Birth Order of Volunteers for Group and Individual Psychological Experiments: A Negative Note
| Autor: | Paul A. Roodin, Glen M. Vaught, Andrew Broughton |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1978 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Psychological Reports. 42:575-580 |
| ISSN: | 1558-691X 0033-2941 |
| DOI: | 10.2466/pr0.1978.42.2.575 |
| Popis: | Summary.-The effect of birth order on rate of volunteering for a ptential group or individual psychological experiment was investigated. Subjects were 286 undergraduates (87 firstborns and 197 later borns). Volunteering was not significantly related to ordinal position. Controls for family size and alternative classification schemes for ordinal position did not indiczte any Kith order-volunteering relationships. The data were discussed in terms of recent studies which also reported null results. Of particular interest to social scientists is the apparent over-representation of firstborns in studies drawn from volunteer populations (Altus, 1966; Capra & Dittes, 1962; Warren, 1966). Rosenthal and Rosnow (1975), however, in cheir review noted that the evidence on volunteering and birth order is not at all clear. They reviewed seven studies which supported the finding that fiistborns volunteered more often for research investigations and also identified four studies which found last borns more likely to be volunteers. In addition they reviewed four studies which did not report any relationship between birth order and volunteering. Schooler (1972) has suggested that in fact many birth-order relationships typically reported in earlier studies have become difficult to replicate in more recent investigations. He hypothesized that by the middle 1960's changing population trends had already tempered much of the previous research. Roodin and Vaught (1974) provided recent support for his contention that birth-order relationships and volunteering are difficult to find. It should be noted, however, that many failures to replicate birth order and volunteering relationships have not clearly specified for potential subjects the nature of the experiment in which they are to participate. Roodin and Vaught (1974), for example, implied that the research would involve small groups in each experimental session. Small-group situations should arouse the supposedly stronger affiliative needs of firstborns (Schachter, 1959). Suedfeld ( 1964) has criticized such explanations since he reported an equally high proportion of firstborns volunteering for studies involving sensory deprivation. Thus the adequacy of earlier accounts of higher affiliative needs of firstborns is in question. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between birth order and volunteering as a function of type of experiment (group vs individual participation) described to potential subjects. Following Suedfeld (1964), since affiliation needs have not seemed to account for volunteering among firstborns for single-subject participation an alternative explanation was |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|