Social desirability effect - Essay Example

Social desirability effect Baron (2007) defined social psychology as a scientific field that aims to grasp or understand the cause and nature of individual’s thoughts and behaviors in social situations (p. 2). Unlike other branches of Psychology, social psychology focuses on group behavior and the interrelationship of an individual from another. Most branches of psychology such as clinical, developmental and abnormal psychology only delve into the behavior and thoughts of an individual. In contrast, social psychology is mainly driven to determine the impact of group interactions and social environment on the individual’s behaviors and attitudes.

Field study is one of the methods employed by researchers in studying human behavior. Field studies are undertaken in a natural setting rather in a structured environment (Kitayama & Cohen, 2010, p. 220). It involves a naturalistic observation wherein researchers discreetly observe behaviors that occur in a natural setting. Field study also entails observation of individual’s reactions to stimuli or events designed by researchers in the natural setting (Kitayama & Cohen, 2010, p. 220). This particular method of study is interesting as it offers an in-depth detail of a social phenomenon.

However, the results derived from these studies fail to provide objectivity as it relies on the researcher’s judgment. The means to improve such method become an interesting area of study. Field study can serve as an insightful means of defining group behaviors. Wimmer and Dominick (2010) stressed that field studies possess an advantage of being nonreactive. Reactivity refers to the effects of the subject’s awareness of being observed or measured on her or his behavior. The objectivity of studies often suffers from subject’s awareness of being observed (p. 225). Sevilla, Ochave, Punsalan, Regala, and Uriarte (1992) reiterated that there are variables in social psychology that cannot be explored through experimentation (p. 154). Thus, field study offers insights into these phenomena.

It presents a great breadth and depth of understanding unattainable by quantitative researches (Shepard, 2004, p. 50).Shepard (2004) stressed that findings in a particular situation may not be applicable to other situations. In addition, most field studies fail to employ standardized measuring devices. Researchers rely on subjective interpretation and judgment. The researcher’s judgment is vulnerable to biases and blind spots (p. 50). The lack of standardized and objective research procedures makes it hard to replicate previous field studies.

Several researchers regard field studies as insights which need further investigation through quantitative methods (as cited in Shepard, 2004, p. 50). Social psychologists are confronted with the difficulty of objectively studying numerous variables. Experiments succeed in manipulating variables to establish a causal relationship, but it may fail to ensure applicability of results in the real world setting. Findings of field studies suffer from the researcher’s subjectivity. The use of deception in social psychology researches also poses ethical concerns.

Social psychologists often conceal the true purpose of their study to the participants. There is a likelihood that subjects will succumb to “social desirability effect” upon knowing the true purpose of the study. Social desirability effect refers to the tendency of subjects to behave in a manner which will be favorably viewed by researchers. The presence of social desirability effect in researches will hinder understanding of social behavior. References Baron, R. A. (2007). South African supplement to social psychology.

South Africa: Pearson Education. Kitayama, S., & Cohen, D. (2010). Handbook of cultural psychology. USA: Guilford Press. Wimmer, R., & Dominick, J. (2010). Mass media research: An Introduction. USA: Cengage Learning. Sevilla, C., Ochave, J., Punsalan, T., Regala, B., & Uriarte, G. (1992). Researchmethods. Philippines: Rex Book Store. Shepard, J. (2004). Sociology. USA: Cengage Learning.