Which issue is associated with the college sophomore problem?

Which issue is associated with the college sophomore problem?

• A. Generality of findings
• B. Sampling bias
• C. External validity
• D. Reliability of measures

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is generalizability of findings. When research relies heavily on college sophomores, the conclusions may not apply to people outside that group. This is a classic external validity concern: do the results hold for other ages, backgrounds, or settings? The phrase about generality of findings directly captures that issue—that the study’s conclusions may not generalize beyond the specific sample. While sampling bias can contribute to limited generalizability, the core problem highlighted by the college sophomore issue is whether the findings are truly generalizable. Reliability of measures, on the other hand, deals with consistency of measurement, not who is being studied.

The key idea here is generalizability of findings. When research relies heavily on college sophomores, the conclusions may not apply to people outside that group. This is a classic external validity concern: do the results hold for other ages, backgrounds, or settings? The phrase about generality of findings directly captures that issue—that the study’s conclusions may not generalize beyond the specific sample. While sampling bias can contribute to limited generalizability, the core problem highlighted by the college sophomore issue is whether the findings are truly generalizable. Reliability of measures, on the other hand, deals with consistency of measurement, not who is being studied.