[Essay Help]: PSYC4050 Psychological Research Methodology IV

PSYC4050 Psychological Research Methodology IV.

Question:

This assignment is aimed at assessing your understanding of core principles that underlie and motivate model-based analysis and the Bayesian approach. Choose one of the topics below and write an essay response to it.

oth topics address contentious contemporary issues in psychology. It follows that there are legitimate reasons to hold different opinions on these matters. Your work will be assessed in relation to how well you have argued your position, not necessarily the position you have adopted. Because space is quite limited, we do not expect exhaustive coverage of all relevant issues/arguments. Presenting two or three detailed points is enough to achieve a strong result, and can be preferable to presenting many more points that are covered only superficially.

Choose One

Topic A

Many theories in psychology are specified verbally (i.e., the theory is described wholly in prose). It has been argued that such theories are not falsifiable in principle, and that mathematical models overcome this limitation because they can be directly evaluated against data. However, critics of mathematical models suggest that models remain unfalsifiable because they can be supplemented with auxiliary assumptions to fit patterns of data that they normally would not be able to explain. Discuss the relative falsifiability of verbal theories and mathematical models, noting the relative strengths and limitations of the two approaches to theorizing. Your response should include commentary on whether you think a theory can be considered falsifiable if it is readily extended by adding auxiliary assumptions.

Topic B

Inference using traditional null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) relies on interpretation of p values. However, it has been argued that a Bayesian approach to hypothesis testing is preferable, as it overcomes some of the limitations of NHST. Critics of the Bayesian approach have argued that reliance on subjective probabilities (viz. priors) renders the approach as problematic (or even more problematic) than NHST.

Discuss the argument that Bayesian methods of analysis are superior to more traditional frequentist methods that rely on NHST. Your response should include commentary on whether you think subjective evaluations should inform statistical analysis and whether the problems posed by priors can be addressed by proponents of the Bayesian framework.

PSYC4050 Psychological Research Methodology IV