A Level Psychology OCR Practice Exam

How might low ecological validity affect the results of the Raine et al. study?

1. It decreases the external applicability of the findings

2. It increases the representativeness of the sample

3. It enhances the precision of the measurements

4. It ensures a wide range of participant backgrounds

The correct answer is: It decreases the external applicability of the findings

Low ecological validity refers to the extent to which research findings can be generalized to real-world settings. When a study has low ecological validity, it often means that the conditions under which the research was conducted do not reflect how individuals typically behave in everyday life. In the context of the Raine et al. study, which investigated the correlation between brain activity and violent behavior, low ecological validity would limit the external applicability of the findings. This means that while the results may reveal interesting patterns within the controlled environment of the study, they may not accurately reflect the behavior or brain function of individuals in more naturalistic settings. For instance, if the study was conducted in highly artificial conditions or used a specific population that does not represent the broader community, it could lead to conclusions that are not valid for the general population. Therefore, while the study may identify correlations or causes under specific conditions, those results might not translate to real-world scenarios, reducing their overall relevance and applicability to understanding violent behavior broadly. This highlights the importance of considering how research findings relate to real-life situations when evaluating their significance in psychology.