Participation In Research

I participated in several online studies that are being conducted for research. The first was called “Coping with Stressful Life Events” and is conducted by Claire Jones, University of Exeter. The purpose of this study is to identify strategies people use to cope with life’s difficulties emotionally. The participant is given scenarios and asked how they’d feel about the situation and/or themselves in each situation. Before the study, there is a page giving an overview of the study as well as guidelines, inviting anyone over eighteen years of age who used English as their first language to take part. There is a consent form at the beginning of the survey that participants are directed to before the study begins.
This study looks at the link between the participant’s current feelings and thoughts about themselves in relation to difficult life experiences. This subject matter is touched on throughout the text – it is examples of nature-nurture when life events influence our behavior (nurture). This study looks more specifically at life events and their effects (p.395-396) in regard to self esteem and, more accurately, self concept. (Defined p.395)
Overall, the survey was clearly explained and well executed. Before beginning this survey it assured complete privacy and anonymity. It also warned that focusing on negative life events could cause emotional discomfort. Upon completion it reiterated that focusing on negative life events could cause emotional discomfort, usually short lived and temporary. In the event that more serious emotional distress was caused the site encouraged participants to call their doctor and also provided many websites to provide emotional support and information. There is contact information for the researcher, Claire Jones, and Dr Anke Karl of University of Exeter-School of Psychology. An e-mail address is provided to inquire on the study results upon it’s completion.

The next study that I completed was a “Normative Judgment Study” conducted by Jamie Hughes, PhD from Daeman College. The purpose of this study was to better understand judgments about people’s actions.
Prior to participation, the exclusion criteria stated that participants had to be eighteen or over, and that answers would be anonymous and kept confidential. There was an informed consent screen before the study began. This study also presented a “risk” clause stating that participation might cause unpleasant feelings during the course of the procedure. This survey asked participants to make snap judgments about people. For example, a scenario was given about a gentleman who threw recyclable material into the trash bin that was right beside the recycle bin. The study asked if we thought it was intentional, then it went on to ask if we’d like this person. Each set of questions asked for judgments to be made on very little information. The text looks at this subject in Chapter 13 with Moral Development. The study’s scenarios represented social systems morality. (p. 472 Kohlberg’s Stages) Life is full of snap decisions and judgments made with tiny scraps of information. Taking the survey made me feel uncomfortable because a human being’s character and likeability shouldn’t be decided on a fragment of information - but in reality people judge others and situations based on tiny snippets of information every day. The implications of this study are big – encompassing daily life and relationships both personal and professional, to our justice/court system and our government. These snap judgments are exacerbated with the media’s attention and social networking on a grander scale.

The final survey was “Problem Solving & Decision Making” conducted by Elizabeth Austin of University of Edinburgh.
This survey was examining the ways in which people solved problems and made decisions, according to the introduction. The survey was supposed to ask questions about problem solving and decision making as well as about the participant’s personality and disposition. The survey assured complete anonymity as no identifying information was requested.
In my opinion it seemed the survey was more about the participant’s self-esteem. There were questions asking if the survey taker was stressed, gloomy and had difficulty staying motivated etc. These questions were re-worded and asked repeatedly throughout the survey. I didn’t feel there were any questions regarding problem solving and decision making. It was more an evaluation for depression – is your cup half empty or half full? Again, Chapter 11 dealt with self-esteem and self-worth, particularly p. 394 (second paragraph) saying self-esteem is directly linked to depression. The study ends with a thank you page inviting participants to e-mail with concerns, questions and for a summary of the results.
This was my least favorite study as I thought it was misrepresented in the Introduction. Again, it really seemed like an evaluation for diagnosing depression.

I looked at several other studies throughout the course of this project and found some to be difficult to navigate. There was another “Attitudes Towards Different Social Groups” that I chose not to submit. The topic was flammable (male bisexuality), there were spelling errors (even in the title) throughout the study and it asked for the state of residence of the participant. I opted to choose other studies.
“Coping with Stressful Life Events” was the study I felt was best suited to the web. The participant was well prepared to begin the study as it was accurately described, and upon completion the follow up information and websites provided showed consideration for- and a responsibility to- the participants.
Each of these studies left me thinking!

Psych 210 – Human Development Through The Life Span
Section I Writing Assignment