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Case Study

Diagnose the method of knowing Sarah is using in this scenario. Explain how her reasoning aligns with this method's characteristics, and justify why her advisor should instruct her to critically evaluate this conclusion before accepting it.

Case context: A student researcher, Sarah, is observing participant interactions during a group task. She notices that Participant A is avoiding eye contact with Participant B. Sarah immediately writes in her notes that Participant A dislikes Participant B and plans to report this as a finding. When her advisor asks why she thinks this, Sarah replies, 'It just feels right, and Participant A's behavior intuitively seems unusual.'

Question: Diagnose the method of knowing Sarah is using in this scenario. Explain how her reasoning aligns with this method's characteristics, and justify why her advisor should instruct her to critically evaluate this conclusion before accepting it.

Sample answer: Sarah is using intuition as her method of knowing. Her reasoning aligns with intuition because she accepts the belief that Participant A dislikes Participant B simply because it inherently 'feels right' and the behavior 'intuitively seems unusual' to her, relying on gut feelings rather than objective data. Her advisor should instruct her to critically evaluate this conclusion because subjective knowledge from intuition cannot be fully trusted without examining objective facts or applying rational logic to verify the claim.

Key points:

  • Identification of intuition as the method of knowing
  • Explanation that the belief is accepted because it inherently feels right or seems unusual
  • Justification that intuition relies on subjective instincts/emotions rather than objective facts
  • Requirement to critically evaluate whether subjective knowledge should be trusted

Rubric: The response must correctly identify intuition as the method of knowing. It must explain that she accepts the belief because it feels right or seems unusual. It must also justify critical evaluation by pointing out that intuition lacks objective facts and rational logic, meaning subjective knowledge must be evaluated before it can be trusted.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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