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Two recent articles in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science , a publication of the Association for Psychological Science,explored how trends in technology are changing the questionspsychological scientists are asking and the ways they ask them. A Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences With Facebook preparing to sell shares on Wall Street for the firsttime next week, investors aren't the only ones who want a piece ofthis social media giant. Social scientists have recognized Facebookand its 800-million-plus users as a gold mine for data aboutpeople's social relationships, and many researchers haveincorporated it into their research programs. Psychologicalscientists Robert E. Wilson, Samuel T. Gosling and Lindsay T.Graham compiled all social-science studies involving Facebook andtook a look at the types of questions researchers are asking. Overall trends in the research indicate that people are drawn toFacebook because they can maintain connections both with closefriends and distant friends in an informal manner. Researchers havealso shown that Facebook users tend to portray themselvesaccurately in their profiles, making Facebook profiles an excellentsource for employers to evaluate job candidates and for businessesto find new consumers for their products. Companies who decide touse Facebook to collect information should be wary, though, becausestudies have demonstrated that Facebook users are becomingincreasingly concerned about their privacy over time. Scientistsalso have to assess privacy issues when they design their Facebookstudies, but Wilson and his colleagues believe that the value ofthe data collected from Facebook outweighs the challengesscientists have to overcome to obtain it. The Smartphone Psychology Manifesto Smartphones may be getting cheaper, but their value topsychological scientists is priceless. Because people areconstantly on the go, one of the biggest challenges researchersface is collecting data in real time in people's everydayenvironments. Sure, scenarios can be recreated in the laboratory,but psychological scientist Geoffrey Miller asks why shouldscientists rely on simulations when they could tap the power ofsmartphones instead? One advantage of smartphones is that people tend to carry themalmost everywhere they go. The sensors on smartphones can alsoprovide a wealth of information beyond a user's location, includingwhether a person is moving, how they are moving, and whether anindividual is in close proximity to other smartphone users. Byusing "psych apps" that users download to their phones,Miller suggests that scientists would be able to obtain a moreaccurate representation of how environments influence behavior. Oneapp already in use is "Mappiness," which combines yourlocation, ambient noise level, and your mood to find out how yourenvironment influences your mood. Miller also predicts thatsmartphones could eventually be equipped to detect other things,such as temperature, radiation levels, and pollution. There are downsides to smartphone research, including the limitedbattery life of smartphones, having to account for different phonemodels, and the fact that focusing on smartphones would only allowresearchers to study individuals who could afford them (i.e.,young, well-to-do people). Yet Miller believes that it is not aquestion of whether there will be a smartphone revolution inpsychological science research, it is a question of when therevolution will happen. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Outboard Motor Spare Parts Manufacturer , 40 HP Outboard Motor Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit 4 Stroke Outboard Motors today!
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