A Critical Appraisal of “ Winners Love Winning and Losers Love Money ”

A9079968 2 The following assignment critiques research by Kassam et al. [1], starting with a brief study overview before addressing its experimental design. Crucial methodological features are evaluated and relevant psychological issues are discussed in respect to the research question at hand and overall validity. Finally, the research will be assessed in terms of its relevance and value, highlighting the implications for future research when happiness is connected with a win or loss. A conclusion will clarify the main strengths and areas of improvement. Summary of Research Methods The investigation focuses on salience and satisfaction as main factors that influence how happy an individual feels given a win or loss situation. Kassam et al. [1] hypothesised that only a salient comparison would be made if a person won, relative to the outcome of the situation. In a losing situation, a salient comparison would still be made, but given the negativity of the situation, the individual would then search for an absolute comparison that resulted in satisfactory feelings of happiness. They predicted that these feelings of sensitivity for losers and insensitivity for winners would be reflected by participant's reports of happiness, disappointment and regret (Positive-Affect Index) across two different experiments. In Experiment 1, participants were recruited in the street and asked to choose an option on a scratch card where two different value cash prizes could be won ($1 or $3, $3 or $5, $5 or $7). After discovering both amounts on the card, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding how happy, disappointed and regretful they felt (1 being 'not at all' and 9 being 'extremely'). Experiment 2 on the other hand was conducted on a computer in a laboratory setting and participants were given $5 for their involvement. During the task, participants had to select one of two options on the computer screen for each trial, using the same cash amount options from Experiment 1. Four critical trials were rigged so that each participant had a trial of high/low cognitive load for a high/low cash prize. During Daniel Mackinnon A9079968 3 trials of high load capacity (where participants were asked to remember an 8 digit number) no significant difference in happiness was found between winning a high or low amount. In contrast, during trials of low load capacity (where participants were asked to remember a 2 digit number) a very significant difference (p = 0.002) was found. Limitations …