The Crisis issue Assessed: An Empirical Analysis

The effect of the crisis issue in social psychology-focusing on the validity of existing social psychological research methodologies-was examined through an analysis of research trends over the past 15 years. Articles selected from four representative social psychology journals in the 1974-1975, 1979-1980, and 1984-1985 periods were evaluated in terms of (a) type of methodology, (b) subject population (c) use of deception and (d) method of data analysis. Results indicate that, despite the predominance of laboratory experimentation in social psychological research, a significant increase in the use of surveys and questionnaires is noted. In addition, although the predominance of undergraduates as research subjects has shown no change over the 15-year period, deception in research has decreased significantly. Contrary to expectation, the increased availability of linear modeling procedures such as path analysis and multidimensional scaling has not resulted in significant changes in the methods of data analysis over the past 15 years. These results are discussed in terms of the role of the crisis literature on social psychological research of the past decade.