A psychology professor wants to measure "parent aggressiveness." Which is the BEST strategy?
A) Visit each home and chart how often parents hit their children.
B) Develop a questionnaire asking parents, "How often do you hit your children?"
C) Go down the street and ask neighbors, "Does this parent hit the children a lot?"
D) No approach is ideal, because each has its own problems and biases.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Each of the strategies mentioned has its own problems and biases. Observing and charting how often parents hit their children (option A) may not be ethical or practical, and may not give a full picture of overall aggressiveness. Questionnaires (option B) may suffer from social desirability bias, where parents may under-report their aggressive behavior. Asking neighbors (option C) may suffer from observer bias, where individuals may have different thresholds for what they consider aggressive behavior. Thus, the best approach would involve a combination of strategies, such as conducting interviews with family members, reviewing records of past disciplinary actions, and observing parent-child interactions in a controlled setting.

A Psychology Professor Wants to Measure "Parent Aggressiveness