Quantitative reasoning and analysis week 4 - Essay Example

Posting 2 The second discussion posting was all about different types of measurements and validation of the elements. Each type of measurement has its own strengths and weaknesses, as well as its purpose. I would like cite one experiment that tried to confirm a hypothesis. German psychologist, Fritz Strack and colleagues, came up with a hypothesis in 1988. Strack,by the way is a well known experimental social psychologist. The hypothesis stated that people who hold a pen in their teeth find jokes to be funnier for them than those who hold them in their lips.

In order to see if this hypothesis is true I held an examination using two groups and a comic strip I printed from the internet called Today’s Dogg. The strip is a single image of a dog that is staring into an empty dog-bowl saying, “Feed me”. Next to the bowl is a phone and text which read “Buy a smart phone. It does everything.” The two groups of five were taken into two different rooms and I briefed them on what they should do. Group A was the group that held the pens in their teeth and Group B is the group that held the pen in their lips.

After a few minutes I received the results. Group B’s average rating was around 3.4 as Group A’s average rating was 4.2. However, I took an extra step, I called upon other friends and family members who have not taken the exam or know anything about the experiment. I had them repeat the test and the result were as follows: Group B’s Rating was 3.3 and Group A’s rating was 3.9. Group A had rated the strip to be funny compared to the other group which rated as average. With this I can conclude that Fritz Strack’s Hypothesis is right.

This test does show that holding a pen in one’s teeth makes jokes funnier, but why? Well there could be possible reasons for this; however, the important thing about this experiment was to establish reliability. The consistency of the results could improve by conducting repeated tests on different groups. In order to pick up better results, I could have experimented to find an answer to these questions. I could have the tests retaken with the groups holding the pens in different positions while using different but similar humor.

These people could be strangers placed in a plain looking room so the external environment can be controlled. In short, I was able to prove the reliability of Strack’s hypothesis. As a researcher, it is important to consider many factors such as type of measurement that must be applied to confirm validity and reliability of an experiment.