Class 11 Psychology Chapter 2 Methods of Enquiry Solutions

Chapter 2 lists five goals: description, prediction, explanation, control, and application. Together, they help psychologists study behaviour in an objective way and use the findings in real life. Concept used. Scientific enquiry in psychology means a planned study of behaviour, experience, and mental processes. Its goals show what a psychologist wants to do with the information collected.

1. Description means recording a behaviour or event as accurately as possible. For example, a researcher may describe study habits in a class.
2. Prediction means using observed links to forecast behaviour. If study time and achievement are related, more study time may predict better marks.
3. Explanation means finding the factors that make a behaviour occur. It asks why some children pay attention and others do not.
4. Control means changing the conditions that affect behaviour. A psychologist may reduce stress or improve study habits through planned action.
5. Application means using psychological knowledge to improve life in schools, homes, hospitals, workplaces, and communities.

The goals of scientific enquiry are description, prediction, explanation, control, and application of psychological knowledge.

Scientific enquiry begins with a problem, then collects data, draws conclusions, and revises conclusions or theory when needed. Concept used. A scientific enquiry follows an orderly procedure. The researcher starts with a focused question and ends with conclusions that can be checked again.

1. Conceptualising a problem is the first step. The researcher selects a topic, narrows it, reviews past work, and frames a specific question.
2. The researcher may state a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative answer that can be tested with data.
3. Collecting data is the second step. The researcher decides the participants, method, tools, and procedure for gathering information.
4. Drawing conclusions is the third step. The collected data are analysed through suitable methods, often with graphs or statistics.
5. Revising research conclusions is the fourth step. If the data support the hypothesis, it is strengthened. If not, the researcher changes the idea and tests again.

The steps are conceptualising a problem, collecting data, drawing conclusions, and revising conclusions or theory.

Psychological data include demographic, physical, physiological, and psychological information. Such data are context-bound and need careful interpretation. Concept used. Data means information used in a study. In psychology, data can come from behaviour, experience, body measures, social setting, tests, interviews, diaries, and observation records.

1. Psychological data are tied to context. A person may behave differently at home, in class, and in a group.
2. The method used affects the data. An interview may give one answer, while direct observation may show another pattern.
3. The characteristics of participants also affect data. Age, gender, rural or urban background, and group setting can change responses.
4. Psychology collects demographic information such as age, education, family income, and locality.
5. It may also collect physical, physiological, and psychological information. Examples are housing conditions, heart rate, reaction time, intelligence, emotions, values, and motivation.
6. Some data are scores or ranks. Some are reports, diaries, field notes, and observation records that need qualitative analysis.

Psychological data are varied, context-bound, method-linked, and interpreted through suitable quantitative or qualitative analysis.

The experimental group receives the independent variable manipulation. The control group is treated similarly but does not receive that manipulation. Concept used. An experiment studies cause-effect relation by changing one factor and observing its effect while other conditions are kept constant.

1. An experimental group is exposed to the independent variable. This is the condition the researcher wants to test.
2. A control group is a comparison group. It is treated like the experimental group except that the key manipulation is absent.
3. For example, Latane and Darley studied reporting of smoke in a room. Presence of other people was the independent variable.
4. Students waiting alone formed the control condition. Students waiting with two other people formed experimental conditions.
5. The dependent variable was whether students reported the smoke. Comparing groups showed how the presence of others affected reporting.
6. All other conditions, such as the room and smoke situation, had to be kept similar so the difference could be linked with the manipulation.

The experimental group gets the manipulation; the control group does not. The control group helps compare the effect of the independent variable.

A relevant hypothesis is: cyclists ride faster when people are present than when they ride alone. The independent variable is presence of people, and the dependent variable is speed of cycling. Concept used. A hypothesis is a testable statement about the expected relation between variables. An independent variable is changed or compared, and a dependent variable is measured.

1. The study is about two variables: speed of cycling and presence of people.
2. A suitable hypothesis can be: cyclists will show higher cycling speed in the presence of people than when cycling alone.
3. The independent variable is the presence of people. It has at least two conditions: people present and people absent.
4. The dependent variable is cycling speed. It can be measured as distance covered in a fixed time or time taken for a fixed distance.
5. The researcher should keep other factors similar, such as track, bicycle condition, weather, and practice time.

Hypothesis: cyclists ride faster when people are present. Independent variable: presence of people. Dependent variable: speed of cycling.

The experimental method is strong for studying cause-effect relations under controlled conditions. Its limits include artificial settings, ethical limits, and difficulty in controlling all variables. Concept used. The experimental method changes an independent variable and studies its effect on a dependent variable while trying to control other variables.

1. A major strength is control. The researcher can keep many conditions constant and focus on the effect of one variable.
2. Another strength is cause-effect testing. A well-planned experiment can show whether a change in one factor leads to a change in behaviour.
3. It also allows repetition. Other researchers can repeat the procedure and check the result.
4. One weakness is artificiality. A laboratory setting may not match real life, so behaviour may change.
5. A second weakness is that all outside variables cannot be controlled. Personality, motivation, fatigue, and past experience may affect results.
6. A third weakness is ethical limits. Some conditions cannot be created if they may harm participants.

The experimental method gives control and cause-effect evidence, but it can be artificial, ethically limited, and hard to control fully.

The method is naturalistic observation. Dr. Krishnan observes behaviour in a real setting, records selected play behaviour, and later analyses the record. Concept used. Observation is a method of describing behaviour by selecting, recording, and analysing behaviour as it occurs. Naturalistic observation happens in a real-life setting without controlling the situation.

1. The method involved is observational method, specifically naturalistic observation.
2. The researcher first selects the behaviour to observe. In this case, it is children's play behaviour.
3. The researcher then records the behaviour. This may be done through notes, tallies, photographs, or video recording if consent is taken.
4. The researcher avoids influencing or controlling the children. The aim is to see play in its natural school setting.
5. After recording, the researcher analyses the observations and looks for patterns.
6. A merit is that behaviour is seen as it naturally occurs. It gives rich detail about real-life action.
7. A demerit is observer bias. The observer's expectations may affect what is noticed. It is also time-consuming and labour intensive.

The method is naturalistic observation. It records selected behaviour in a real setting, but it may be slow and affected by observer bias.

Survey method can be used to study student attitudes toward online classes or parents' views on school timing. Its limits include self-report bias, poor return rate, and shallow answers. Concept used. Survey research studies opinions, attitudes, beliefs, and social facts by asking people questions through interviews, questionnaires, mail, phone, or similar tools.

1. Example one: a school may survey Class 11 students about after-school activities, such as study, games, television, and hobbies.
2. Example two: a researcher may survey students' attitudes toward private coaching or online learning.
3. The survey method is useful when the researcher wants information from many people in a short time.
4. One limitation is self-report bias. People may give socially acceptable answers instead of true answers.
5. Another limitation is low response. Mailed or online questionnaires may not be returned by many people.
6. A third limitation is limited depth. Fixed questions may not capture the full reason behind an answer.
7. Questions can also be misunderstood if wording is unclear.

Survey can study student activities or attitudes toward online learning. Its limits include biased answers, low response, and limited depth.

An interview is a face-to-face or direct verbal interaction. A questionnaire is a written set of questions answered by the participant. Concept used. Both interview and questionnaire are survey tools. They differ in the role of the researcher, flexibility, cost, depth, and response format.

1. In an interview, the researcher asks questions directly. In a questionnaire, the participant reads and answers written questions.
2. An interview can be structured or unstructured. The interviewer may clarify, probe, and change the order when needed.
3. A questionnaire is usually more fixed. All participants usually receive the same questions in the same form.
4. An interview gives richer information because the researcher can observe tone, hesitation, and examples.
5. A questionnaire is cheaper and easier for a large group. It can be mailed or given to many people at once.
6. Interview data may be affected by interviewer bias. Questionnaire data may suffer from misunderstanding or low return rate.

Interview is direct verbal questioning; questionnaire is written self-report. Interview is deeper and flexible, while questionnaire is cheaper and wider.

A standardised test has uniform procedure, objective scoring, norms, reliability, and validity. It helps compare an individual's score with a reference group. Concept used. A standardised psychological test is a carefully developed tool used to assess individual differences in a dependable and objective way.

1. Uniform procedure means the test is given in the same way to all participants. Instructions, time, and setting are controlled.
2. Objective scoring means the score does not depend on the personal likes of the examiner.
3. Norms are reference scores collected from a suitable group. They help compare one person's performance with others.
4. Reliability means the test gives steady results when the trait has not changed.
5. Validity means the test measures what it claims to measure.
6. A standardised test may be verbal, non-verbal, or performance based. It may be individual or group administered.

A standardised test has fixed administration, objective scoring, norms, reliability, and validity.

Psychological enquiry is limited by lack of an absolute zero point, relative nature of tools, and subjective interpretation of qualitative data. Concept used. Psychological enquiry studies complex human behaviour. Because people and contexts differ, its measurement and interpretation have limits.

1. One limitation is lack of absolute zero point. A zero score on a psychological test does not mean the person has none of that quality.
2. For example, a zero on a memory test does not mean total absence of memory. It means no correct response on that test.
3. A second limitation is the relative nature of psychological tools. Scores make sense when compared with norms or other scores.
4. A third limitation is subjective interpretation in qualitative data. The researcher may interpret reports, diaries, or field notes differently.
5. Human behaviour also changes across settings. The same person may act differently in a group and alone.
6. Because of these limits, psychological findings should be read with context and caution.

The limits include no absolute zero point, relative test tools, subjective interpretation, and context-sensitive behaviour.

A psychologist should ensure voluntary participation, informed consent, debriefing, sharing of results, and confidentiality of data. Concept used. Ethics are moral principles that protect participants in psychological research. They respect privacy, choice, safety, and fairness.

1. Voluntary participation means people should freely decide whether to take part. They should also be free to withdraw without penalty.
2. Informed consent means participants should know what will happen before data are collected.
3. Debriefing means explaining the study after it is over, especially if deception was used.
4. Sharing results means the researcher should give participants suitable information about the findings.
5. Confidentiality means private information should be protected and used only for research purposes.
6. The researcher should avoid harm and treat participants with respect and justice.

The guidelines are voluntary participation, informed consent, debriefing, sharing results, confidentiality, respect, and protection from harm.