A researcher is interested in determining whether there is a social function to sadness.Which of the following study designs might BEST determine if this is the case?

A) asking participants to open an email containing sad news either alone or in the presence of others and recording their facial expressions
B) asking participants to complete measures of extraversion and emotionality
C) asking participants to open an email containing either sad news or happy news and then measuring their level of sadness
D) asking participants to go to a party and then measuring how sad they are

Question

reish bhujun · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : A, Explanation :  The best study design to determine if sadness has a social function would involve observing participants' facial expressions in response to sad news in social situations versus alone. This would provide insight into whether sadness is influenced by social context and whether it serves a social function. The other study designs listed do not directly address the social function of sadness.

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