Some research doesn’t really start with a question, but a survey form waiting to be filled. The pattern is predictable: pick a “socially important” topic — say, “Do people feel more ethical after recycling a paper cup?” Then split participants into two groups. One group watches a short clip of someone recycling. The other sees the same cup tossed in the trash. Everyone rates their feelings on a 1-to-7 scale. And just like that, we’ve produced “evidence.”
Surveys, though somewhat treated as social science’s common experiments, are tricky and definitely not equivalent to natural science’s experiments. Change one word, swap an image, rephrase a question — and the results move wherever you want them to go. It’s less a window into human nature than a mirror reflecting the researcher’s hunches.
So when a study triumphantly concludes that people “feel better when they recycle,” maybe the real finding is simpler: ask nicely enough, and data will always agree with you. Masterclass: