The purpose of this report is to cover information regarding why we use statistics in psychology and how it helps interpreting research results. The report covers other parts such as how psychology is used in different fields like marketing, education, MBBS, organization development, statistics etc.
Introduction:
Psychology:
Psychology is the scientific study of human mind, its functions and behavior specially with refer to a particular context.
Psychology is a study that takes part in not only the field of social sciences but it do applies on different fields beside social sciences, like marketing, production, manufacturing, organizational development, human resource management, career counseling’s, etc etc.
Statistics:
Statistics is a practice of collecting, analyzing and interpreting numerical data in large quantity to describe and present data and its relationship.
Behavioral statistics:
The process of collecting, analyzing, interpreting data related to trends and patterns with reference to the behavioral context. It allows psychologists to predict behavior and relationship according to the data.
What behavioral statistics is all about?
Moreover, collecting the data of 8-10 people and analyzing it is a very easy task, it is easy to understand the pattern of their behaviors perhaps no statistics is required for this purpose but manually analyzing the collected data of dozens of people is near to impossible and will create lots of difficulties, therefor with the dataset of large groups we require to process the research with the help of statistics for example we need to find out whether the weight of people in Pakistan has the relationship with what they mostly eat. Here we have a large data sample from different parts of Pakistan and of different genders of different age groups, now we require to perform research with the help of statistics because we cannot find a trend or research just by observing the trend of data we collected.
STATISTICS AND PSYCHOLOGY
Mainly statistics in psychology allows us to answer questions like how one variable is dependent or other variable. How one variables changes when other variable change? What is the relationship between two variables? What is the strength of relationship?
PSYCHOLOGISTS AND STATISTICAL STUDIES:
Psychologists when starts with their researches first thing they do after selecting a topic is to develop a hypothesis. To see if their hypothesis is correct they use statistics.
The steps psychologists follow to perform the research are mainly:
- Collecting the data:
Collection of the data through the answers of the questionnaire filled by the targeted sample based on the research topic and hypothesis. The data that is to be collected should be of the exact targeted sample or this may create errors in the research and can results in wrong or errors in the outcomes of the research.
- Organizing the data:
statistics allows psychologists to present data is easier way to understand,=. Visual displays like tables, graphs, diagrams, frequency distribution tables’ helps psychologists to represent huge data and to create better understanding.
- Describing data:
Description provide a way to look over what already exists in a given population, like how many men and women are there, how many children are there or how many people are currently employed or unemployed.
- Make inference based upon data:
researchers can interpret things about a given sample or population. Psychologists use the data they have collected to test their research hypothesis and predict that what can happen.
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH:
Psychological research starts with an idea, but the idea must is followed by a research design, data collection, and data analysis, along with the interpretation of any findings. The ignorance of steps may results in the failure to enhance research design, to collect that required types of data which answers best to the research questions, and to avoid improper analysis of data which may lead to inappropriate and wrong conclusions.
Types of statistics:
Psychologist use two types of statistics:
1- Descriptive statistics
2- Inferential statistics
1- Descriptive Statistics: in this psychologists give general pictures of scores or data this include central tendency, which involves mean, median, mode and variability which involve standard deviations that shows how far the results are away from average.
2- Inferential Statistics: in this psychologists draw conclusions from the data obtained from research. The widely used statistics if t-test that shows the differences in averages across groups are due to the effects of an independent variable.
If there was no statistics in psychology than it would have been difficult for us to drive and analyze results and check the validity. A correct methodology and study assure the data we have obtained our research, this will be useful if to be applied to real situations. By the statistical researches we can get off our minds from the myths and false perceptions and opinions about different psychological aspects. Statistics helps in making better and realistic judgments that may affect your health and wellbeing.
We will always require this statistical resources to study psychology in depth.
HOW PSYCHOLOGY HELPS IN OTHER FEILDS?
On the other hand we encounters with psychology with our everyday activities, behavioral statistics helps psychologists in different fields.
PSYCHOLOGY AND CLINICS:
behavior patterns are important in the treatment and prevention of almost all major diseases and approx. half of deaths are preventable that can be linked to behaviors.
Practice of medicine in behaviorally and emotionally demanding. Psychological statistical researches helps in developing health care ethics and laws. As health providers’ psychologists and their statistical researches play a vital role in understanding how biological, behavioral, and social factors influence health, and illness. They are equipped with training, skills, and knowledge to understand how behaviors process. Psychologists gives psychological assessments and diagnoses, psychological treatments, and rehabilitation according to the need of patient as recommended by his/her doctor. These psychological treatments and assessment has large statistical researches behind their formations and applications.
PSYCHOLOGY AND HRM:
Seyidov in 2000 showed the correlation between management and psychology. He has given the attention to four basic problems or fundamental questions of the psychology of management: motivation, interpersonal relations, leadership, and selection of personnel.
Motivation: the formation of activity in the process of its realization and satisfaction.
Interpersonal relation: formation of internal requirement in establishing the communication and interpersonal relations.
Leadership: member of a social group who has the authorities’, whose power are admitted voluntarily by other participants of the group, and people are ready to listen to him and follow him.
Selection of personnel: If the psychological phase of selection is followed by required necessary characteristics, features, qualities and competencies of the person for successful performance of the job duties then selection is of person job fit.
Psychometrics and assessment centers has the results that are mostly based of statistics. Psychometrics and assessment centers measures human behavior and capabilities
Hawthorne’s Experiment:
On the other hand psychology helps human resource management in other ways like in increasing the production, by improving the employee relations with their supervisors and with their peers. This was proved by Hawthorne’s experiment which was based on 5 experiments and 3 of them were based on the changing in external environment that didn’t or less effected the production but other 2 experiments were based on the employee relations with their supervisors which showed the increase in production. The experiments didn’t only showed the increase in production but it also showed the higher levels of job satisfactions.
Employees job satisfactions and its correlations with other variables are measured through behavioral statistics that help study the employee psychological or behavioral patterns which could help in the employee retention.
Psychology and marketing:
Psychologist when working for marketing department studies the behavioral patterns of their consumers in terms of what are the ways to attract their consumers towards their products. Their marketing strategies should be on the bases of what will their consumer like, and how their advertisements can hit the targeted mind of the viewers that could produce the urge of buying it.
Psychology and production:
For the end of consumers, psychologists study about the trends and patterns of behavior of consumers to how they can satisfy the need of their consumers through their products what are the variables they should work on to satisfy the consumer demand, this may include the packaging of the product that the consumer should not be annoyed by the packaging and leave the product.
For the end of production employees psychologists observes the trend and patterns of behavior and psychological need of their employee that are on rely assembly line or in the packaging department whether are they satisfied their jobs or not and for the purpose of employee retention.