Short Answer

A clinical psychologist is developing a set of self-report scales to measure social anxiety in undergraduate students. Apply the methodological strategy of clear and brief procedures to describe one specific design decision the psychologist can make to minimize participant reactivity.

Question: A clinical psychologist is developing a set of self-report scales to measure social anxiety in undergraduate students. Apply the methodological strategy of clear and brief procedures to describe one specific design decision the psychologist can make to minimize participant reactivity.

Sample answer: The psychologist can minimize participant reactivity by selecting only the most essential anxiety scale items to keep the task brief and efficient, while writing the instructions in simple, direct language so they are easy to understand. This prevents participant fatigue and frustration, which would otherwise lead to careless responding.

Key points:

  • Propose a concrete way to make the measurement procedure briefer or clearer.
  • Explain how the design choice prevents participant fatigue or frustration.
  • Link the prevention of these states to minimizing participant reactivity (careless responding/intentional disruption).

Rubric: The answer must propose a concrete application of making the measurement procedure either briefer (e.g., reducing scale length) or clearer (e.g., simplifying instruction language) and explain how this prevents participant fatigue or frustration to minimize reactivity.

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Updated 2026-05-26

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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