Researchers investigated how social norms regarding hygiene and equipment care are enforced in public fitness environments. They aimed to observe how gym-goers react to a confederate violating a well-established social norm (failing to wipe down a machine after use) under different social and environmental conditions.
Two study locations were selected: MetroFit (a large, highly anonymous budget gym in a central city) and IronWorks Club (a smaller, highly integrated local powerlifting gym with strong community ties). The sessions occurred during peak workout hours.
Two independent variables were investigated:
In all sessions, a confederate completed a heavy set of bench presses, visibly leaving sweat on the bench, and then walked away to another area without wiping it down or returning the weights to the rack.
Observers recorded whether other gym-goers nearby:
Using research evidence, explain how far learning theories could account for the findings of this gym etiquette study.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Issues and debates with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 147 questions covering Issues and debates, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
