The article I settled on from the SPARG website is entitled “Targeting hypocrisy promotes safer sex” ( Stanford SPARQ, n.d.) which summarizes a research article (Aronson et al., 1991).According to the study, the problem analysis has it that over one out of three American find themselves infected with sexually transmitted infections, following the report was given by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. To substantiate this, Eliot Aaronson and his team, being social psychologists, selected eighty sexually active and vigorous youth to take part in a study that focused in developing a program that could prevent HIV transmission. The participants were randomly selected and allocated duties on four significant conditions (Aronson et al., 1991). The first lot was identified as a hypocrisy condition whereby; the researchers exploited facts that many people talk about safe sex but don’t engage in activities that promote safe sex. The participants in the case admitted that at times they never used condoms while having sex and at the same time, they prepared talks on how crucial it was to use condoms while getting sexually intimate with an opposite partner. They delivered their speeches to high school students.
In the second category which Aronson and his colleagues named as preaching condition, the participants encourage condom usage as a form of safe sex to prevent STIs and HIV infection and transmission but fail to admit that they have failed to practice their sermon. Thirdly, the participants placed under past failed to preach condition, admitted their past experienced failing to use condoms as a method of practicing safe sex, composed speech on safe sex, rehearsed but failed to deliver the message to the targeted audience. Finally, the participants under control condition were made to compose and rehearse a pro-condom speech the entire study was aimed at measuring how the hypocritical situation will change or affect the participant’s behavior.
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The research methodology used in this study is a case study since the participants, randomly selected by the researchers, was put into groups according to a specific character basing on what the researcher wants to prove about hypocrisy about safe sex. I believe that this is the most appropriate research methodology since; by categorizing the participants, the researchers find out that by preaching what you don’t practice makes one feel hypocritical. The feeling makes one change his/her behavior to walk the talk thus embracing safe sex. Evidently, the findings had it that the participants who were found to be hypocrites used condoms in 64% episodes of sexual encounters as opposed to those in preaching, past failures, and controlled conditions, whose participants recorded 54%,26% and 51% respectively(Aronson et al., 1991).
Case study methodology provides the researchers with sufficient information in general since the researcher can follow up the participants to justify the initial findings. For instance, from the above study, it is evident that the researcher records high number (83%) of the participants who were found hypocritical initially to be using condoms as opposed to other participants who had a score below 50% (Aronson et al., 1991). Additionally, the findings give the participants found to hypocrites a platform to face reality and confront issues as they are. However, the method will not work successfully if the participants handle issues hypocritically by doing whatever they might be thinking is ‘right.’
The study is considered ethical since it displays high levels of competence, confidentiality, informed consent as well as the relationship with the vulnerable people. The researchers are trained social psychologists whose psychological work is to provide services based on experience. The participants also engage in the study knowingly by signing informed consent, therefore, the information given by the participants is kept confidential unless an individual gives authorization for disclosure. The topic of study is a sensitive piece that requires confidentiality throughout. The researchers have maintained the flow of their work by ensuring the information of the vulnerable participants such as the HIV positive is kept to the letter.
References
Aronson, E., Fried, C., & Stone, J. (1991). Overcoming denial and increasing the intention to use condoms through the induction of hypocrisy . American Journal of Public Health, 81 (12), 1636-1638.
Stanford SPARQ, (n.d) Targeting Hypocrisy Promotes Safer Sex | SPARQ. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sparq.stanford.edu/solutions/targeting-hypocrisy-promotes-safer-sex
