A research team wants to test whether a brief cross-racial interaction session permanently reduces racial prejudice in participants. Apply your understanding of experimental designs to justify why a within-subjects design is not viable for this study.
Question: A research team wants to test whether a brief cross-racial interaction session permanently reduces racial prejudice in participants. Apply your understanding of experimental designs to justify why a within-subjects design is not viable for this study.
Sample answer: A within-subjects design is not viable because if the cross-racial interaction successfully reduces prejudice, the participants are permanently altered. They cannot return to their original baseline level of prejudice, meaning they can no longer serve in a subsequent control condition.
Key points:
- A successful treatment permanently reduces the participant's prejudice level.
- Participants cannot return to their original baseline state after the treatment.
- Altered participants cannot serve in a subsequent control condition.
Rubric: Grading criteria: 1. Explains that a successful prejudice-reduction treatment permanently alters the participants (2 points). 2. Notes that participants cannot return to baseline or serve in a subsequent control condition, rendering within-subjects designs impossible (2 points).
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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