Cover stories are used to:
a. mislead subjects about the true purpose of the experiment. b.direct the subject's attention toward the specific behavior being studied. c.decrease experimental realism. d.decrease mundane realism.
Answer
a. mislead subjects about the true purpose of the experiment.
Explanation
A cover story is a fake explanation provided to research subjects during a study in order to conceal the actual hypothesis being investigated. One of the main issues in experiments is the risk of biased results that may occur when participants become aware of the purpose of the study, which can threaten the experiment's validity. To minimize this risk, researchers employ cover stories to deceive participants about the true nature of the study until it is complete.
Cover stories are designed to provide a plausible but false explanation for the research being conducted. This allows researchers to manipulate the independent variable and observe the effects on the dependent variable without the participants being aware of the true purpose of the study. Cover stories can take many forms, such as a fake "memory test" or a "market research survey," depending on the specific research question and the population being studied.
By using cover stories, researchers can help ensure that the participants are not influenced by their knowledge of the true purpose of the study. This can improve the reliability and validity of the experiment by reducing the likelihood of participants changing their behavior or responses to align with what they think the researchers want to see. Therefore, cover stories are an important tool in conducting ethical and rigorous research.
Question:
Suppose you constructed an experiment to better understand the effect of the content of a speech on how persuaded people were by it. In this experiment, the independent variable would be:
a. the content of the speech. b.how persuaded the subjects were c.the characteristics of the subject. d.how the speech was delivered.
Answer
a. the content of the speech.
Explanation
In scientific experiments, it is important to distinguish between the independent variable and the dependent variable. The independent variable is the variable that is being manipulated or controlled by the experimenter in order to observe its effect on the dependent variable. The dependent variable, on the other hand, is the variable that is being measured or observed in response to changes in the independent variable.
For example, in a study on the persuasive power of speeches, the independent variable might be the content of the speech. The experimenter could manipulate the content of the speech by varying the wording, tone, or argumentation style used. The dependent variable, in this case, would be how the audience members are persuaded by the speech. This could be measured by observing their behavior, attitudes, or opinions before and after the speech.
It is important to control for all other variables that could affect the outcome of the experiment, so that any observed changes in the dependent variable can be attributed to changes in the independent variable. For example, in the above experiment, the experimenter would need to ensure that the audience members are all similar in terms of their prior beliefs, attitudes, and personalities. This could be done by randomizing the sample or by matching participants based on certain criteria.
Question:
In social psychological experiments, the experimenter tries to:
a. create an exact duplicate of conditions found in the real world. b.control conditions in natural, real-world situations. c. create a functional equivalent to conditions found in the real world. d.let the subject know what behavior is expected of him or her.
Answer
c. create a functional equivalent to conditions found in the real world.
Explanation
Social Psychology experiments create a functional equivalent of the real world so as to explain the thoughts, feelings and behaviros as influenced by the surrounding environment. Social psychology deals with the behavior of an individual as influenced by others or internal states like attitude. An example of social psychology experiment is the conformity experiment that was carried out by Solomon Asch, in an effort to describe how people were influenced by others in the Asch community experiment.
