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“Can persuasion effectively impact our attitudes towards social…
“Can persuasion effectively impact our attitudes towards social behaviours?”
779668F | 11.02 | 12 Psychology
research design types
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNSINDEPENDENT GROUPS DESIGN
- control and experimental group participants are randomly allocated.
- Used to test if one factor influences another. The control group does not face the independent variable, making it the 'standard' for comparison. The experimental group face the IV and are compared to. This is typically not disclosed to participants, making it a single-blind experiment. If the researcher is also unaware, it is considered a double-blind experiment.
- this design has pre and post testing, works in a controlled setting, and has random allocation for diversity.
- it allows for hypothesis testing, easy replication, and a cause/effect relationship to be established.
Other types:
- matched participants: experimenting with participants of similar characteristics
- repeated measures: experimenting using the same participants who are exposed to different experimental conditions.
ADVANTAGES
- due to the controlled environment, extraneous variables have less impact.
- a cause and effect relationship can be established
- the experiment can be easily replicated.
DISADVANTAGES
- more susceptibility to being unethical, due to the amount of control
- lacks external validity, as the controlled nature makes it less applicable to the real world.
- the sample may not represent the whole population.
OBSERVATIONAL DESIGNS
Used when pre-existing criteria and characteristics are present, such as gender, ethnicity, job status, etc.Used because...
- can be too expensive for an experimental design
- experimenter may want to examine pre-existing characteristics anyway
- it may be too unethical to manipulate the independent variable.
Essential characteristics
- the independent variable is not manipulated
- the groups are NOT randomly allocated
- usually done in a natural setting - naturalistic observational design
- cannot be used to determine a cause/effect relationship due to the lack of control, but can determine association.
ADVANTAGES
- allows study or things that are too unethical/impossible/too costly to manipulate.
- behaviours can be observed in a natural setting.
- can allow for a larger sample.
- higher external validity due to less controlled setting
DISADVANTAGES
- cannot infer a cause/effect relationship due to many extraneous variables.
- hard to replicate
- observer bias can negatively impact results.
QUALITATIVE DESIGNS
Are used to gain rich, in-depth qualitative data about a topic.Types:
- focus group: a group interview, obtaining data through discussion between the research participants. The researcher encourages the participants to discuss with each other by asking questions, asking them to express their views, et cetera. The conversation is guided to ensure it is relevant and beneficial to the research. The participants are NOT experts in the topic.
- delphi technique: a series of self-administered questionnaires and feedback to obtain the opinion of experts in the researched field. It is often written data, and can be individually collected.
- interviews: they can be structured freely or strictly, though may be a combination of both. They allow for very lengthy qualitative data, though typically have a smaller sample size.
ADVANTAGES
- convenient to run
- rich/verbal data collected
- useful to learn about a new topic
- can supply very reliable information (delphi technique)
- allows complex issues to be open for discussion
DISADVANTAGES
- data cannot really be generalised as it is very subjective.
- there can be bias or influence from the facilitator.
- personal bias and extraneous variables can be impactful as the environment is typically not very controlled.
ethical considerations
A set of principles that guide the research designs and practices. They are used to avoid any major physical, emotional, mental, or financial stress/harm to participants.
THE SEVEN KEY ETHICAL PRINCIPLES:INFORMED CONSENT
- participants must be appropriately informed of the type of study/reasons for research PRIOR to agreeing to participate.
- they are to be informed of all rights, risks and the aim of the investigation, of the right to withdraw.
- participant's first language must be used
- no form of bribery or coercion used.
- must have a consent form used.
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION
- researcher must ensure that participants consent to involvement in the research voluntarily, meaning without the use of any bribes, threats, or coercion.
- there cannot be any negative consequences for refusal to participate.
CONFIDENTIALITY
- participants have the right to privacy, so any details of their involvement are to be disclosed unless written consent is obtained.
- ID numbers are often used to dissociate participant data from any defining characteristics.
RIGHT TO WITHDRAW
- participants must be told they are allowed to leave the experiment at any time, even without explanation.
- must not incur any negative consequences.
- researcher can withdraw participants themselves, if their participation is impacting the experiment in ways that they should not be.
ACCURATE REPORTING
- researchers must publish results and give complete information about the research
- the results cannot be fabricated, and nor can the researchers take credit for the work of others.
DECEPTION
- some investigations require bias to establish data, though this can only be used if there is no significant physical, emotional, psychological, financial, or social harm, and if there is no other option.
- it must be informed in debriefing.
DEBRIEFING
- occurs after the completion of the investigation, and consists of informing the participants on the purpose of the research if it was not fully given before.
- the researcher must explain what is being done with the data, answer any participant questions, and inform of any deception.
attitudes
Attitudes are defined by psychologists as a "learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way". Attitudes can be negative, for example to say "I like dogs", negative ( "I hate cats"), neutral ("I have no opinion on guinea pigs"), or ambivalent (mix of positive and negative, "I like cats but my allergy makes me not enjoy being near them")
The ABC Model of Attitudes, or the tri-component model of attitudes, is most widely used to structure attitudes and therefore define contributing factors. It is split into 3 parts:
- Affective: referring to the emotional reactions/feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event, or issue. It is often based on a judgement which results in a positive, negative, neutral, or ambivalent response. For example, saying "I hate cheese" would be a negative response.
- Behavioural: referring to the actions or behaviours that are done in response to an object, person, group, event, or issue. E.g. "I play tennis every day".
- Cognitive: referring to the beliefs or thoughts that one has about an object, person, group, event, or issue. E.g., "I think that cats are the best animal". Some are based on facts, while others may be false. They are often subjective beliefs.
persuasion
Attitudes are affected by external factors associated with persuasion, which is the process of changing an attitude towards something based on a form of communication from other people. It is very applicable to advertising in order to convince a product or service to be bought.
ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL
This approach considers the factors of the Yale Communication Approach, though instead says that there are two main routes that are taken in order to deliver a persuasive message:CENTRAL ROUTE
Is about making the audience think carefully about the message to evaluate the information.
- is driven by logic, and uses data and facts in order to convince the viewers.
- the message needs to be credible, presented clearly, and substantiated by evidence in order to correlate to the central route.
- often used in relevant and serious issues, for older and more mature audiences.
- the message is aimed to be very strong in order to successfully change attitudes.
PERIPHERAL ROUTE
Focuses on 'peripheral cues', i.e. relying on association with positive characteristics such as positive emotions, celebrity endorsement, or visual cues presenting beauty and pleasure.
- in contrast to the central route, it is aimed towards younger/less mature audiences who are more susceptible to attitude changes.
- the message is not often very strong, and has low elaboration, information, as well as a lack of logic, facts, and statistics.
- the messages are also often unimportant.
THREE PERSUASION STRATEGIES
When someone is trying to sell something, the potential buyer's ability to recognise and resist their persuasion tactics can be facilitated by an understanding of these three persuasion strategies.THE NORM OF RECIPROCITY
- based on the social norm that people will return a favour when one is given to them.
- linked to compliance - more likely to occur if the requester has previously complied with one of the target's requests.
- this tactic leaves the target feeling a sense of obligation in returning the favour.
DOOR IN THE FACE
- the requester will begin with an initially large request, which is often rejected, and then will follow with a smaller request that is more likely to be agreed to, as a result of it being seen as 'better' than the initial, regardless of how large it still is.
- This technique works best when the target believes the requester is actually making a concession or reducing expectations, and makes it a skilful negotiating technique.
FOOT IN THE DOOR
- In contrast to the door in the face technique, this technique uses an initially small or reasonable favour which is then built upon after acceptance.
- As the norm of reciprocity technique is, it is linked to compliance, where agreeing to the original offer increases the likelihood of the second request being accepted.
YALE COMMUNICATION APPROACH
This approach is viewed as the most likely to be successful in changing people's attitudes in response to a persuasive message. Its structure has three separate parts.
- SOURCE/credibility: people are more often persuaded by experts in the area, as they are perceived as more 'trustworthy'. The first source is the producers, and the second are the people within the advertisement itself. Attractiveness of the ad is often taken into consideration, as its captivity plays a large role in persuasion. Fast talkers and louder speaking also aids in emphasising importance.
- THE MESSAGE/relevance: the ad often aims to evoke an emotional response, with music and sound effects exaggerating the emotions experienced by viewers. Although its effectiveness is limited, subliminal messaging may be utilised to cause heightened emotions from the audience.
- THE AUDIENCE/existing attitudes: people aged between 18-25 are found to be more susceptible to attitude alterations, though after this age they become more concrete and resistant. The intelligence of the viewer will also impact their susceptibility.
social behaviours
Social behaviours are the behaviours viewed as a result of the behaviours of people one is subject to.
Factors that influence a social behaviour to be performed:
- OBEDIENCE: performing actions under the order of a higher figure, e.g. child obeying parent, workers obeying manager. This can result in the abandonment of personal morals and beliefs in order to fulfil the requests of those seen as an authority to oneself.
- CONFORMITY: a social pressure which changes behaviour and attitudes. It can show how the desire to be individual can be thrown away to not feel separate from a group.
Examples of social behaviours performed as a result of these factors:
- smoking
- taking drugs
- being aggressive
- binge drinking
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method
LIMITATIONS
- weaknesses in a study that may affect the data and outcome of the research, which cannot typically be controlled or are too difficult to.
VALIDITY
- the degree to which a study has produced results that accurately measure what they claimed to measure.
External validity
- the extent to which the results can be generalised to the whole population
Ecological validity
- the extent to which the results can be generalised to other settings, e.g. a lab environment to real life.
RELIABILITY
- the consistency of the data
- i.e. the extent to which an experiment yields the same results on repeated trials/the stability in identical conditions.
- an experiment can be reliable and invalid, though not valid and unreliable.
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sample and population
The sample is a subsection of research participants from the larger group of interest, the population.
The population is the entire group of research interest.
- The sample size must be large enough to draw conclusions from.
- More participants results in more data and therefore stronger results.
- Representativeness is also crucial, as it is important that the participants represent the FULL population in question, taking participant variables into account like their ethnicity, age, etc.
TYPES OF SAMPLING
- Convenience sampling: sample from a group the researcher has close access to, making it more convenient to organise but often more open to bias.
- Random sampling: where every person in the population has the chance to be chosen, improving diversity by selecting from random.
- Stratified sampling: where the population is broken down into smaller sub groups, then a sample is chosen for each.
Target Audience
- The investigation will have a sample specific to year 11 and year 12 psychology students of Glenunga International Highschool
- The population will be Australian teenagers
- The classes are varied in gender and ethnicity which allows for strong diversity in the demographic.
Limitations
- As it is only psychology students taking part, their knowledge on the topic and potential understanding of what is being research may bring in the placebo effect, and cause specific data from them that suits what they would expect the data to be.
- The students are only specific to South Australia, which limits the ability to generalise it to all teenagers in Australia..
methods and impact
social media
- can get to a large amount of people in a very short period of time
- algorithm of applications helps with spreading information to audiences that are actually interested in said topic
- may not be deemed as trustworthy due to anyone being able to post any kind of information without being credibly sourced
tv advertisements
- typically more credible due to needing to be checked
- may not reach as many people due to the gradual obsolete-ness of live tv
- due to potentially not reaching many people, may not reach target audience.
journalist articles
- typically very trustworthy
- can reach a good number of people if advertised appropriately