Question

Cruella would not describe herself as the type of person who cares about animal rights, but she says that she does when filling out a survey for a psychologist. This illustrates that people can be highly _____ when studied.
A) dogmatic
B) variable
C) complex
D) reactive

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is - D) reactive.

Explanation:

As a result of the reactivity phenomenon, individuals who are aware that they are being observed, alter their behavior (react) in such a way that in their opinion will satisfy the observer.  

Here, Cruella thinks that people are expected to care about animal rights (‘because it is a good thing’), and though she actually does not, she responds (reacts) that she does - for the therapist not to think bad of her.

This phenomenon often obscures collected data that undermines studies’ validity. In particular, unobtrusive research methods, where the researcher finds indirect ways to obtain necessary data (for example, via collecting anonymous data) is one of the ways to tackle this issue.