SOCIAL - PRACTICAL INVESTIGATION

Question 1

AO1:

Answer 1

AIM: to investigate gender differences between male and female attitudes towards obedience and authority figures using a self-report questionnaire score
IV: gender (male or female)
DV: self-report questionnaire score
SAMPLE: 24 ppts, 12 male, 12 female, ages 16-46, opportunity sample

Question 2

AO1: hypotheses

Answer 2

directional: females will score higher than males on the self-report questionnaire scored out of 30 about their attitudes towards obedience and authorities

non-directional: there will be a significant difference between males and females in their attitudes towards obedience and authorities, measured using a self-report questionnaire scored out of 30

null: there will be no difference in scores on the self-report questionnaire measuring attitudes on authority and obedience depending on the the gender of the ppts. Any differences will be due to chance

Question 3

AO1: procedure

Answer 3

our questionnaire included:
->closed questions, eg. Likert scale containing statements about obedience
->distracter questions, eg. “people should respect authority”
->reverse scoring questions, eg. “i like to help people”
->open questions, eg. “in what sort of situations are you most likely to be obedient?”

Question 4

AO1: findings & conclusion

Answer 4

FINDINGS:
->females mean obedience score: 29
->males mean obedience score: 28.6
->(higher score indicated higher obedience levels)

CONCLUSION:
->no significant gender differences in ppts attitudes towards obedience

Question 5

AO3: evaluation

Answer 5

G->(strength) high generalisability
–>24 ppts: 12 male, 12 female, wide age range (16-46)
–>therefore, the findings can be applied to both men and women, and a wide range of ages

R->(strength) high reliability
–>standardised questionnaire for all ppts, all ppts answered same Qs in the same order, questions on paper to avoid experimenter bias
–>therefore, study can be replicated to test the findings for consistency

A->(strength) ?????????

V->(strength) high validity
–>research by both Milgram and Burger also supports that gender has no significant effect on attitudes towards obedience
–>therefore, our findings align with other research findings, increasing validity

E->(strength) ethical
–>questionnaire was anonymous
–>ppts are more likely to tell the truth when they know their results will be anonymous as it respects their privacy