Psychology Coursework

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The aim of this research is to investigate the existence of a correlation between age and behaviour, specifically, moral reasoning.

The testable alternative hypothesis is that there will be a positive correlation between old age and moral reasoning when compared to a younger age range.  It is expected that the older participants will show more moral reasoning when completing the experiment.

Today’s society is very autonomous and traditional morals and values appear to have been cast aside and have not been passed on to the younger generation. It is expected that this will have a direct effect on the results of the experiment. (Is this relevant?)

Piaget has researched the development of moral behaviour in children extensively, however, it was Kohlberg who identified more stages in the developmental process and continued research on into adulthood. In 1969 he investigated peoples moral reasoning by posing a moral dilemma to a sample of 84 participants then asked them questions related to the dilemma.

The target population are a group of young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 and a group of mature adults between the ages of 61 and 70, selected from a group of associates sharing a common interest.

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The independent group design will be used for this experiment as two groups will be used where the participants have been selected specifically based on their age using a systematic sampling method. All members of the association will be listed alphabetically into the two age groups required, and then every alternate member will be selected until there is a list of ten participants in each age group.

This method of sampling is justified, as it is the easiest option; it does not take into account the gender, occupation or religious background of the participants, it merely selects them ...

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