Article Analysis Question (AAQ)

Helping in an online group chat

Unit 4
7 points
About 25 minutes

You read a summary of one research study and answer six short parts about it: the research method, a variable, what a statistic shows, an ethical guideline, whether the results generalize, and whether the findings support a psychology idea. On the exam: Question 1 of 2 in the 70-minute free-response section (Section II); 7 points, 16.65% of the exam score. About 25 minutes, including 10 minutes to read.

The question and its sources

Read the study summary, then answer all six parts, A through F. Write each answer in complete sentences and use psychological terms where they fit.

Source

Introduction: Research on helping suggests that people are less likely to help when they believe many others are also available to help. In this study, researchers tested whether this pattern appears in online group chats.

Participants: One hundred fifty adults in the United States (78 women, 69 men and 3 nonbinary people) aged 18 to 64 (mean age = 34) signed up through a paid online research panel and received $5. Participants reported their race/ethnicity as 61% White, 14% Black, 13% Hispanic or Latino, 7% Asian and 5% multiracial or another group.

Method: A university institutional review board approved the study. Participants gave informed consent online and were told the study was about how groups solve puzzles. Each participant joined what appeared to be a live chat room for a 15-minute group puzzle task. In reality, every other 'member' of the chat was a computer program that posted scripted messages. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (50 participants each), which differed only in how many other members the chat room showed.

Condition 1: The chat showed the participant and one other member, 'Jay.'

Condition 2: The chat showed the participant, Jay and 4 other members.

Condition 3: The chat showed the participant, Jay and 9 other members.

Seven minutes into the task, Jay posted: 'My laptop just crashed and I lost all my answers. Can someone please send me the steps we did so far?' Any other members kept chatting about the puzzle but did not answer Jay. The program recorded whether the participant posted a message giving Jay the steps within 3 minutes of the request and, if so, how many seconds passed before they started helping.

At the end, the researchers debriefed each participant, explaining that the other members were not real and why the deception had been necessary. Participants were offered the option to withdraw their data; 2 did so and were replaced with new participants so that each condition still had 50 people. Data were stored without names.

Results and Discussion: The table shows the results. The differences between conditions in the percentage of participants who helped were statistically significant. On a questionnaire after the task, the reason nonhelpers in Conditions 2 and 3 gave most often was 'I figured someone else would answer.'

Source: Hypothetical study summary, written for practice (not a real published study)

Helping by chat size

Condition (members shown besides the participant)	Number of participants	Percentage who sent Jay the steps within 3 minutes	Median seconds before helping (participants who helped)
1: Jay only	50	78%	41
2: Jay + 4 others	50	52%	74
3: Jay + 9 others	50	34%	102

Source: Hypothetical data

Suggested time: 25 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Identify the research method the researchers used.

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Part (b)

1 point

State the operational definition of helping used in the study.

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Part (c)

1 point

Describe what the median times indicate about how quickly participants helped in the condition with only Jay compared with the condition with Jay and 9 other members.

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Part (d)

1 point

Identify at least one ethical guideline the researchers applied in this study.

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Part (e)

1 point

Explain how far the study's findings can or cannot be generalized, using specific, relevant evidence from the study.

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Part (f)

2 points

Explain how at least one finding from the study supports or refutes the bystander effect.

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