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Which criticism of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale is regarded as the most serious?
AIt leaves out every event that people would call pleasant
BIt was built from a sample of fewer than fifty participants
CIt never takes account of how a person appraises the events
DIt has been used in too few studies to be trusted in practice
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. It never takes account of how a person appraises the events
1. Several criticisms have been made of the scale, and they are not equally weighted.
2. Some items are vague, since death of a close friend could mean a long-absent childhood friend who requires little readjustment.
3. Others challenge the assumption that undesirable life events are no more stressful than desirable ones.
4. The most serious criticism is that the scale does not take into consideration how respondents appraise the life events it contains.
5. Appraisal matters because being fired may be devastating to one person and a welcome opening to a better job for another.
6. Pleasant events such as holidays, retirement and marriage are on the scale, so the claim that they are excluded is false.
7. The scale drew on 394 participants and has been used in hundreds of studies, which disposes of the sample-size and usage objections.
_Source: OpenStax Psychology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 14 "Stress, Lifestyle, and Health", section 14.2 Stressors_
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