Fun Research Stuff

[rjam099]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

[Dom]

Welcome!

I am sure some people here will enjoy a conversation with you. 

You are, however, not allowed to post links until we get to know you better.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

Hiyas, Bec, and welcome. Might you define "the right thing", and I'm not sure what your adjective "objectively" is referring to, your research or the right behaviors you're investigating.

[c172]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

Welcome!

I am sure some people here will enjoy a conversation with you. 

You are, however, not allowed to post links until we get to know you better.

Maybe hit up Area 93 first?

[Dānu]

I don't see how that qualifies as 'fun'.

[Inkubus]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

Re the highlights. The first question encompasses every living person on the planet, could you be a wee bit more specific.

The power of your study? What an odd turn of phrase, do you even English bro? Please elaborate.

[Bucky Ball]

Hello,
Are you classifying "atheists" as one of your "types" of people ?
What are some of your "types' ?
Have you taken formal Ethics courses ? Which systems are you assuming in this study ?
What sort of "power" are you aiming for and how are you planning on measuring that ?
Are those fun questions ?
https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/arti...chological

[Inkubus]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

Re the highlights. The first question encompasses every living person on the planet, could you be a wee bit more specific.

The power of your study? What an odd turn of phrase, do you even English bro? Please elaborate.

I owe you an apology rjam 'power' is indeed a legitimate term. Sorry about that.

[mordant]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

If by "the right thing" you simply mean what I happen to consider to be the right thing, I'm not sure you have coherent enough definitions of morality, right/wrong, ethics, etc., to produce a meaningful set of observations.

But for me, as an agnostic atheist (no I don't see them as mutually exclusive), it is a question of empathy, primarily. For example I'm on the board of an HOA and one of our homeowners never mows his lawn or maintains the exterior of his home. Some of the people in charge here want to issue him ultimatums and force lawn mowing, etc., on him and then bill him for it. I prefer not to lead with ultimatums. It turns out he's a graduate student from another country, potentially on the autism spectrum, and nearly suicidal and in despair because funding has been cut for the project he's working on. He's overwhelmed and alone. I am pushing for several of us to band together to just take him under wing and help him out. We have gotten in touch with the university graduate student services and gotten them involved. I will personally mow his lawn myself if he can't get it together. This is leading with compassion and empathy. It is my personal "right thing".

Of course, the next person might say I'm enabling a miscreant, or maybe infantalizing him and making him dependent on others in some unsavory way or other. Everyone will have a standard and a rationalization for that standard. A Christian with my views would probably say they are obeying the command of Christ to owe no man anything but to love him, to judge not lest you be judged, etc. I come to the same convictions without hiding behind god's skirts, just based on simple empathy. To me, morality and ethics are grounded in empathy. It isn't a divine decree, it is just what makes existing in the world tolerable for flawed people who have to cooperate and get along.

[Paleophyte]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

Hi Rebecca. Welcome to the forum. Normally I'd suggest that you tell us a bit more about yourself but that might bias the results that you're looking for.

So how can we assist you? I'd be happy to help and am curious about what you mean by 'objectively right'. Drop me a message if you want to send links. And don't sweat the nerdy psych jargon. We're a curious bunch and what we don't know we like to discover.

[Cognostic]

 why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, 

How is doing the 'right thing' objective? Your premise is most certainly flawed. It needs significant narrowing.  There is no way on this planet that you will be able to operationalize 'The Right Thing.'  Have you run the idea past your professor?  I am certain it would be rejected on grounds of pure vagueness.

[rjam099]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

Hiyas, Bec, and welcome. Might you define "the right thing", and I'm not sure what your adjective "objectively" is referring to, your research or the right behaviors you're investigating.

Yes! so as we all know, no one has one definition of what is right and wrong, so what I think is right might be what someone else thinks is wrong, and vice versa. However, there are certain items we deem as socially acceptable and socially unacceptable. For example, I could say that it is socially unacceptable to push a helpless senior into oncoming traffic, but socially acceptable to help them across the street. I apologize for the vague use of my terms, but it is because the purpose of my study is not to define right and wrong (which then is why I use the term objectively, in reference to the concept of right and wrong), but more to find why people (in reference to this forum, atheists) preform socially acceptable  (i guess that would be a better word to use) behaviors.

[rjam099]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

Hiyas, Bec, and welcome. Might you define "the right thing", and I'm not sure what your adjective "objectively" is referring to, your research or the right behaviors you're investigating.

Yes! so as we all know, no one has one definition of what is right and wrong, so what I think is right might be what someone else thinks is wrong, and vice versa. However, there are certain items we deem as socially acceptable and socially unacceptable. For example, I could say that it is socially unacceptable to push a helpless senior into oncoming traffic, but socially acceptable to help them across the street. I apologize for the vague use of my terms, but it is because the purpose of my study is not to define right and wrong (which then is why I use the term objectively, in reference to the concept of right and wrong), but more to find why people (in reference to this forum, atheists) preform socially acceptable  (i guess that would be a better word to use) behaviors.

[rjam099]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I am an undergrad psychology student. I am currently collecting research on why different types of people do the right thing (or don't), objectively, and what values people hold. My goal is to get as many responses as possible to improve the power of my study (nerdy psych terms), so please feel free to participate! Thank you so much and please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!!!

If by "the right thing" you simply mean what I happen to consider to be the right thing, I'm not sure you have coherent enough definitions of morality, right/wrong, ethics, etc., to produce a meaningful set of observations.

But for me, as an agnostic atheist (no I don't see them as mutually exclusive), it is a question of empathy, primarily. For example I'm on the board of an HOA and one of our homeowners never mows his lawn or maintains the exterior of his home. Some of the people in charge here want to issue him ultimatums and force lawn mowing, etc., on him and then bill him for it. I prefer not to lead with ultimatums. It turns out he's a graduate student from another country, potentially on the autism spectrum, and nearly suicidal and in despair because funding has been cut for the project he's working on. He's overwhelmed and alone. I am pushing for several of us to band together to just take him under wing and help him out. We have gotten in touch with the university graduate student services and gotten them involved. I will personally mow his lawn myself if he can't get it together. This is leading with compassion and empathy. It is my personal "right thing".

Of course, the next person might say I'm enabling a miscreant, or maybe infantalizing him and making him dependent on others in some unsavory way or other. Everyone will have a standard and a rationalization for that standard. A Christian with my views would probably say they are obeying the command of Christ to owe no man anything but to love him, to judge not lest you be judged, etc. I come to the same convictions without hiding behind god's skirts, just based on simple empathy. To me, morality and ethics are grounded in empathy. It isn't a divine decree, it is just what makes existing in the world tolerable for flawed people who have to cooperate and get along.

Hi! so what you just described is exactly what I am trying to measure, just in a more quantifiable way. as far as research goes, while we have one way of figuring out morals and values of different folks, for the purpose of this forum, agnostic atheists, that current method involves an hour long interview, which would then need to be coded into a computer, which dates hours of data analysis for each person. The method I am trying out, is attempting to remodel this scale into questionnaire form. Ideally, it would get the same information you just said, without me having to code your words, if that makes sense. As far as research on morality, let me know if you would like me to send you my literature review! The research on this topic is actually super fascinating, and I almost lost fell into a rabbit hole looking for the meaning of life preparing for this project.

[rjam099]

Hello,
Are you classifying "atheists" as one of your "types" of people ?
What are some of your "types' ?
Have you taken formal Ethics courses ? Which systems are you assuming in this study ?
What sort of "power" are you aiming for and how are you planning on measuring that ?
Are those fun questions ?
https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/arti...chological

Hello, yes, atheists and agnostic folks are within my types, I apologize if this is an offensive term, perhaps groups would have been better? As far as ethics training, yes, I have been certified for human research by the IRB (Institutional Research Board), and this particular study has received IRB approval, which is why I have begun the data collection stage. As far as power, my apriori power analysis yielded a sample of 301 for a power level of 0.8, with an effect size of 0.15. In the end, I will measure my effect size most likely with R when I run my regression analysis. I'm not sure if your last question was rhetorical, but to me they are....

[Dexta]

As an atheist and agnostic one must choose one's own meaning/purpose in life - mine is to "increase the good stuff and decrease the bad stuff for one and all" - I am not driven purely by selfish wants due to empathy - a fortunately ubiquitous component of the mature adult mind. Simples.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Hiyas, Bec, and welcome. Might you define "the right thing", and I'm not sure what your adjective "objectively" is referring to, your research or the right behaviors you're investigating.

Yes! so as we all know, no one has one definition of what is right and wrong, so what I think is right might be what someone else thinks is wrong, and vice versa. However, there are certain items we deem as socially acceptable and socially unacceptable. For example, I could say that it is socially unacceptable to push a helpless senior into oncoming traffic, but socially acceptable to help them across the street. I apologize for the vague use of my terms, but it is because the purpose of my study is not to define right and wrong (which then is why I use the term objectively, in reference to the concept of right and wrong), but more to find why people (in reference to this forum, atheists) preform socially acceptable  (i guess that would be a better word to use) behaviors.

I'd imagine reward and punishment have much to do with it. You push an old lady into traffic, you get imprisoned for a long time, which doesn't happen when you help her cross the street.

[Dom]

Yes! so as we all know, no one has one definition of what is right and wrong, so what I think is right might be what someone else thinks is wrong, and vice versa. However, there are certain items we deem as socially acceptable and socially unacceptable. For example, I could say that it is socially unacceptable to push a helpless senior into oncoming traffic, but socially acceptable to help them across the street. I apologize for the vague use of my terms, but it is because the purpose of my study is not to define right and wrong (which then is why I use the term objectively, in reference to the concept of right and wrong), but more to find why people (in reference to this forum, atheists) preform socially acceptable  (i guess that would be a better word to use) behaviors.

I'd imagine reward and punishment have much to do with it. You push an old lady into traffic, you get imprisoned for a long time, which doesn't happen when you help her cross the street.

Also, we are herd animals. That means we have instincts to look out for other herd members. As always, these inborn things are not the same measure for all, it's on a curve.

[Bucky Ball]

Yes! so as we all know, no one has one definition of what is right and wrong, so what I think is right might be what someone else thinks is wrong, and vice versa. However, there are certain items we deem as socially acceptable and socially unacceptable. For example, I could say that it is socially unacceptable to push a helpless senior into oncoming traffic, but socially acceptable to help them across the street. I apologize for the vague use of my terms, but it is because the purpose of my study is not to define right and wrong (which then is why I use the term objectively, in reference to the concept of right and wrong), but more to find why people (in reference to this forum, atheists) preform socially acceptable  (i guess that would be a better word to use) behaviors.

The reason I asked about Ethics, is that there are ALREADY many major Ethical theories, which you ought to ALREADY know the basics of, if you are writing about this subject. Social acceptability for individuals, is a very small subset of them. The context of "objectivity" in which you present your premises, in the light of Christian "objective morality" instantly leads you (and us) down (correctly or incorrectly) the wrong path. What IS the right thing, and what that means for any individual has to invoke an ethical system or systems. We would question whether anyone PAYING to attend an Adventist school would have even ever been exposed to a wide range of ethical systems.