Question

1. For each research example, determine if there are main effects and/or an interaction AND explain what those findings mean.

A researcher is interested in the effects of ambiguity and number of bystanders on helping behavior. Participants fill out a questionnaire in a room with zero or two other people who appear to be other subjects but are not. The experimenter distributes the questionnaire and then goes into the room next door. After 5 minutes there is a loud crash, possibly caused by the experimenter falling. For half of the participants, the experimenter unambiguously calls out that he has fallen, is hurt, and needs help. For the remaining participants, the situation is more ambiguous-the experimenter says nothing after the apparent fall. Twenty participants are tested in each condition, and the experimenter records how long it takes (in seconds) before a participant offers help.

                                                            Number of Bystanders

                                                None                                      Two

                             

          Unclear          9                                              5

Ambiguity

                                     Clear              1                                              5

Answer 1

Answer:

giventhat

a)

in the study, there are two main effects : whether the presence of ambiguity in the situation influence prosocial behaviour and secondly, whether the presence of a bystander affect the participants’ helping behaviour.

However, there can be interaction effect also wherein the nature of ambiguity may interact with the presence of another person ( bystander) in the room as the participants may turn to the bystander’s actions as a cue to decide whether they should extend help in the situation.