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The Scientific Method
Psychology is, like any science, a branch of knowledge that deals with a body of facts systematically arranged and shows the operation of general laws.
In all sciences, including psychology, a special procedure, the scientific method, must be used to collect data to answer a question or to solve a problem. The scientific method not only answers the question at hand but also is used to construct scientific theories. A theory is systematically organized knowledge applicable in a wide variety of circumstances. (The amount of information available in any science is too vast to be useful unless it is organized through the use of theories.) Theories are also used to predict events or to answer questions in a specific scientific discipline. In psychology, theories are used to organize and predict behavior and mental processes. The findings of a particular study may support or lead to the alteration of a theory.While the scientific method doesn't provide a step-by-step recipe for dealing with specific circumstances, it does provide general guidelines for the following procedures in any scientific data collection. Formulation of the problem, design of the study, collection of data, analysis of data, conclusions drawn from data. The description of a study, its procedures, and its conclusions is frequently published as an article in a scientific journal. Careful attention to following the scientific method allows a second investigator to replicate or refute the findings of a study. For ease of replication, the variables (items under consideration in a study that can change or vary during the course of the study) in a study are defined in terms of observable operations called operational definitions. Scientific method | General method of investigation using induction and deduction | 1. Psychological statistics is the application of statistics to psychology. Some of the more common applications include: psychometrics, learning theory, perception, human development, abnormal psychology, Personality test, Psychological tests. 2. Methods of Data Gathering in Psychology 1.Experiment The experiment is the most useful of all scientific methods because most of the basic facts in psychology are supplied by the results of experimental studies. This method is generally done in a laboratory setting involving many controlled variables.
Socio-experiment -> mostly used studies related to social Psychology. This is an experiment that is conducted in the natural environment instead of a laboratory
2.Survey
This is the most common method. There are two tools a researcher can use in a survey method – questionnaire and interview.
The questionnaire is best used when study requires many respondents. This saves you more time.
The interview is used when the no. of respondents is just small. Interview is also used when respondents cannot read or write.
3.Case Histories and Clinical Studies
This method is used when an intensive investigation about a certain case is needed. In this method, the researcher has to dig into all sorts of records about the subject including hospital, educational, family background and all other necessary data.
4.Observation
Two kinds of Observation method
+Participant Observation
The researcher has to join the group under study in order to gather deeper and more intensive data.
+Non-Participant Observation / Naturalistic Observation
The researcher is just a plain observer. Oftentimes, the subjects do not know that they are under study.
5. Test Method
This method uses Psychological Test as its instrument.
Examples of Psychological Test are:
- IQ Test
-Problem Checklist
-Aptitude Test
-Free Association Technique -> used to study patients with mental problems.
Ethics- are very important when carrying out any type of psychological research. Before we can begin any research method it is vital that we stick to an ethical code of practice, as we will be dealing with people. Ethics refers to the correct rules of conduct necessary when carrying out research. We have a moral responsibility to protect research participants from harm..

Heredity VS. Environment - Many aspects of human characteristics (such as height and eye color) are largely genetically determined. Psychology researchers, however, tend to be interested in dimensions that are relatively less determined by genetics—traits that subject more to environmental influences, such as how a person feels, acts, and thinks. Given that the degree of genetic determination appears to vary from one dimension to another (e.g., spatial skills versus language acquisition), how can one determine the relative influences of heredity and environment for various human characteristics, and how can one understand the complex relationship between them?
For example, Javier has two biological daughters who share the same biological mother. Both are tall, well mannered, and musically inclined. Despite these similarities, the older child appears socially reserved and quiet, while the younger one, who was born into the same family environment, seems more outgoing. In addition, one of his children has been diagnosed with a learning disability while the other seems exceptionally well-functioning cognitively. How can these similarities and differences between the two children be explained? One may think, "Well, Javier is tall and he is also a talented musician himself, so these girls must have gotten these 'good genes' from Javier. And he is quite strict when it comes to disciplining his children, so that explains their good manners. But why is the younger one so sociable—and what about her learning disability? Maybe she hasn't been read to as much as the older one has." In essence, hereditary influences and various environmental factors in these children's lives are being weighed and analyzed in explaining the characteristics of these children.
The field of behavioral genetics aims at understanding the observable differences in a wide variety of human characteristics, typically by analyzing the contributions made by heredity and environment in the development of the characteristics in question. Although the research in behavioral genetics is ideologically and methodologically diverse, it is fair to state that it often helps one theorize how much heredity and environment contribute to an observed outcome, and how various factors may interact with each other to create a particular outcome. At the root of such research endeavors lies what is called the nature-nurture controversy. Read more: Heredity Versus Environment - The Nature-nurture Controversy, Exploring Heredity And Environment: Research Methods, Beyond Heritability - Twins, Genetic, Environmental, and Children - JRank Articles http://social.jrank.org/pages/300/Heredity-Versus-Environment.html#ixzz21OMEwKv4

Nervous system: set of nerves, ganglions and nervous centers that receive sensory signal. Commands and coordinates vital functions.
Brachial plexus: network of nerves of the arm.
Intercostal nerve: cord conducting nerve impulses between the ribs.
Radial nerve: cord conducting nerve impulses in the area of the radius.
Median nerve: main cord conducting nerve impulses in the upper limb.
Ulnar nerve: cord conducting nerve impulses in the area of the elbow.
Lumbar plexus: network of nerves of the lower back.
Sciatic nerve: cord conducting nerve impulses in the area of the thigh and lower leg.
Common peroneal nerve: cord conducting nerve impulses along the inside of the lower leg.
Superficial peroneal nerve: cord conducting nerve impulses of the muscles and skin of the leg.
Digital nerve: cord conducting nerve impulses of the fingers.
Sacral plexus: network of nerves of the sacrum.
Spinal cord: substance belonging to the nervous system, found in the holes of the vertebrae.
Cerebellum: nervous centre situated under the brain.
Cerebrum: seat of the mental capacities.vision and audition- Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Their brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that they may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to them, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Their arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of their body now. Their kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on their scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid. |

loss of sensation-Neuropathy refers to the decrease- or loss of- sensation in an area that is supplied by the affected nerve. The term ‘peripheral neuropathy’ refers to neuropathy of the arms, hands, legs and feet.

Recent developments have been made on specific proteins in the outer membranes that correspond to pressure, pain, heat, cold, and other stimuli. Based on research evidence, presented in an article in Science Daily, a specific family of sensory nerve proteins, piezo proteins have been discovered to to be essential to the sensation of painful touch. The piezo protein is an exceptionally strong candidate for pressure-transducing ion channel proteins in mammals. Experiments in the new study are conducted on fruit flies, who also express the piezo protein, which provide a model system for the sensory nervous system in mammals.

Patapoutian, a scientist, has a laboratory that specializes in the study of sensory ion channel proteins. In the first study conducted within the new study on the piezo protein in Patapoutian’s lab it was confirmed that piezo proteins are indeed very large ion channel proteins. The second study conducted within the new study was done on Drosophila fruit flies. A line of genetically engineered fruit flies were created without the piezo protein. The larvae of these flies showed a loss of responsiveness to mechanical stimuli-that should cause pain, yet responded normally to other kinds of stimuli. Some of the larvae born without the piezo protein were reinstated with dpiezo. These larvae demonstrated normal sensitivity to strong pressure.
Although scientists believe this protein very likely contributes to pressure-transduction, future studies on roles of piezo proteins in sensing sound, blood pressure and related stimuli that press and/or stretch cell membranes will be conducted. This is a huge advancement in the understanding of stimuli and how we receive outside messages and transmit them to the brain. I find it very interesting that the understanding of how the human body works advances over time and never ceases to a halt.

1 Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring newknowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.[1] To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.[2] The Oxford English Dictionary says that scientific method is: "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses."[3]
The chief characteristic which distinguishes a scientific method of inquiry from other methods of acquiring knowledge is that scientists seek to let reality speak for itself, supporting a theory when a theory's predictions are confirmed and challenging a theory when its predictions prove false. Although procedures vary from one field of inquiry to another, identifiable features distinguish scientific inquiry from other methods of obtaining knowledge. Scientific researchers propose hypotheses as explanations of phenomena, and designexperimental studies to test these hypotheses via predictions which can be derived from them. These steps must be repeatable, to guard against mistake or confusion in any particular experimenter. Theories that encompass wider domains of inquiry may bind many independently derived hypotheses together in a coherent, supportive structure. Theories, in turn, may help form new hypotheses or place groups of hypotheses into context.

Research method

Research and experimental development is creative work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications (OECD (2002) Frascati Manual: proposed standard practice for surveys on research and experimental development,

Ethics in research
Another way of defining 'ethics' focuses on the disciplines that study standards of conduct, such as philosophy, theology, law, psychology, or sociology. For example, a "medical ethicist" is someone who studies ethical standards in medicine. One may also define ethics as a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex problems and issues. For instance, in considering a complex issue like global warming, one may take an economic, ecological, political, or ethical perspective on the problem. While an economist might examine the cost and benefits of various policies related to global warming, an environmental ethicist could examine the ethical values and principles at stake.

Neurons

the basic nerve cell of the nervous system, containing a nucleus within a cell body and extending one or more processes. Neurons can be classified according to the direction in which they conduct impulses or according to the number of processes they extend. Sensory neurons transmit nerve impulses toward the spinal cord and the brain. Motor neurons transmit nerve impulses from the brain and the spinal cord to the muscles and the glandular tissue. Multipolar neurons, bipolar neurons, and unipolar neurons are classified according to the number of processes they extend to the different kinds of neurons. Multipolar neurons have one axon and several dendrites, as do most of the neurons in the brain and the spinal cord. Bipolar neurons, which are less numerous than the other types, have one axon and only one dendrite. Unipolar neurons have one axon and no dendrites. All primary sensory afferents and some autonomic neurons are unipolar. All neurons have one axon, and most have one or more dendrites and have a slightly gray color when clustered, as in the nuclei of the brain and the spinal cord. As the generators and carriers of nerve impulses, neurons function according to electrochemical processes involving positively charged sodium and potassium ions and the changing electrical potential of the extracellular and the intracellular fluid of the neuron. Also spelled neurone. neuronal,

heredity vs. environment How is heredity influence by the Environment?

nature versus nurture, heredity is in your geneology their no way to change it accept your lifestyle choices-drinking-smoking and doing drugs will effect all organs musles and brain functions leading down the path to cancer, heart attack, stoke, emphysema, hallucinations, depression, sucidal thoughts and so on, eat healthy exercise and get a geneology test done of your immediately family to see what if any "dieases" carry over to your blood line. grandparents-mother and father of both and siblings-slao stepmothers and stepchildren as well as aunts and uncles-with or without children.

Multimodal integration, also known as multisensory integration, is the study of how information from the different sensory modalities, such as sight, sound, touch, smell, self-motion and taste, may be integrated by the nervous system. A coherent representation of objects combining modalities enables us to have meaningful perceptual experiences. Indeed, multisensory integration is central to adaptive behavior because it allows us to perceive a world of coherent perceptual entities.[1] Multimodal integration also deals with how different sensory modalities interact with one another and alter each other’s processing.

Touch and pain