Social practical

Question 1

Describe the aim of your practical investigation for Social Psychology

Answer 1

To find out whether there are differences in the levels of obedience between men and women.

Question 2

State an alternative hypothesis for your social practical

Answer 2

There will be a difference in the levels of obedience (measured on an obedience questionnaire) between men and women.

Question 3

State a null hypothesis for your social practical

Answer 3

There will be no difference in the levels of obedience (measured on an obedience questionnaire) between men and women.

Question 4

What was the sample for your social practical?

Answer 4

15 males and 15 females from the north east of England

Question 5

What was the procedure for your social practical?

Answer 5

• A questionnaire was created after brain storming key factors linking to obedience. Both likert scale and open questions were included such as “Would you pick up rubbish if a teacher told you to? Yes/No”
• Once written, the questionnaire was piloted to ensure the right questions were being asked, and then, once the pilot study had confirmed the questions were appropriate, they were handed out using opportunity sampling.
• Once the questionnaire was completed participants were thanked for their time, and debriefed about the nature of the study.

Question 6

What were the results for your social practical?

Answer 6

Mean obedience score (out of 20) for males - 14.9
Mean obedience score (out of 20) for females - 16.5
Standard deviation for males - 2.71
Standard deviation for females - 1.96

Question 7

What is a strength of your social practical in terms of reliability?

Answer 7

• The questionnaire about obedience is standardised to all participants which means the study is able to be replicated easily to see if the results about gender differences in obedience is reliable
• The obedience questionnaire used closed questions like likert scales which provide quantitative data so that you can easily compare and analyse the differences between genders in terms of obedience.

Question 8

What is a strength of your social practical in terms of ethics?

Answer 8

• participants had informed consent, right to withdraw and were debriefed after they had completed the questionnaire about obedience.
• Questionnaires were confidential (which makes it more ethical) but this also means people are less likely to lie about their obedience, this improves the validity of the study as they’re not suffering from social desirability.

Question 9

What is a weakness of the sampling technique used in your social practical?

Answer 9

• The sample was collected using opportunity sampling from friends and family so may not be generalisable as they share characteristics which might affect their obedience. This means that the results about obedience differences between the genders might be less representative of a wider population’s obedience.

Question 10

What is a weakness of your social practical in terms of validity?

Answer 10

• Since we are asking questions about their levels of obedience they may suffer from social desirability in their answers and lie
• A problem with the open questions on the obedience questionnaire is that the responses of the participants (and themes between them) is the researcher could be subjective in how they interpret it