Short Answer

A researcher plans to administer a survey containing a general question about 'overall happiness' and a specific question about 'satisfaction with family relationships.' Based on the findings of Strack, Martin, and Schwarz (19881988), what concrete design decision should the researcher make to measure overall happiness without it being artificially influenced by relationship satisfaction, and why?

Question: A researcher plans to administer a survey containing a general question about 'overall happiness' and a specific question about 'satisfaction with family relationships.' Based on the findings of Strack, Martin, and Schwarz (19881988), what concrete design decision should the researcher make to measure overall happiness without it being artificially influenced by relationship satisfaction, and why?

Sample answer: The researcher should place the general question about overall happiness first. If the specific question about family relationships is placed first, it primes that information in memory, making it highly accessible and causing participants to disproportionately base their overall happiness ratings on it.

Key points:

  • Design decision: Place the general question (overall happiness) before the specific question (family relationships).
  • Explanation: Placing the specific question first would prime that domain and increase memory accessibility.
  • Consequence: Placing the general question first prevents the specific domain from artificially dominating the overall rating.

Rubric: The response must recommend placing the general question first and explain that doing so avoids priming the specific family relationship domain in memory before the overall happiness rating.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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