Answer

(Problems are split into Point/ Example/Concluding comment)

Problem 1

P - Realistic research conducted in real settings may involve distressing or embarrassing participants

E – Milgram’s electric shock machine and fake screams were so realistic that participants really believed that they were administering electric shocks on another person. Participants found this distressing.

C – Distressing participants breaks the ethical guidelines laid down by the British Psychological Society.

Problem 2

P - What do we mean by realistic situations?

E- Zimbardo attempted to create a realistic prison, but Participants may have different ideas on what constitutes a realistic prison.

C- One participant may experience an artificial experimental situation as if it was real and another may not.

Problem 3

P - Often ecologically valid research is conducted in real situations and may use methods such as observation and field experiment.

E- Piliavin set his research on a real life train. The scenarios therefore couldn’t be easily controlled

C- This means that there is a lack of control over the situation and this can make drawing conclusions very difficult.

Problem 4

P - It may be difficult to replicate the study

E- Recreating Piliavin’s study would have been difficult as it was set in the field and it would be difficult to recreate those exact surroundings

C - It is important to be able to replicate a study to check and expand findings.