1. Running head: FINAL PROJECT – WEEK 3
Final Project – Week 3
Roberta Simpkin
PSY310 UI – Social Psychology
Argosy University
Dr. Natasha Vannoy

2. Week 3: Final Project
M3:A2
An environmental organization recently completes filming a pro-recycling public service
announcement. They want you to join their team as a volunteer to design a test for the
message's persuasive power.
• How would you recruit participants from the public to take part in this research?
I would present the information in a straightforward way rather than in an overly
people-pleasing way. This way I would be looked at by the public as trustworthy. We
tend to trust people when they do not seem to be trying too hard to win us over. When
people are straightforward, they seem to have our best interests at heart because they
seem to convey what we really need to know — the facts. I would ask them to join
me as a proactive team member in designing testing this most important message
regarding the benefits of recycling (Argosy University, 2011).
• What methods would you use to assign the participants to either the experimental
group or the control group?
I would chose for the experimental group those individuals who demonstrated were in
favor of “freedom of expression” in art and other fields that allowed them to use their
talents freely. For the control group, I would chose those individuals that were more
conservative in nature when it comes to social issues and who are not pressured by
others in their decisions (Argosy University, 2011). The experimental group is the
group receiving the treatment, while the control group does not receive the treatment
and is compared to the experimental group (Argosy University, 2011).
• What would the participants in the control group do?
In the control group, those individuals would be in charge of directing all tasks and
ideas for the designing and testing this most important message regarding the benefits
of recycling (Argosy University, 2011).
• What are the independent and dependent variables for the experimental group?
The independent variable is what the researcher manipulates and the dependent
variable is what is measured for the experimental group (Argosy University, 2011).
• How would you measure the persuasiveness of the message?
Interactive advertising highlights the role of the consumer in determining the effects
and effectiveness of advertising. The role of the consumer has important implications

3. for how the effects and effectiveness of advertising are measured and how various
measures are interpreted (Argosy University, 2011).
• Would you use a self-reported survey measure or an unobtrusive behavioral
measure? Explain your rationale.
I would use unobtrusive behavioral measures such as archival data because it is an
important alternative to direct observation. Unobtrusive measures can be an
important alternative to more intrusive methodologies, thus permitting research on
important issues with minimal risk to the participants (Argosy University, 2011).
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of self-reported measures in this type
of study?
Self-reported measures has many advantages, but they also have specific
disadvantages due to the way that subjects generally behave. Self-reported measures
may be exaggerated, respondents may be too embarrassed to reveal private details
whereas this may affect the results. Subjects may also forget pertinent details. It is
also possible for results to be biased if there are systematic differences between
people who respond and people who do not (Argosy University, 2011).
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of nonreactive behavioral measures in
this type of study? In what ways could a pretest interfere with your results?
The advantage is the participant reaction to the process of data collection that does
not interfere with the response. When these methods are used, the participant's
reaction to the process influences his or her responses. The disadvantage is when
people know that they are being observed or that their responses are being counted,
they do not always respond accurately or honestly. A pretest may not be depicted
honestly and interfere with the results (Argosy University, 2011).
• Why would you have stronger confidence in your results if you had 200
participants as opposed to only 10?
I think with 200, I would get a broader picture from varied cultures and backgrounds
of individuals who all had different personalities, education, etc.
Reference:
Argosy University. (2011). PSY310 UI: Social Psychology, Module 3, Online
Lecture, Retrieved from: http://myeclassonline.com