Semester 2, 2023-2024
Type of courseMethodological and Practical Courses
DateFebruary 5 and February 6, 2024
LocationAmsterdam
2 days
Maximum number of participants30
ECTS1 EC will be appointed for participation in the complete course
StaffCatherine Molho (VU), Terence Dores Cruz (VU/UvA), Wilhelm Hoffman (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
Content, learning goals, preparation
An important goal of many PhD projects is to understand our social behavior as it occurs in everyday life. While social psychological research commonly builds on tightly controlled experimental studies, a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping our social behavior requires insights beyond the lab. A key methodology for such social psychological field research is experience sampling, which provides the methodological tools to study social psychological phenomena as experienced in everyday life. In this two-day workshop, we will introduce experience sampling methods and how to apply them. Prior to the course, participating students are asked to read a paper on experience sampling in social psychology and will create a research proposal applying experience sampling to their field of interest during the course.
The first day familiarizes participating students with experience sampling methods and how these methods could be used. In the first part of the day, we will discuss the research questions that experience sampling can answer and different forms of experience sampling (e.g., event-based versus signal-based; the number of reports). We will illustrate different experience sampling approaches by discussing examples of published research. In the second part of the day, participants will form small groups to discuss how experience sampling could be used to answer research questions relevant to their PhD project and to develop a proposal for a project using experience sampling.
The second day will allow students to receive feedback on their project proposals and get practical advice on running an experience sampling study. In the first part of the day, the groups of participating students will present their proposed research projects and receive feedback from their peers, and an invited expert on experience sampling. In the second part of the day, our guest speaker will give a presentation following the framework for experience sampling described in the reading, including a discussion of specific benefits of experience sampling methods, concrete examples of their work, and practical tips for using experience sampling methods. We will conclude with a discussion of how to conduct experience sampling studies successfully (e.g., how to instruct participants, how to collect data, and how to use data).
Literature
Compulsory:
Hofmann, W., & Grigoryan, L. (2023, March 16). The Social Psychology of Everyday Life. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/bvga5
Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary Methods: Capturing Life as it is Lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54(1), 579–616. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145030
Optional:
Balliet, D., Molho, C., Columbus, S., & Dores Cruz, T. D. (2022). Prosocial and punishment behaviors in everyday life. Current Opinion in Psychology, 43, 278–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.015
Conner, T. S., & Lehman, B. J. (2012). Getting started: Launching a study in daily life. In M. R. Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 89–107). The Guilford Press.