How can Psychology help us in our everyday lives?
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Research (theories and studies) in the IB Psychology course tends to be interesting to read about. However, psychological research aims to be more than just interesting; it also aims to be useful to people in their everyday lives.
When answering ERQ questions, you are required to evaluate (give strengths and limitations of) the research you include. One way you can do this is by discussing whether or not the research has any application to the real world. Similarly, when writing your I.A. report, you are asked to state the relevance of your research. But what do application and relevance mean?
Application refers to whether a theory and/or the findings of supporting studies can be applied to groups of people in society to benefit them in an aspect of their everyday lives. Relevance is a similar concept – is a theory or study relevant to people in the real world, and how can it help them? Research is far more likely to be funded, and then published, if it is considered to have application and to be relevant.
Here are some of the ways in which research from the Cognitive Approach has application and is relevant to students:
The Multi-Store Model of Memory
For information to be transferred from Short Term Memory to Long Term Memory, it must be rehearsed; otherwise, it will be forgotten after a brief period.
Students need to rehearse course content that they hope to recall in exams. This could be done by repeatedly testing themselves on crucial information.
Hitch and Baddeley (1976)
Dual-task experiments found that participants were more successful at completing two tasks simultaneously if the tasks required the use of different parts of the Working Memory (such as the Phonological Loop and the Visuospatial Scratch Pad) compared to tasks that both required the use of the same part of the working memory.
Students can use this information to improve their ability to process course content. For example, it is not a good idea to make notes from a textbook while watching T.V. These tasks both require the Visuospatial Scratchpad; therefore, the student is unlikely to be able to adequately process the textbook information or later recall it.
Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014)
Found that participants who took notes by hand were better able to recall the content of their notes compared to participants who had taken computerised notes.
The application here advises students to take notes by hand rather than on a computer when studying for exams.
Research can also have applications and be relevant to other groups of people in society. Here is an example from the Biological Approach:
Draganski et al. (2006)
Found larger areas in certain parts of the brains of participants who had been learning to juggle for three months compared to a control group of non-jugglers.
This has application for anybody who wants to learn a new skill, e.g., learning to drive. They should be encouraged that skills can develop with practice, even if, at first, they seem challenging.
Try identifying the application or relevance of other research you have studied. For example, who could benefit from the findings of Loftus and Palmer’s (1974) car crash studies? Does Social Identity Theory have any application to real life situations?
