"WHY I WROTE THIS TEXTBOOK Every year one of my social psychology lectures holds my students' attention more than any other. My students are rapt, at times laughing, at times seemingly astounded at the story I am telling. What is this lecture about? The topic is Clark and Hatfield's (1989) article on receptivity to sexual offers. In this experiment, Clark and Hatfield had research assistants approach students of the opposite sex on campus and randomly ask one of three questions: "Would you go out tonight?" "Will you come ...
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"WHY I WROTE THIS TEXTBOOK Every year one of my social psychology lectures holds my students' attention more than any other. My students are rapt, at times laughing, at times seemingly astounded at the story I am telling. What is this lecture about? The topic is Clark and Hatfield's (1989) article on receptivity to sexual offers. In this experiment, Clark and Hatfield had research assistants approach students of the opposite sex on campus and randomly ask one of three questions: "Would you go out tonight?" "Will you come over to my apartment?" or "Would you go to bed with me?" Clark and Hatfield found that a majority of men, but not a single woman, agreed to have a "sexual liaison" with the person who approached them (p. 39). I will admit that my students do not act in quite the same way for all my lectures. Why is this lecture different? Developing a relationship is something that virtually all have experienced or want to experience. This research is relevant to the students' lives, and it is exciting. I found myself wondering: Why not make all of this early research exposure relevant and exciting? Thus, this textbook uses research relevant to students' lives to illustrate research methodology. Every major research approach in psychology is covered. Students will learn how to evaluate and use different varieties of descriptive research and experimental research methods. They will learn all steps of the research process from coming up with a research idea to writing about and presenting what they did. Through it all, the one constant is that information is presented within the confines of the familiar: the students' own lives"--
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