Author Question: What is the basic dilemma of the social psychologist, as described by the authors? What will be ... (Read 37 times)

leilurhhh · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

What is the basic dilemma of the social psychologist, as described by the authors?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Jacob conducts an experiment testing the hypothesis that watching romantic movies makes people feel more amorous towards attractive strangers.

He tells participants that they will be watching a movie, and then interacting with a stranger. Next, some participants watch a romantic movie, others watch a scary movie, and others watch a nature documentary. Then participants interact with a confederate for five minutes, while the number of flirtations is recorded. Finally, Jacob explains the true nature of the study and participants are dismissed. What is the major ethical concern in this study, and how did Jacob resolve it?

What will be an ideal response?

fdliggud · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: There is frequently a trade-off between internal and external validity. More specifically, there is a trade-off between (1) having enough experimental control to eliminate extraneous variables and to use random assignment, and (2) ensuring that results can be generalized to everyday life.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: The main ethical issue in this study is that Jacob is using deception, not telling participants the true nature of the study before they participated in it. However, Jacob resolved this issue by debriefing participants fully.