John wants to show that social comparison processes help explain why the group polarization effect occurs.He decides to conduct an experiment.Which of the following strategies should John employ?
A) He should expose individual group members to a pool of specific arguments without conveying any information about the positions endorsed by the rest of the group.
B) He should expose individual group members to the positions endorsed by the rest of the group without conveying the specific content of their arguments.
C) He should expose individual group members to the positions endorsed by everyone else in the group and the specific content of their respective arguments.
D) He should expose individual group members to a pool of specific arguments and ask them to guess which other group member(s)made them.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To test the social comparison theory of group polarization, John should expose individual group members to the positions endorsed by the rest of the group without conveying the specific content of their arguments. This way, participants would be able to evaluate the group's position without being influenced by the specific arguments. This would help to determine whether the group polarization effect is driven primarily by social comparison processes or by persuasive arguments. By exposing individual group members to specific arguments, John would not be able to distinguish between the effects of social comparison and persuasive arguments. Similarly, asking group members to guess which other group members made specific arguments does not provide direct information about the effects of social comparison processes.

John Wants to Show That Social Comparison Processes Help Explain