Question

ms. harrison asks students in her psychology class to record how many hours of sleep they get every night and what they eat for breakfast. when the class looks at the data, they find that the fewer hours of sleep they get, the more they eat for breakfast. which of the following is a limitation of self - report research?
a self - report results are generalizable to a large group
b careful control of the self - report variables means the data are unusable
c self - report data is subject to the social desirability bias
d the artificial constraints of self - report mean the data arent meaningful.

Explanation:

Self - report research relies on participants' honesty. Social desirability bias occurs when participants respond in a way they think is more acceptable or "good" (e.g., over - reporting healthy behaviors like exercise or under - reporting "bad" behaviors like smoking). In this case, students might not accurately report their sleep hours or breakfast consumption due to this bias.
Option A is incorrect because generalizability is a strength if the sample is representative, not a limitation. Option B is wrong as careful control of variables is a positive in research, not making data unusable. Option D is incorrect as self - report can yield meaningful data when done properly, and artificial constraints are not a typical main limitation compared to social desirability bias.

Answer:

C. Self - report data is subject to the social desirability bias