QCAA Psychology - Bargh, Chen & Burrows (1996)

Identify the aim of Experiment 2 in Bargh, Chen & Burrows (1996).

• To understand the relationship between stereotypes of the elderly and subsequent behaviour.

• To understand the relationship between groups and stereotypes.

• To understand the relationship between behaviour and stereotypes of younger people.

• To understand the relationship between stereotypes of the elderly and attitudes.

Select the word which correctly completes the sentence about Experiment 2 in Bargh, Chen & Burrows (1996).

In the primed task experiment, the included words were relevant to stereotypes about the elderly,
however all references to ______ were removed.

• old

• slowness

• fast

• grey

Complete the sentence below regarding the method for Experiment 2 in Bargh, Chen & Burrows (1996).

After finishing the unscramble task, participants were partially debriefed and thanked for their participation. A ​second experimenter then secretly ​recorded the amount of ______ that each participant took to ​walk down the hall after leaving the room.

Identify the correct findings of Experiment 2 in Bargh, Chen & Burrows (1996).

• Neutral priming led to slower walking times down a corridor after the experiment.

• Elderly priming led to slower walking times of participants down a corridor after the experiment.

• Slower walking times lead to increased recall of elderly-related words.

• Age-related stereotypes occur when people feel threatened.

Identify the level of statistical significance in the results demonstrated by Experiment 2.

• p > 0.10

• p > 0.05

• p < 0.05

• p < 0.01

Select the correct order of the words to complete the sentence below.

The overall hypothesis of the study was that social _________ is capable of automatic _________
by the mere _________ of relevant _________ features.

• behaviour, presence, activation, situational

• presence, activation, situational, behaviour

• activation, situational, behaviour, presence

• behaviour, activation, presence, situational

Determine the relationship between walking time and older people primes that was evident from
Experiment 2 of Bargh, Chen & Burrows (1996).

Answer explanation

Example Model Answer

In Experiment 2, the participants completed a scrambled-sentence task that contained words for elderly stereotypes. After being primed with these words, the walking time of participants was found to be slower than that of the participants who were not primed with these words.

Based on these results, there appears to be a direct relationship between being primed with stereotypical words and walking behaviour.

Tips:

Make it clear that in Experiment 2 there was a direct relationship between stereotypical words and behavior.

This can be further justified by stating that participants in the non-priming group did not have their behaviour impacted by stereotypical words.

Explain the function of priming on individual behaviour.

Answer explanation

Example Model Answer

Priming refers to the incidental activation of stereotypes by the current context which can influence an individual's behaviour.

In Experiment 2, participants completed a task unscrambling sentences, which were either primed with words related to being elderly or contained words that were age-neutral. In the group primed with elderly words, there was a direct impact on their walking behaviour of the participants after they finished the task. The time taken for these participants to walk down the corridor at the end was significantly slower than those who were in the neutral group.

Bargh, Chen & Burrows (1996) investigated how stereotypes can be primed to influence behavior.

Think what priming is (incidental activation) and how it influences behavior (subconscious response).  

Bargh, Chen and Burrow's (1996) experiment possessed high internal reliability.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Results were statistically significant across all three experiments, which improved the overall internal reliability of the study.

As the experiment was conducted within a laboratory, it possessed high ecological validity.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Laboratories are highly artificial environments, therefore the study lacked ecological validity, as results could not be reasonably applied to an everyday environment.