(a) Should the researcher always formulate a hypothesis before collecting data? Justify your answer with appropriate example. (10…

(a) Must a hypothesis always precede data collection?

No. A hypothesis is required when the aim is confirmatory, but not when it is exploratory. Confirmatory (deductive) research tests a theory-derived prediction. A hypothesis stated in advance fixes the variables, guards against HARKing (hypothesising after the results are known) and makes the test fair. Example: a hypothesis that groups who watch an aggressive model will show more aggression than a control group. Exploratory research maps a poorly understood area. Here a premature hypothesis can blind the researcher to what is actually there. Example: an exploratory study of why young adults share misinformation on messaging apps, using interviews, which yields categories and ideas that later become hypotheses. Qualitative and inductive designs, such as grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), build theory from the data. Pilot and big-data studies also generate hypotheses. So the rule is: confirmatory studies state a hypothesis in advance (ideally pre-registered), while exploratory studies state research questions, and the findings are then tested in a confirmatory follow-up.

(b) Recent trends in decision-making research

The field has moved from the rational, expected-utility model to descriptive accounts of how people really decide. Behavioural decision theory: Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory (1979) shows reference dependence, loss aversion and framing effects; heuristics and biases led to the dual-process view of fast intuitive and slow analytic thinking (Kahneman, 2011). Nudging and behavioural insights: Thaler and Sunstein's choice architecture (Thaler won the Nobel in 2017) is used in public policy and health, for example default enrolment in savings plans. Neuroeconomics: fMRI and related methods link value computation (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, striatum) and emotion (amygdala, insula) to choice. Ecological rationality: Gigerenzer's fast-and-frugal heuristics argue that simple rules can work well in uncertain environments. Human-AI decision-making: studies of algorithm aversion (Dietvorst et al., 2015), automation bias and algorithmic fairness in decision-support systems. Overall, decisions are seen as boundedly rational, context-dependent and neurally grounded.

(c) How gender differences account for behaviour

Gender affects behaviour through several linked routes. Biological: hormones (testosterone is linked to aggression and dominance) and brain development contribute modestly. Learning and socialisation: Bandura's social cognitive theory shows that differential reinforcement and modelling of boys and girls shape gender-typed behaviour, such as play, aggression and emotional expression. Cognitive: Kohlberg's gender constancy and Bem's gender schema theory (1981) show that children organise information by gender, so their interests and self-concept follow. Social roles: Eagly's social role theory holds that division of labour creates expectations (women as caregivers, men as providers) that behaviour then conforms to. Culture: in India, gendered socialisation (son preference, restrictions on mobility, caregiving norms) affects aspiration, risk-taking and help-seeking. Meta-analyses (Hyde's gender similarities hypothesis, 2005) show that most psychological differences are small and overlapping, and differences are largest where norms are strongest. So behaviour is best explained by biology interacting with socialisation and context, not by gender alone.

(d) Ideas behind the development of projective tests

Projective tests rest on the projective hypothesis: when a person interprets an ambiguous stimulus, the meaning he or she gives it reveals his or her own needs, conflicts and style of thinking. Psychoanalytic roots: Freud's concepts of projection and the unconscious suggest that repressed motives leak out when direct defences are lowered. Lawrence Frank (1939) used the term "projective methods" for such techniques. Assumptions: (1) an unstructured stimulus forces the person to impose his or her own structure; (2) the person is unaware of what is being revealed, so the faking found in questionnaires is reduced; (3) responses are determined by the whole personality, not by chance. Applications: Rorschach's inkblots (1921) and Murray and Morgan's Thematic Apperception Test (1935), based on Murray's need-press theory, which assumes that stories about pictures express the person's needs. Others include sentence completion and word association. Critics note low reliability and validity (Lilienfeld et al., 2000), so these tests are best used as supplements.

(e) "Knowledge without use is useless": psychology and societal problems

The statement is largely true for an applied discipline: Kurt Lewin said that there is nothing so practical as a good theory, and a theory proves its worth when it solves problems. Health: behaviour change, adherence and community mental-health models (the Bellary model of NIMHANS led to India's District Mental Health Programme); Tele-MANAS (2022) widens access to counselling. Education: growth mindset (Dweck), counselling and test-anxiety training reduce dropout and stress. Social harmony: Allport's contact hypothesis and Aronson's jigsaw classroom lower prejudice. Disasters: psychological first aid and trauma support after events such as the 2004 tsunami. Justice and workplaces: eyewitness-memory research improves investigations, and organisational psychology improves safety and morale. Limits: knowledge must be adapted to Indian cultures, delivered by trained people and applied ethically. Applied use also generates new knowledge, so theory and use strengthen each other.