Suppose you are interested in the relationship between stress and overeating. Describe two research studies on the topic, one a laboratory experiment and the other a correlational study. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each form of research
What will be an ideal response?
In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the independent variable and randomly assigns subjects to at least two groups: one where the independent variable is present and one (the control group) where it is not. The independent variable in the proposed study is stress. In a hypothetical experiment, one-half of the participants would be given a problem that has no solution (the experimental group), and the other half (control group) would receive a problem that can be easily solved. Both groups would have the same amount of time to "solve" their problems. Participants would be allowed to eat as much of some snack foods that were made available as they wished, so the dependent variable of overeating would be defined in terms of caloric intake of the snack foods provided. Average differences in the amounts eaten by experimental and control subjects would then be calculated.
In a correlational study, subjects might be asked to list all of the stressful events that had occurred in their lives over the past thirty days. Each person would also be asked how much he or she ate in the past 24 hours (another definition of eating). If reported eating increased as reported stress increased, we could assume a positive correlation between the two variables.
The experiment would allow inferences about cause and effect (stress caused eating), but the correlational study would not allow such inferences since eating might induce stress or both eating and stress might be influenced by a third variable. The experiment's weakness would be the artificiality of the situation, reducing our confidence in generalizing results to the "real world." The weakness of the correlation is not only the inability to make causal inferences but also inaccuracies that come from self-reports.
You might also like to view...
Dominant alleles
a. will cause characteristics in individuals when paired with recessive alleles. b. come from the father of the developing child. c. cannot determine physical characteristics. d. will determine physical characteristics only in offspring of the same sex as the parent that contributed thattrait.
Which of the following early psychologists would have been most likely to conduct research on people's memory for a story that was several pages in length?
a. Frederick Bartlett b. John B. Watson c. Hermann Ebbinghaus d. Wilhelm Wundt
Your friend Amy has just failed her psychology test and does not understand how this could have happened. She reminds you that she looked over her notes while you were both watching television last night and then stayed up three more hours cramming in all those "terms" that are so hard to remember by recopying her notes. Amy finally says that "perhaps she studied too much and got confused."
After reading about self-reflective study strategies, explain how Amy can improve her study habits. What will be an ideal response?
A global approach to measuring job satisfaction includes assessing employee attitudes
A. at several times during the year to obtain a response pattern. B. about their job in general. C. about each aspect of their job. D. at one moment to get a snapshot assessment.