obedience: practical

Question 1

What was the aim of our practical?

Answer 1

To investigate a gender difference in obedience using a questionnaire on attitudes towards obedience.

Question 2

State the fully operationalised alternative hypothesis.

Answer 2

There will be a significant difference in the attitudes towards obedience, measured by scores out of 50 and themes, between males and females.

Question 3

State the fully operationalised null hypothesis.

Answer 3

There will be no significant difference in attitudes towards obedience, measured by scores out of 50 and themes, between males and females, any difference will be due to chance.

Question 4

What sample did we use in our practical?

Answer 4

39 ppts (20 males, 19 females)
16-18 years
King Edward VI College in Stourbridge

Question 5

What sampling method did we use?

Answer 5

opportunity

Question 6

which research methods?

Answer 6

questionnaire
thematic analysis

Question 7

What was the content of the questionnaire?

Answer 7

10 closed questions using a Likert scale
4 distractor questions
3 with reversed scoring
2 open questions

Question 8

Briefly describe the procedure of our practical.

Answer 8

• Gave ppts a briefing, allowing them the right to withdraw and assuring confidentiality of their answers
• Ppts completed the questionnaire privately with no time limit
• Once complete we gave a debrief (using the same as in the beginning due to it being scripted), giving the ppts another chance to withdraw
• After collecting data we used thematic analysis to decipher reoccurring themes in the 2 open questions
• Using this we created codes for themes of attitudes towards obedience and refined the categories overtime

Question 9

What are the variables of our practical?

Answer 9

IV = gender
DV = attitude towards obedience (scored out of 50 + themes)
Controls = same questions, all ppts answered privately, the same brief/debrief

Question 10

State the results of the quantitative data.

Answer 10

Females = 33
Males = 33.5
The mean scores of males and females on their attitudes towards obedience were not significantly different.

Question 11

State the results of the qualitative data.

Answer 11

Using thematic analysis we found that:
Q1 = The main themes include: authority and danger with both genders
Q2 = The main themes include: authority and fear and a difference of social desirability in females answers

Question 12

What can we conclude from our results?

Answer 12

There was no gender difference in attitudes towards obedience, and so accept the null hypothesis.

Question 13

weakness
- generalisability

Answer 13

• low
• limited sample

Question 14

strength
- reliability

Answer 14

• high
• standardised procedures

Question 15

weakness
- validity

Answer 15

• low
• self report
• subjective / social desirability