Question

Using the social psychology proverb "Honesty is the Best Policy" you will consider the belief from opposite points of view (it does not matter what your belief is). Provide a brief psychological rationale for why the belief might be true. Then, provide a psychological rationale for why the belief might be false.

Describe an experiment that would test whether the belief is true or not. The description of your experiment should include:

- the design of your study (how many groups; how are they different)

- the independent and dependent variables

- how you are operationally defining the constructs (how you will measure or manipulate the constructs)

Note that it should be an experiment, not a correlational study or other method.

Finally, after describing your proposed experiment, discuss the importance of using a scientific experiment to answer if this belief is true. Make sure to discuss why the scientific approach is better than using personal anecdotes for this specific belief.

Answer 1

Our society influence our reaction towards honesty. An act of honesty in one situation may be appreciated but in other situation it may not be appreciated . From a psychological point of view, an honest person is seen as a truthful person. A political candidate who is well known for his honesty will have better response with the crowd than a person who is not. Honesty is one of the most important principle of leadership. Even in relationship, honesty is well appreciated and encouraged. But there are times when honesty has caused more damage than mend things. For e.g. when a person confesses to his partner of his cheating ways, it can arise to mistrust in the relationship even if the partner was being truthful. So there is a fine line as to when and where one must display an act of honesty.

Experiment:

The study is conducted in a mall where the groups will consist of children, adolescents and adults (Independent variable). A little simulation of the situation will involve where the experimenter drops a wallet in front of subjects (manipulation). The dependent variable (reaction to seeing the fallen wallet and returing to the owner) will be observed.

A scientific approach is more reliable and has higher validity.