Question

A researcher is interested in examining whether offering children candy as an incentive to share will increase preschoolers' sharing behavior. A group of preschoolers is brought into the laboratory to play with some interesting toys. The preschoolers are split into two groups through random assignment. Group A is told that they will get candy each time they share, and group B is not told anything about candy or sharing. Results indicate that preschoolers in group A share more than do preschoolers in group B, and the researcher concludes that offering children candy for sharing caused the children in group A to share more. Which statement BEST describes a possible limitation of this study.

Answer 1

Question:

A researcher is interested in examining whether offering children candy as an incentive to share will increase preschoolers' sharing behavior. A group of preschoolers is brought into the laboratory to play with some interesting toys. The preschoolers are split into two groups through random assignment. Group A is told that they will get candy each time they share, and group B is not told anything about candy or sharing. Results indicate that preschoolers in group A share more than do preschoolers in group B, and the researcher concludes that offering children candy for sharing caused the children in group A to share more. Which statement BEST describes a possible limitation of this study?

A. There may be a third-variable problem.

B. These findings may not generalize beyond the laboratory setting.

C. Children in group A may have been naturally kinder than were children in group B.

D. Causation cannot be inferred from this type of study

Answer:

The option "These findings may not generalize beyond the laboratory setting" best describes a possible limitation of this study

Explanation:

The findings may not generalize beyond the laboratory setting as most of the studies or researches show that children are more selfish in the preschool stage. The intentions behind the act are not considered, merely the outcome, and therefore an apparently altruistic act may have a selfish basis.

Adding information adds context to the children’s donation decision, thus motivating altruistic behavior. Researches with children have demonstrated that they are not consistently selfish and even children as young as 3 years are frequently altruistic in their behavior.