A 5 page research paper/critique that offers a summary and critique of a research article by McGee and Shevlin (2009), who conducted an experimental study designed to investigate whether participants' evaluations of a sense of humor would significantly impact ratings pertaining to the potential desirability of a possible mate. The writer discusses the independent and dependent variables, as well as the issues of reliability and validity. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_khhuatt.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
ratings pertaining to the potential desirability of a possible mate. The article begins with a well-written abstract that successfully piques the interest of the reader and the introduction summarizes research
pertaining to the topic of human mate selection, placing the current research within the context of this body of literature. This information transitions smoothly into a discussion that indicates
the significance of humor to human behavior, its benefits both personally and to a relationship, which also encompasses a summation of the previous literature that pertains specifically to the research
topic of the authors study. This section of the article culminates with a statement of the authors hypothesis (i.e., "...it appears that possessing a good sense of humor potentially makes
an individual be perceived as attractive e and that humor is a factor that could influence perception of interpersonal attraction") and also the studys main research question (i.e., "...could different
levels of sense of humor influence judgments on how attractive or suitable a person may be as a long-term partner?") (McGee and Shevlin, 2009, p. 69). In order to
examine these issues, the researchers formulated an experimental design of investigation. They created two target personas, which were described to participants in terms of "physical attractiveness and perceived suitability as
a long-term partner" that fitted with the "range of attributes thought to be consistent with evolutionary theorys concept of an ideal partner for each gender" (McGee and Shevlin, 2009, p.
70). Using a convenience sample of 180 undergraduate students (90 male; 90 female), ranging in age from 17 to 32, the researchers utilized three vignettes in which the only varying
factor was the degree of the target personas sense of humor. For male participants, "Chloe" was described as having either a "good sense of humor," an "average sense of humor"