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Naturalistic versus experimental approaches to aggression; theoretical and methodological issues
Author(s) -
Gaebelein Jacquelyn
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/1098-2337(1981)7:4<325::aid-ab2480070403>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - generality , aggression , psychology , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , realism , naturalistic observation , injury prevention , applied psychology , social psychology , epistemology , medicine , medical emergency , psychotherapist , philosophy
Various strategies to study human aggression are described, accompanied by a discussion of four major issues. It is concluded that the three major goals of research, precise measurement, realism, and generality, cannot be achieved in a single study or series of studies using only one paradigm. Investigators of a particular problem need to develop a research program that incorporates a number of strategies; hypotheses generated “in the street” need to be tested in the laboratory and vice versa.