Short Answer

Suppose you are designing a laboratory experiment inspired by Stanley Milgram's study to investigate obedience. How would you operationally define the independent variable of 'authority figure direction' and the dependent variable of 'performing an immoral act' in a way that is ethical and feasible for an undergraduate participant pool?

Question: Suppose you are designing a laboratory experiment inspired by Stanley Milgram's study to investigate obedience. How would you operationally define the independent variable of 'authority figure direction' and the dependent variable of 'performing an immoral act' in a way that is ethical and feasible for an undergraduate participant pool?

Sample answer: The independent variable of 'authority figure direction' can be operationally defined as the number of standardized verbal prompts (e.g., 'The experiment requires that you continue') delivered by a researcher in a lab coat. The dependent variable of 'performing an immoral act' can be operationally defined as whether the participant complies with a command to delete another student's anonymous extra-credit points from a database.

Key points:

  • Provide a specific operational definition for the independent variable of authority figure direction.
  • Provide a specific operational definition for the dependent variable of performing an immoral act.
  • Ensure both operational definitions are ethical, safe, and feasible for undergraduate research.

Rubric: The response must provide a concrete, measurable operational definition for the independent variable representing authority direction (such as verbal prompts or the presence of an authority figure) and a concrete, non-harmful operational definition for the dependent variable representing an immoral act (such as deleting peer data, copying answers, or distributing unfair penalties). The definitions must be ethical and feasible for undergraduate participants.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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