Anger can make a normally unbiased person act with prejudice, according to a forthcoming study in the journal of Psychological Science. A university professor randomly selected 81 study participants into two groups and assigned them a writing task designed to induce anger, sad or neutral feelings in a subsequent test to uncover unconscious associations, angry subjects were quicker to connect negatively charged words- like war, death, and vomit- with members of the opposite groups- even though the grouping was completely arbitrary. “These automatic responses guide our behavior when we are not paying attention and then can lead to discriminatory acts when there is pressure to make a quick decision. If you are aware that your emotions might be coloring these gut reactions, you should take time to consider that possibility and adjust your actions accordingly” says the professor.
Anger can make a normally unbiased person act with prejudice, according to a forthcoming study in the journal of Psychological Science.
A university professor randomly selected 81 study participants into two groups and assigned them a writing task designed to induce anger, sad or neutral feelings in a subsequent test to uncover unconscious associations, angry subjects were quicker to connect negatively charged words- like war, death, and vomit- with members of the opposite groups- even though the grouping was completely arbitrary.
“These automatic responses guide our behavior when we are not paying attention and then can lead to discriminatory acts when there is pressure to make a quick decision. If you are aware that your emotions might be coloring these gut reactions, you should take time to consider that possibility and adjust your actions accordingly” says the professor.
Based on the above information, answer the following questions.
- Is the study experimental or observational?
- What is the independent variable?
- What is the dependent variable?
- Do you think sample sizes are large enough to merit the conclusion?
- Based on the results of the study, what changes would you recommend to persons to help them reduce their anger?
- Based on your understanding list any two mediators and moderator variables for this study.
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