Author Question: Discuss the new role of neuroscience in social psychological research. What tools are used? Describe ... (Read 73 times)

wenmo · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

Discuss the new role of neuroscience in social psychological research. What tools are used? Describe briefly the research involving neural responses to different social objects. What might be a shortcoming of this promising research?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Propose a formal experiment that might be conducted by a social psychologist.

In your discussion of the proposed experiment, clearly identify the hypothesis and the rationale behind the hypothesis, the independent variable(s), the dependent variable(s), and the way in which participants will be assigned to experimental groups.
What will be an ideal response?

chloejackso · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer:
Scientists are now able to study neural response through the use of MRI, PET scans, and other brain imaging tools. Such research allows scientists to avoid the pitfalls of self-report. Scientists have found that we rate social objects on two dimensions, warmth and competence, with such response being either high or low. Such research is providing a neural basis for prejudice. When a social object is classified as low-low, participants do not even register thinking about these people as human. A downside of neuroscience is that it is often difficult to interpret what the results mean; thus more traditional research will always have a place.

Answer to Question 2

Answer:
Answers may vary widely but should contain some discussion of:
1) a clearly identifiable hypothesis and the rationale behind it,
2) independent variable that will be manipulated or changed in some way by the experimenter,
3) dependent variable that will be measured in some way by the experimenter,
4) random assignment to experimental conditions and the reasons for random assignment.