidentially and are only accessible to the researchers. My details are also not availed to them. As I previously believed, the participants in the research can also have access to the final findings.

Works cited

Becheller, L. (2018). Early Childhood Experience and Psychological Well-Being, Social

Psychology Network. Retrieved on May 9, 2018, from https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=173673.                                               

Shevchenko, Y. (2018). The study of human perception, Social Psychology Network.

Retrieved On May 9, 2018, from http://yuryshevchenko.com/webstudy/perception/

Levidi, C. M., Sulikowski, D., and Kyriakoulis, P. (2018). Why do we choose to offend?

Psychological Research on the Net. Retrieved on May 9, 2018, from https://csufobjbs.au1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cx2lIby01m2LlBP&Q_JFE=0