Research Method in Biological Level of Analysis Psychology Essay

Examine the use of one research method used in the biological level of analysis, including an evaluation of the ethical considerations related to them. The case studies method consists in taking a patient personal history in order to take a diagnosis. It is usually applied in persons that have abnormal characteristics in behaviour, at biological or at cognitive level; it can also be applied to a group of people that are under the same situation. Case study is a long-term research where the patient or the group of people are studied to get into a conclusion. This type of study investigates and recollects qualitative data, such as feelings and experiences. At the same time it also includes quantitative data of measurements such as blood testing, IQ scores and other survey data. An example of case-study method is the Phineas Gage research. Phineas was the man who had an accident and a metal pole entered through its skull. It entered through his left cheek and exited through its frontal lobe. There were many factors that made of this situation really abnormal. Just after the accident Phineas was awake. He lost the vision in his left eye, but in his right eye the vision was perfect. Besides he didn’t suffer any paralysis and had no difficulty with speech or language. However, the doctor noted that his intellectual abilities and his emotional control had been destroyed. Gage had become impatient, indulgent and though he made plans for hi future he could never follow them. He could be described as a child. According to the long-term case study, his frontal lobe provided evidence that the brain affects personality and social behaviour. This is a really important research because it presents one of the biological level of analysis, the one that refers there are biological correlates of behaviour. Here we can see how damaged physiological factor can affect behaviour. Besides it shows us how case studies are really useful, because not all changes in behaviour happen from one day to another. As this study evidenced the process in which the behaviour starts to see affected is a long-term process. Case studies of the brain-damaged patients have led to important findings about the brain. According to the ethics in this type of research, probably there are more negative facts tan positive facts. Case studies researches are not ethical because the patient is treated, observed and examined like it is a completely different person compared to the others. Besides it can invade your personal spaces and take you away some privacy. The researcher gets to know deeply personal information fro the patient, which is not usually shared with other people. Besides, some of this information may be published or at least written up as a research report, in order to be used in a future as valid information in researches, etc. That’s why the identity of the person should be always protected; the researcher needs to cover all the details that could lead others to work out the individual’s identity. In the case of Phineas Gage most of this ethical considerations weren’t taked into count. They didn’t covered up his identity, beside they go into details of his personal life. In conclusion the case studies are really important because are the ones that lead us to conclusions about real life issues and particular problems. The researches done by this method are really accurate and play a really important role in psychology biological level of analysis.