practical

Question 1

what is the research based on?

Answer 1

• Holmes said “females are politer than males” due to research carried out based on linguistics. Females are suggested to be politer in regards to their dialect and saw it necessary for women to have “polite chat” with friends to keep in touch
• where as men had a conversation to get to a point and understanding

Question 2

aim?

Answer 2

• The aim of this observational study was to identify whether the was a difference between males and females regarding how polite they were.

Question 3

hypothesis?

Answer 3

• alternative: there will be a difference between males and females and how polite they are. females will display more polite behaviours (e.g. saying “thank you” after being handed a drink by a barman) than males
• null hypothesis: there will be no difference between males and females and how polite their behaviour is any difference will be down to chance.

Question 4

what design was used?

Answer 4

• observational

Question 5

what observational method was used?

Answer 5

• covert, participant observation

Question 6

what was the IV and DV?

Answer 6

IV = the sex of the participant 
DV = measuring the polite behaviours displayed such as saying "thank you" when being given a drink at a bar by a barman

Question 7

how many ptps were used?

Answer 7

• 40 (20 males and 20 females)

Question 8

sample?

Answer 8

• ages ranged from 18 - 65
• opportunity sampling
• midlands area

Question 9

procedure?

Answer 9

• this study consisted of one condition; a participant covert observation which took place at a restaurant in pub in Stratford upon Avon where the observer was an employee behind the bar
• the observer/employee counted how many times a customers said “thank you” after recieving a drink, as well as making note of their gender and also adding anything they considered to also be a polite behaviour
• this took place between 6:00pm-7:00pm time-based sampling.

Question 10

ehthics and risk management?

Answer 10

• covert so participants were unaware
• however after the study was carried out and the results gathered
• participants were made aware and debriefed
• however permission was not needed as they were in a public place so they can be expected to be watched.

Question 11

how many males and females said “thank you”?`

Answer 11

males = 9/20
females = 14/20

Question 12

what stats test was carried out and why?

Answer 12

• nominal data
• independent measures
• chi squared?

Question 13

were the results found to be significant ?

Answer 13

• at the 5% level of significance, the critical value for a one-tailed test when the degree’s of freedom = 1, is 4.61. since the calculated value is 0.8 it is less than the critical value and therefore the alternative hypothesis can be accepted and the null rejected;

Question 14

thematic analysis?

Answer 14

• qualitative data: most common responses regarded a “polite behaviour” was “thank you”
• “thanks” and “cheers” and “tar” also came up followed by smiles which was also counted as polite behaviour.

Question 15

generalisability?

Answer 15

• fairly large sample of 40 people
• however took place in one single restaurant in stratford-upon-avon between 6:00pm - 7:00pm which is unlikely to a representative sample of the whole population.

Question 16

reliability?

Answer 16

• high inter-rater reliability as four other observers were in the restaurant counting polite and impolite behaviour to ensure the accuracy of the finidngs

Question 17

application?

Answer 17

• not significant application however tells us more about gender differences between males and females however doesn’t really go into why this happens so further research may need to be carried out

Question 18

validity?

Answer 18

• ecological validity is high as they are unaware they are being watched, natural environment therefore behaviour is likely to replicate their everyday behaviour.

Question 19

ethics?

Answer 19

• covert observation and therefore may be considered unethical as the participants haven not given their consent to be appart of the study
• however an effort was made to de-brief the participants and make them aware that they were involved.