4.3.1.6 Social sensitivity in psychological research Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 3

The 20 questions

1. What is social sensitivity in psychological research?

   • The emotional sensitivity of individual participants during testing
   • The sensitivity of a correlation coefficient to extreme values in the data
   • Research with consequences for groups, so researchers must consider how their findings may be used
   • The sensitivity of a measurement instrument to small differences in scores

2. Which group could be affected by a socially sensitive finding?

   • Only the researchers who publish the findings
   • Groups defined by gender, ethnicity or social class
   • Only individual participants with a single test score
   • Only animals used in a laboratory experiment

3. Which is an example of a socially sensitive research topic?

   • Differences in intelligence test scores between ethnic groups
   • Reaction times to a visual stimulus in a simple task
   • The memory span of adults for lists of digits
   • The effect of caffeine on reaction times in a laboratory

4. What key recommendation applies to socially sensitive research?

   • Researchers should consider the wider consequences of their findings for the groups studied
   • Researchers should report results only to a single individual
   • Researchers should avoid publishing any results at all
   • Researchers should study only participants who do not belong to any group

5. Which is an example of a potential harm from socially sensitive research?

   • A participant feeling tired after completing a test
   • A participant forgetting a word from a list
   • A group being stereotyped or treated unfairly because of a published finding
   • A researcher's paper being rejected by a journal

6. Why is it difficult to decide whether a piece of research is socially sensitive?

   • The topic is always decided by the sample size of the study
   • Only social psychologists are able to judge this question
   • Its effects depend on how the findings are interpreted and used by other people
   • It is decided entirely by the statistical test that was chosen

7. Which is a common way to reduce the risk of harm in socially sensitive research?

   • Reporting only the mean and ignoring the spread of the scores
   • Discussing how the findings could be misread or misused in the write-up
   • Avoiding any description of the group that was studied
   • Collecting data from a single participant to limit exposure

8. A study reports that one group of students scores lower on a spatial ability test, and this is widely reported in the media. Which concern does this raise?

   • Operationalisation, because the variables are not clearly defined
   • Demand characteristics, because students guessed the aim of the study
   • Reliability, because the test scores are not stable over time
   • Social sensitivity, because the finding may stigmatise the group

9. A researcher presents findings on a group in a way that could be used to justify discrimination. Which principle is at stake?

   • Right to withdraw, because participants were not allowed to leave
   • Informed consent, because participants were not told the study aim
   • Debriefing, because participants were not given feedback afterwards
   • Social sensitivity, because findings should be presented with care for the groups affected

10. A researcher reports differences between two cultural groups in the reasons people give for lying. What is the most socially sensitive issue?

    • Describing the cultural groups in a way that could be used to stereotype them
    • Choosing a sample size of fifty participants
    • Choosing a within-subjects design for the study
    • Using a closed-question questionnaire rather than an open one

11. Which is the best way to present a finding about gender differences in a socially sensitive way?

    • Stating that one gender is clearly superior to the other
    • Reporting only the largest difference found in the study
    • Noting the size of the difference and that individual variation is larger than the group averages
    • Omitting the sample size from the report

12. Which example best describes social sensitivity affecting a researcher's choice?

    • Deciding not to publish findings that could be used to justify discrimination against a group
    • Deciding to use a longer questionnaire to collect more data
    • Deciding to repeat the study at a different time of day
    • Choosing to recruit the sample from a university campus

13. A study on crime reports that one ethnic group is more likely to be convicted. What is the most socially sensitive response?

    • Reporting the finding only to the group's leaders
    • Highlighting that the finding may reflect bias in the justice system rather than inherent group differences
    • Concluding that the group is inherently more criminal than others
    • Leaving out the sample size from the discussion

14. Which factor increases the social sensitivity of a study?

    • Use of a within-subjects design rather than a between-subjects design
    • Use of a laboratory setting rather than a natural setting
    • Findings that could influence public policy or public attitudes towards a group
    • A sample of twenty participants rather than a sample of two hundred

15. Which claim about socially sensitive research is most accurate?

    • Socially sensitive research only affects the researchers who conducted it
    • Research can have consequences for groups beyond the individual participants
    • Socially sensitive research never involves real people in any way
    • Socially sensitive research cannot be published in any journal

16. Evaluate the view that socially sensitive research should not be carried out at all.

    • This is correct, because all research on groups is inevitably harmful
    • This is correct, because group differences do not exist in any measurable form
    • This is correct, because statistics cannot describe groups of people accurately
    • This is an over-restriction, because the aim is responsible research that considers consequences rather than avoiding important questions

17. Why is social sensitivity more than an ethical issue for individual participants?

    • It concerns the impact of findings on whole groups and on wider society
    • It concerns only the participants' right to withdraw from the study
    • It concerns only the statistical significance of the results
    • It concerns only the timing of debriefing after a study

18. Which argument best supports the claim that a finding about group differences can be misleading?

    • Groups cannot be compared with each other in any study at all
    • Group averages hide large variation within the group, so individuals may be wrongly judged
    • Group averages always equal the individual scores of every member
    • Group differences are always statistically significant in any study

19. A researcher reports that one group is less intelligent than another without considering the cultural bias of the test. Which two issues are combined here?

    • Social sensitivity and cultural bias, because the test may favour one group's experiences
    • Demand characteristics and experimenter bias, because participants guessed the aim
    • Reliability and validity only, because the scores are not consistent
    • Ethics and sampling only, because the sample was not representative

20. Which argument best explains the importance of social sensitivity in psychology's history?

    • Early research never affected any group in society
    • Some findings have been used to justify discrimination, so researchers must consider how results will be interpreted
    • Social sensitivity was only introduced as a concern for animal research
    • Psychology has never used group comparisons in its research

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