Asking a teenager question such as “do you share your deepest thoughts with your parents” is commonly recognized by sociologists as a good measure of the degree of parental attachment. This illustrates the principle of A similarity B validity C hypothesis D reliability
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is B. Validity.
In sociological research, the principle being illustrated here is validity. Validity refers to the extent to which a measurement or question accurately reflects the concept it is intended to measure. In this case, asking a teenager whether they share their deepest thoughts with their parents is a question that aims to measure the degree of parental attachment. If this question effectively reflects the teenager’s attachment to their parents, then it is considered a valid measure of that attachment.
To break it down, sociologists want to ensure that the tools or questions they use to collect data are measuring the right concept. When a question is valid, it means that it truly assesses what it is supposed to assess, and not something else. In this example, the question about sharing thoughts directly connects to the broader concept of attachment, which involves emotional closeness and openness between the child and parent.
On the other hand, reliability (option D) would relate to whether the question consistently provides the same answer when asked under similar conditions, but the question at hand is more concerned with whether it truly measures attachment. Similarity (option A) refers to how similar something is to another, which doesn’t apply in this case, as the focus is on the accuracy of what’s being measured. Hypothesis (option C) refers to a statement that can be tested, and while the question is related to a research hypothesis, it is not itself a hypothesis.
Thus, the sociologist is using a valid measure to assess the strength of parental attachment based on how a teenager feels about sharing personal thoughts with their parents. This ensures that the measurement tool accurately captures the intended concept.