Short Answer

A clinical psychology researcher notices that a research participant is avoiding eye contact and shifting uncomfortably during a clinical interview. Apply the limitations of intuition to this scenario: what steps should the researcher take to avoid drawing an erroneous, intuitive conclusion about the participant's honesty?

Question: A clinical psychology researcher notices that a research participant is avoiding eye contact and shifting uncomfortably during a clinical interview. Apply the limitations of intuition to this scenario: what steps should the researcher take to avoid drawing an erroneous, intuitive conclusion about the participant's honesty?

Sample answer: The researcher must recognize that avoiding eye contact and shifting uncomfortably are subjective indicators that could stem from alternative causes like preoccupation or physical discomfort. To avoid an intuitive error, the researcher should refrain from using their gut feelings to judge honesty and instead collect objective, empirical data or use validated assessment measures.

Key points:

  • Identify that avoiding eye contact and shifting are not objective proof of dishonesty.
  • Avoid drawing conclusions based on subjective, intuitive feelings or gut reactions.
  • Seek objective, empirical, or systematically verified data to determine honesty.

Rubric: The answer must apply the limitations of intuition by showing that the researcher should not assume the participant is lying based on behavioral cues, should acknowledge alternative explanations for the behavior, and should rely on objective, systematic evidence instead of subjective feelings.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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