Discussion Outline/Comments for Experiment
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The most important advice I can give you is to leave enough time to think about what you want
to include in the discussion section.

I. General Comments

    You have probably learned that the discussion section is one of the harder, if not the hardest,
    sections to write. Your purpose in the discussing is to tell "the world" what you have learned
    from your study in a clear, concise, and professional manner. As such, this task will involve
    more than an hour or four of writing.

1. Open the discussion with a statement that tells the reader whether your hypothesis was
    supported. For example:

        The results supported the hypothesis that a socially active applicant would be rated more
        likeable, satisfied with life, and atypical than a socially inactive applicant.

2. Second, you need to redescribe in words only what participants actually did. For example:

        In general, participants rated the socially active applicant as more likeable, satisfied with
        life, and atypical than the socially inactive applicant.

3. Third, you need to compare these findings to past research. For example:

        The present results are consistent with a body of research showing that socially active
        older persons are believed to lead better lives than socially inactive older persons (Smith,
        1984; Spiderman, 1995; Zena & Gabrielle, 1998). The results of this study are inconsistent
        with Dracula (1976) and Wolverine (1996) who reported no difference in people's
        perceptions of the elderly.

4. Repeat steps 1 - 3 for EACH hypothesis. For example:
 

            The results supported the hypothesis that male participants would hold the victim more responsible for the assault than would female participants. In general, male participants felt the victim was more responsible for the rape than did female participants. These results are consistent with those found in literature on female rape (e.g., Deitz & Byrnes, 1981; Jenkins & Dambrot, 1987; Kanekar & Kolsawalla, 1980; Kanekar & Nazareth, 1988; Muehlenhard, 1988). The results are inconsistent with studies in the literature on stranger and acquaintance rape reporting that female participants assigned more responsibility to the victim than did male participants (e.g., Krulewitz & Nash, 1979). The results are also inconsistent with prior research reporting no sex differences in the tendency to blame the victim (e.g., Willis, 1992).

         - OR -
 

            The results supported the hypothesis that ratings of shyness would be influenced by culture. Specifically, individuals from collectivistic cultures (Japan) would be more shy than Chilean and American individuals. In general, the Japanese participants’ self-reported shyness ratings were the highest among the three cultures with Chilean participants and American participants reporting less shyness, respectively. The results are consistent with past research indicating  that people in collectivist cultures tended to behave with more inhibition to keep group harmony (e.g., Triandis, 1995). The results are also consistent with research indicating that an individual's behavior reflects cultural differences, such as individualism-collectivism, and independent and interdependent selves (Frijda & Masquita, 1993; Kitayama & Markus, 1994; Matsumoto et al., 1996; Stephan et al., 1998; Triandis, 1995; Triandis et al., 1993).

5. For your next paragraph, you need to discuss the theoretical importance or relevance of your
    findings. For each study, typically there is a theoretical framework (e.g., attribution theory, belief
    in a just world, social identity, etc.) that you use as the framework for the study. As such, you
    need to discuss how the results support and/or refute the theory. For example,
 

            Although the Japanese are thought to be a prototypical collectivistic culture, the 
present results reveal that Japanese participants were not the most collectivistic in this 
sample. In contrast, the Japanese also appear to be experiencing a shift toward individualism. 
Many researchers suggest that the Japanese are becoming more individualistic (Matsumoto 
et al, 1996; Stephan et al, 1998; Triandis, 1995). The present results support this notion as 
Japanese participants had higher self-ratings of horizontal-individualism and vertical-individualism 
than vertical-collectivism. One plausible explanation for these findings is that Japan has had 
more influence of Western culture that typically promotes individualism (Stephan et al, 1998). 

         - OR -
 

            These findings are interpretable within a model of modern racism, which is a more subtle
form of  prejudice. In modern racism, the expression of prejudice occurs primarily in ambiguous
situations. For example, research indicates that Whites tend to sit farther away, use less friendly
voice tones, make less eye contact and more speech errors, and finish interviews more quickly
when talking with an African American compared to a White person (Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986; 
Frey & Gaertner, 1986; Word, Zanna, & Cooper, 1974). When participants in this study were
given the opportunity to evaluate music lyrics, race was one dimension by which they 
discriminated.  Participants tended to be more biased against the lyrics when they were attributed
to rap music, which is associated more strongly with African Americans.

6. Next,  you should have a paragraph where you discuss the implications of your findings.
 
 

             The Attitudes toward Non-Traditional Students Scale may be a useful tool for assessing such attitudes held by an institution’s students and faculty. First, the information gathered from this scale may prove useful in creating a more tolerant and supportive environment for non-traditional students. Why are more supportive environments needed for non-traditional students? Research shows that the number of non-traditional students attending institutions has dramatically increased over the past two decades (Horn & Carroll, 1996). Therefore, educational institutions must make every effort to keep up with this changing trend and ensure that the needs of all students are being met (e.g., Pridmore, 1999; Wernet et al., 2000). The failure of a college to provide adequate services and resources for its non-traditional population may cause these students to quit or transfer to other colleges that are more accepting and supportive (e.g., Horn & Carroll, 1996). For example, some researchers suggest that offering online courses is one way that educational institutions can be more supportive to meet the special needs of non-traditional students (e.g., Compton & Schock, 2000; Pridmore, 1999).

         - OR -
 

            Another implication is that Japanese females are not only less likely to be collectivistic, but they were least collectivistic when compared to Chilean and American participants. Several studies suggest that Japan has changed rapidly the past two decades (Matsumoto et al., 1996; Stephan et al., 1998; Triandis, 1995) and perhaps the biggest change is that Japanese women were given equal treatment as men at work due to the 1985 Equal Employment Opportunity Law for Men and Women. Triandis (1995) pointed out that the change in occupational patterns for Japanese women resulted in the Japanese society becoming more individualistic. Unlike traditional Japanese women who were submissive, the Japanese working women would appear to be less submissive compared to their non-working counterparts (see Triandis, 1995). Thus, these factors may contribute to aggravate traditional Japanese collectivism.

7. You should also have a paragraph discussing possible concerns of the study. Remind the
    readers that the results obtained from your sample of participants may not replicate with
    other populations. You would also discuss any other factors that might have operated to
    produce atypical results. BUT, do not dwell on every little flaw! For example:
 

            Although public concerns over reciprocating the favor appeared stronger than private concerns, we would caution against overinterpreting these findings. In the present study, participants were presented with only a small favor. Private motivations may require a more significant sacrifice from the favor-doer for a strong urge to reciprocate to arise. Also, in our study, the favor-doer was a stranger rather than an acquaintance. When there is a stronger bond between the two parties involved, private urges to reciprocate are perhaps stronger. Of course, imagining favors between friends that remain private matters is more difficult. Furthermore, strict exchange behavior between individuals is more common as relations between them becomes less intimate, or communal (Clark, 1986). But, to assume that private motivations to reciprocate are generally of little consequence ­ even in the case of small favors ­ would be premature.

         - OR -
 

            Because college students comprised most of the samples, one could raise the question that the influence of age and/or generation differences had a powerful impact on the results. This is plausible as Matsumoto et al., (1996) suggested that Japanese college students compared to working adults were less likely to be collectivistic. As such, the present results indicate that the previous notion of the Japanese being collectivistic may not apply to as strongly to the younger generation of Japanese. 

8. You might want to include a paragraph suggesting future research. For example:
 
 

            Future research may want to examine more precisely the processes through which the norm of reciprocity is engaged in public and private situations. One possibility is that urge to reciprocate operates through engaging a person’s emotions, and that these emotion are different in public compared to private situations. In public situations, people’s concerns about the social sanctions resulting from not reciprocating, in effect, may mean that the fear of public shame urges their reciprocation. In addition, the allure of social rewards may means that the anticipated pride following from public approval also contributes to the urge. In private situations, however, actual or anticipated feelings of guilt may largely explain the urge, along with a more private form of pride. These processes would be difficult test, but, if they could be tested, the findings may indicate that without such publicity-affected emotional reactions to the initial favor, little reciprocity will occur. 

9. Your final concluding paragraph should be broad and have a closing statement. However, this statement 
     should end the discussion in a powerful way, and not meekly. For example:
 

            The lack of potential funding tends to minimize the importance of marital rape, but marital rape is a topic that needs further investigation. Marital rape is part of our society in which economic and legal inequalities, sexist attitudes, violence against women, and the exploitation of women's bodies are all blended together. Rape by a spouse can leave a woman feeling more powerless and isolated than if she were raped by a stranger. Furthermore, many of the victims of marital rape have been subjected to 
ongoing abuse and are virtually hostages in their own homes. These special traumas need to be acknowledged and understood in their full and gruesome reality. When a woman is raped by a stranger, she has to live with the memory of the rape; however, when a woman is raped by her husband, she is forced to live with her rapist (Finkelhor & Yllo, 1985).