Explain how Dr. Aris should use the concept of 'tolerance for uncertainty' to address the parents' anxiety. In your explanation, clarify how she can help parents understand the distinction between their practical decision-making difficulty and the scientific status of this question.
Case context: Dr. Aris is a developmental psychologist who notices that many parenting blogs confidently assert that giving children a weekly allowance is the best way to teach them financial responsibility. When Dr. Aris searches the scientific literature, she finds no empirical evidence supporting or refuting this claim. She must explain this situation to a group of parents who are anxious about making the 'wrong' decision.
Question: Explain how Dr. Aris should use the concept of 'tolerance for uncertainty' to address the parents' anxiety. In your explanation, clarify how she can help parents understand the distinction between their practical decision-making difficulty and the scientific status of this question.
Sample answer: Dr. Aris can explain that a tolerance for uncertainty is necessary here because there is currently no scientific proof that allowance causes financial responsibility. She should validate the parents' anxiety by explaining that this lack of evidence creates a practical problem, making it hard to decide what to do. However, she should also help them comprehend that from a scientific standpoint, this is an exciting, empirically testable question that can eventually be investigated and answered through research, rather than a settled fact.
Key points:
- Explain that a tolerance for uncertainty is required due to the current lack of scientific evidence.
- Distinguish between the parents' practical decision-making difficulty and the open nature of the scientific question.
- Describe how the question remains empirically testable and open to future scientific investigation.
Rubric: The response should demonstrate comprehension of the double-sided nature of uncertainty by explaining that: 1) The anxiety is a normal reaction to a practical problem caused by lack of evidence. 2) Scientific uncertainty means the question is open and empirically testable, not that it is unsolvable. 3) A tolerance for uncertainty is required when scientific evidence is currently unavailable.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Explain how Dr. Aris should use the concept of 'tolerance for uncertainty' to address the parents' anxiety. In your explanation, clarify how she can help parents understand the distinction between their practical decision-making difficulty and the scientific status of this question.
Imagine you are designing a new psychological study to address the practical uncertainty parents face regarding children's allowance. Applying the principle that this is an 'empirically testable question,' propose a brief research design (identifying the independent and dependent variables) that could help resolve this uncertainty.