SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY

Question: A: What was new to you in this topic?

Answer:
I have always thought of psychology as an independent area of study. I thought its study would
also be independent of any other area. Especially scientific method of study had nothing to do
with psychology. But while studying this course and this book I have come to know that for
psychological study one has to follow scientific method of study.
Further, I have learnt that there are six steps in the scientific method of study.
1. Studying of the available academic writings such as research articles etc.
2. Developing hypothesis
3. Choosing an experimental research design
4. Making statistical research analysis
5. Publishing your research
6. Investigating additional study techniques that further contribute to theory development.
Whenever, I sit with my friends who have completed their degrees, they talk about scientific
method of study in psychology. They share their experiences. From their discussion, I can now
relate their experience with what we have studied in this topic.

Question: B:
Answer:

Heiman, G. W. (2001) discusses the scientific methodology in the study of psychology ate detail.
He defines how the questions in psychology can be studied and answered by using scientific
methodology.
 STRESS AND ILLNESS

Question: A: What was new to you in this topic?

Answer:
I had the knowledge that stress causes cardiovascular problems and Posttraumatic stress
disorder, but stress also causes Gastric Ulcers and can also lead to Cancer is new for me.
Although, I had observed people with stress usually have stomach or intestine issues, I paid
little attention to the correlation between stress and gastric ulcers. Even in our families, people
having stomach issues usually visit gastrologists for the purpose, they do not pay head to the
stress they are undergoing.
Another thing is that is new to me is that stress ignites the H.Pylori bacterium that causes
infection in stomach by damaging the walls of stomach. But what I have observed that people
have recurring ulcers in their stomachs. But they don’t pay attention to psychological problems.
In my family, one of my cousins had the problem of ulcer, he visited doctors multiple times.
However, he could not get relief from medicines. Ultimately he had to visit psychiatrist and he
was diagnosed with stress related disorders. After that, he got relief from stomach problem.
This relates to the topic as the case is much similar to the situation described by the author in
this book.

Question: B:
Answer:

Fink, G (2011) also discusses the correlation between stress and gastric ulceration. He goes on
saying that gastric ulcers related to stress can even cause death which is the extreme condition
of stress.
 SLEEP PROBLEM AND DISORDERS

Question No: 01: What was new to you in this topic?

Answer:

Insomnia:
Although I was aware of the insomnia as the sleeping disorder, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is
new for me. Whenever anyone around me was suffering from insomnia, I have always
wondered how can be he treated. Normally people especially in old age start taking medicines
to make themselves fall asleep. This leads to dependency on the tablets. The situation is even
graver when the people in young age suffer from insomnia. There are many people around me
who suffer from this sleeping disorder. This raises my eye brows and perplexes me because
they start taking medicines. Since medicines create dependency, taking medicines makes falling
asleep even more difficult. I always thought of the alternative to the medication. Now I have
found the way people can get rid of insomnia. That is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Another thing that is new in this topic is narcolepsy. I have some of the people around me who are
suffering from this sleeping disorder. Their condition has always been matter of concern for their
families. They have visited multiple doctors, they hardly understood the condition. Much like traditional
families, they resisted visiting psychiatrists. They were fearful of being called people with psychological
issues. While I have gone through this topic, I can make them understand their sleeping disorder.

I do agree with the author, because I have seen people with these sleeping disorders. Even in my family
people have these disorders. They have consulted the doctors for these problems. I have also gone
through couple of articles in newspapers and magazines that have discussed these disorders at length.
Those articles also support the idea discussed by the author in this book.

Roth, T (2007) stresses more on the cognitive model of insomnia, further he says that arousal can be
studied under cognitive model of insomnia which suggests that worry and rumination disrupts sleep,
leading to episodes of insomnia. From the discussion of Roth, T, it is visible that insomnia needs
cognitive behavioral therapy.
Fink, G. (2011). Stress controversies: post‐traumatic stress disorder, hippocampal volume,
gastroduodenal ulceration. Journal of neuroendocrinology, 23(2), 107-117.

Heiman, G. W. (2001). Understanding research methods and statistics: An integrated introduction for

psychology. Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

Roth, T. (2007). Insomnia: definition, prevalence, etiology, and consequences. Journal of clinical sleep
medicine, 3(5 suppl), S7-S10.