Sociology

1. Rationale
A The experimenter was trying to demonstrate whether the presence of the Please Buckle Up  I Care and Click It or Ticket signs influenced drivers and caused them to put their seatbelts on.
B. It was considered important to find out if drivers actually paid attention to the signs on the side of the road to verify whether the signs and accompanying campaign increased seat belt usage.

2. Dependent Variable (DV)
A. The dependent variable is the number of drivers that put on their seat belt after seeing the signs prompting them to do so when stopped at the traffic signal.
B. No. The experimenter was actually interested in the effectiveness of the two programs on drivers on campus, but the substitute is relevant because the percentage of drivers that put on a seat belt after seeing the signs can be seen as indicative of the programs effectiveness.

3. Independent Variable (IV)
A. The independent variable is the placement of signs at the exit of the university parking lot.
B. The different values of the independent variable are the different signs used. There were three different signs, saying, Have a Nice Day, Please Buckle Up  I Care, and Click It or Ticket.

4. Procedure
A. Two female students stood at the exit of a large campus parking lot. One student held a sign and the other observed and recorded data. During the baseline period of 9 days, the student held up the Have a Nice Day sign. In the next phase, the Please Buckle Up  I Care and Click It or Ticket signs were held up on nonconsecutive days and the number of drivers that stopped and put on their seat belts was recorded.

5. Results
A. There was no change in behavior caused by the Have a Nice Day sign. 7 of drivers on average buckled up after seeing the Please Buckle Up  I Care sign, and 9  of student drivers buckled up after seeing the Click It or Ticket sign. Drivers that saw the Click It or Ticket sign were more likely to buckle up and to already have been wearing seat belts than drivers that saw the Please Buckle Up  I Care sign.

6. Interpretation of Relationship Between IV and DV
A. No. There is a systematic relationship between the IV and the DV.
B. The author argues against the possibility of chance fluctuations by pointing out that the baseline period, during which the students held up a Have a Nice Day sign, was implemented to make student drivers comfortable with the presence of the students on the side of the road. Also, the other two signs were presented on nonconsecutive days, helping to eliminate the possibility of random chance occurrences.
C. The author acknowledges that the Click It or Ticket sign could have been the more effective sign because it implies legal ramifications and a penalty for failure to comply. There was also a statewide campaign using the Click It or Ticket slogan utilizing state police that could have influenced drivers into buckling up.
D. There are no unanticipated elements of the systematic relationship addressed by the author.
E. The author acknowledges that the Click It or Ticket campaign loses effectiveness when not visually and actively enforced by law enforcement.

7. The practical significance of the study is that drivers on campus can be prompted to put on their seat belts and follow driving safety laws.

8. The general theoretical significance of this study was proving that drivers can be influenced by signs visible to them when driving and that such signs can prompt them to take action to put seat belts on and be safer drivers.

9. Summarize
A. The data tells us that drivers can be prompted into action by signs viewed when driving.
B. The data supports the theory that the Click It or Ticket campaign is influential to drivers.
C. The study was conducted in a controlled way with the usage of a baseline period to make sure that drivers were not uncomfortable with seeing students holding signs on the side of the road.
D. The study conducted contributes to experimental methodology in that the independent variable was presented in a controlled way and had a definite effect on the dependent variable.
E. The experiment also indicates that the presence of law enforcement and threat of legal ramifications for noncompliance are also effective.

10. In general, the study proves that drivers pay attention to road signs that they see, especially when stopped at traffic signals. Therefore, drivers could be influenced to enact other behaviors in much the same way they were prompted to put on their seatbelts.