Understanding and applying psychology in one’s everyday life can have numerous benefits and is often the basis of research that is conducted in this field

 
Why People Look Up When Thinking
Understanding the intent of different human behavior is an interesting aspect that many psychologists engage in on a daily basis. Some of the seemingly common behaviors may be done subconsciously but may have an underlying motivation behind them. This research will aim at determining the reason why people look up when thinking.

People elicit different behaviors under different circumstances. For human beings, most of the physical action we take correspond to some psychological features. It may be something that we are cultured to or aping out a certain behavior that we have witnessed from those around us. However, other than the known assumptions, in the field of psychology we have to ask ourselves, might there be a deeper meaning to those actions (Halevy, Kreps & De Dreu, 2019).

The behavior of people looking up when thinking can be viewed from different perspectives. The process of thinking is usually attached to concentration when people look up, it may be considered as a behavior that assists them to channel their concentration towards thinking. The visual system of a human is known to correspond to its surroundings with any changes to the surrounding being interpreted by the brain.

Therefore, the more the information unrelated to the subject being thought about being processed by the brain at any given moment, the lower the level of concentration.  By looking up, the number of distractions or secondary information being processed may be fewer, thereby, boosting the level of concentration (Hutchison, 2018).

From a philosophical perspective, looking up may have a spiritual connotation to it. Looking up might be a form tapping to the spiritual realm for guidance into the decision-making process.
Vision for the research
However, to better understand this issue in a more in-depth perspective, research ought to be done. This research will be conducted on a population obtained from the general public. The research will involve asking the participant to answer written questions that will demand some critical thinking to be applied.

Then, observations will be made on the reactions of the participants while in deep thought. the research will then ask the participants why they behaved in a certain manner while thinking, especially for participants who look up during the though process.
Research methods to be used
The research methods used in the study will include random sampling to select the sample, and observation method to collect the data. Finally, the data will be analyzed using thematic analysis, where the collected data will be arranged on themes based on the reasons given by the participants. Given the mentioned methods, the research will therefore be qualitative (Boswell & Cannon, 2018).
Ethical considerations
For any research, ethical considerations are part and parcel of ensuring that the research adheres to the recommended standards and that the participants are protected from any harm that may result from the research process (Doody & Noonan, 2016). In a research that has human participants, it is of great importance to seek consent from the participants.

The participants need to be aware of what the research entails and any potential harm that may result as a consequence of participating in the research. It is from that point that the participant needs to give their approval to participate in the research. Doody and Noonan, (2016), also asserts the importance of protecting the participants’ confidentiality as being part of the ethical guidelines to adhere to when conducting research involving human subjects.
Influence of early approaches in psychology in the research
In the research to be conducted, the early psychological approaches of introspection will be helpful in defining some of the behaviors elicited by the research participants. Introspection as indicated by Wilhelm Wundt, a renown psychology expert, allows one to inquire what is the motivation behind different actions showed by people.

I therefore think that introspection will be helpful in explaining why people look up when thinking.

 

References

Boswell, C., & Cannon, S. (2018). Introduction to nursing research. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Doody, O., & Noonan, M. (2016). Nursing research ethics, guidance, and application in practice. British Journal of Nursing, 25(14), 803-807.

Halevy, N., Kreps, T. A., & De Dreu, C. K. (2019). Psychological situations illuminate the meaning of human behavior: Recent advances and application to social influence processes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13(3), e12437.

Hutchison, E. D. (2018). Dimensions of human behavior: Person and environment. Sage