Teaching & Learning Guide for: Full‐Cycle Social Psychology for Theory and Application

This guide accompanies the following article: Chad R. Mortensen and Robert B. Cialdini, ‘Full‐Cycle Social Psychology for Theory and Application’. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 4/1 (2010): 53–63, DOI: 10.1111/j.1751‐9004.2009.00239.xAuthors’ Introduction A full‐cycle approach to social psychology involves moving cyclically between experimentation, theory, and field observation. This can create a synergistic blend of research in which the weaknesses of each method are compensated for by the strengths of the others. Consequently, one can determine the importance and strength of psychological phenomena in the real world as well as the psychological mechanisms underlying these phenomena. Furthermore, though basic and applied social psychology are both valuable, they too‐often remain largely separate sub‐disciplines. However, because relevance to the real world is important for basic research and an understanding of basic mental processes is important for high quality applied research, deliberately combining each type of research benefits the goals of each, and the full‐cycle approach can aid in doing so. The full‐cycle approach has further utility in its ability to aid in the generation of important, interesting research ideas. Because of the multiple applications of this approach to improving research within and beyond social psychology, this teaching and learning guide aims to aid instructors in incorporating the approach into current syllabi for courses in, but not limited to, social psychology, applied psychology, consumer behavior, and organizational behavior. Authors Recommend On the full‐cycle approach Cialdini, R. B. (1980). Full‐cycle social psychology. In L. Bickman (Ed.), Applied Social Psychology Annual (Vol. 1, pp. 21–47). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. This is the original article advocating the full‐cycle approach to social psychology. Though there is considerable conceptual overlap between it and the updated article this guide covers, this article contains different illustrative research programs and much greater depth into the process by which these research programs were developed. Reading this article can therefore foster greater understanding of how to conceive and implement a full‐cycle approach. West, S. G., & Graziano, W. G. (in press). Basic, applied, and full cycle social psychology: Enhancing causal generalization and impact. In D. T. Kenrick, N. J. Goldstein & S. L. Braver (Eds.), Six Degrees of Social Influence: Science, Application, and the Psychology of Robert Cialdini. New York: Oxford University Press. This chapter discusses methodological extensions to the full‐cycle approach such as field studies, new longitudinal designs, and applied experiments. The ways in which these can remedy shortcomings of laboratory based randomized experiments are discussed as well as how the use of these can help garner greater public support for social psychology as a discipline. Linder, D. E., Reich, J. W., & Braver, S. L. (in press). Collective full cycle social psychology: Models, principles, experience. In D. T. Kenrick, N. J. Goldstein & S. L. Braver (Eds.), Six Degrees of Social Influence: Science, Application, and the Psychology of Robert Cialdini. New York: Oxford University Press. This chapter discusses the implementation of the full‐cycle approach as a collective enterprise. The chapter describes the ways in which a doctoral program has implemented the full‐cycle approach and the ways in which this has been successful. The current structure of scientific research is discussed, as are methods for bridging the gap between basic and applied research. Examples of research programs that have utilized the full‐cycle model help illustrate the benefits of this approach. Chatman, J. A., & Flynn, F. J. (2005). Full‐cycle micro‐organizational behavior research. Organization Science , 16 , 434–447. Demonstrating the value of a full‐cycle approach in other disciplines besides social psychology, the authors advocate using a full‐cycle approach in organizational behavior research. In addition to providing reasons as to why this approach is beneficial, examples of research programs of this type already conducted within the field are given. These examples help to illustrate not only how to apply a full‐cycle approach specifically to organizational behavior, but how to apply it to other fields besides social psychology as well. On related themes Reich, J. W. (2008). Integrating science and practice: Adopting the Pasteurian model. Review of General Psychology , 12 , 365–377. A Pasteurian model of research, which the full‐cycle approach can aid in supporting, is one in which basic research is conducted with application in mind to seamlessly develop both basic science and practice. This model is discussed in this article as an alternative to the traditional social psychological model in which basic science is conducted by some and then others apply this research to the real world. The fundamental principles of Pasteur’s method of conducting scientific research are described and promoted as a way to better link science and practice. McGuire, W. J. (1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics . Annual Review of Psychology , 48 , 1–30. An article on hypothesis generation with many interesting suggestions including suggestions using full‐cycle principles. McGuire, W. J. (1973). The yin and yang of progress in social psychology: Seven koan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 26 , 446–456. An interesting article on approaches to research, including the scouting of effects in the natural environment. Ellsworth, P. C. (1977). From abstract ideas to concrete instances: Some guidelines for choosing natural research settings. American Psychologist , 32 , 604–615. While the full‐cycle article discusses positive outcomes that can results from conducting research in natural settings, this useful article by Ellsworth discusses guidelines for conducting this research. Zimbardo, P. (2004). Does psychology make a significant difference in our lives? American Psychologist , 59 , 339–351. Related to the topic of application, past examples of social psychological research applied to the real world are discussed as well as future goals. Though not written in terms of a full‐cycle approach, many of these goals can be aided by way of this approach. Sample Syllabus Topics for lecture & discussion Because full‐cycle social psychology is a broad approach rather than a specific topic, it has the potential to be presented within several contexts. One context that lends itself naturally to the discussion of this approach is research methods of social psychology and/or applied social psychology (e.g., naturalistic observation, laboratory experiment, field experiment). The full‐cycle approach can be presented as a way of combining several methods such that the weaknesses of each can be dampened through the use of others. It can also be discussed within this context as a method for discovering interesting, important research questions. Examples: Chapter 1 of Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., & Cialdini, R. B. (2010). Social Psychology: Goals in Interaction (5th edn). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Chapter 9 of Aronson, E. (2008). The Social Animal (10th edn). New York: Worth/Freeman. Section II of Schultz, P. W., & Oskamp, S. (2000). Social psychology: An Applied Perspective . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice‐Hall. Alternatively, the full‐cycle approach can be incorporated into the context of applying social psychology, which is often featured in social psychology textbooks and the focus of many applied social psychology texts. Focus Questions1  What are the strengths and weaknesses of laboratory research? 2  Under what conditions might laboratory findings fail to generalize to the natural environment? 3  What positive outcomes for society can result from a full‐cycle approach? 4  What are the strengths and weaknesses of field research? 5  What roles does the natural environment play in the full‐cycle approach?Seminar/Project Idea These assignments seek to create a better understanding of the full‐cycle approach by asking students to search for research ideas of their own by observing the world around them and/or by taking a research finding from class they find interesting and seeing if it has external validity. These assignments are best assigned early in the course but due later in the course to allow students time to generate ideas. Option 1: A full‐cycle approach to seeking out important, powerful phenomena to research This assignment is intended to give students an opportunity to practice seeking out important, powerful phenomena in the real world to research. They will be asked to choose a research idea based on real world observations, design a method for researching the idea in a controlled experiment, and decide on predicted results for the research. To ensure students stay on the right path, it is useful to have them approach the assignment in a piecemeal fashion. For example, students can engage in the following steps.1  Observe the world around them, watching for powerful phenomena to investigate in the lab or field. Tips: A) Ask students to carry something around with them at all times on which they can take notes (e.g., small pad of paper and pen, smartphone) so they do not forget any great ideas. B) Instruct them to be vigilant for anything they notice changing behavior in themselves or others.2  Discuss their top few ideas with the instructor to choose the idea best suited for laboratory or controlled field research. 3  Design a controlled laboratory or field experiment to test whether the phenomenon is valid and predict the results of the study. 4  Write a research proposal describing the real‐world phenomenon and related research in an introduction section, the design of the experiment in a method section, and predicted results in a results section.Option 2: Testing an experimental finding for external validity This assignment is designed to give students experience at testing laboratory finding for external validity. Again, approaching this in a piecemeal fashion may be helpful. Suggested steps for students are as follows:1  Be vigilant for experimental findings discussed in class that you find interesting and would like to test for external validity. 2  Think of contexts in the natural environment in which these phenomena should be demonstrated reliably (assuming the finding is externally valid). 3  Design a way to observe this real world situation to determine whether the experimental finding is occurring as it would be predicted according to experimental research. 4  Compose a research paper describing the experimental finding, the real‐world context in which the experimental finding should show itself if externally valid, and how the students would observe this to validate the experimental findings.Alternatively, these assignments can be combined into a larger project where students design experimental research based on an observation in the natural environment as in Option 1, then determine a way to test the experiment’s external validity assuming it is found to be valid as in Option 2.