Methods

Participants

The current study involved the use of students from a small, liberal arts, Midwestern college. A total of 120 people participated in the study. It was a convenience sample, as students who passed through the welcome centre of the university were asked to participate. A focus was put on recruiting an equal number of males and females. Participants were required to have a same sex friend pairing. Participants under the age of eighteen were excluded from the study.

Design and Materials

Identical two-part questionnaires were given to each student, and data was collected through repeated measures. The first part of the questionnaire was used to establish preliminary information and through a series of 1-5 numerical scales, measure the closeness of the friend pairing. Closeness can be defined as how high each pairing scored on the initial part of the questionnaire, on questions such as, “how close would you say you and your friend are?” and “How much do you trust your friend?” The higher the score, the closer the friends were. A score of 10 or above was considered as a high level of closeness. The second part of the questionnaire consisted of fourteen scenarios. Each was phrased in a way that asked the participant whether they would report the actions of their friend. Every two scenarios, the severity of the action increased. The total number of scenarios where the participant backed their friend determined their level of support. Support can be defined as the number of scenarios in which the participant agrees to not report their friend. The scenarios are ranked based on consequence. Level one scenarios are moral deviances, such as the friend lying to their boss by calling in sick. The next thirteen scenarios increase in both legal and moral deviances, with the fourteenth being terrorism with the consequence of the death penalty.

Procedure

When the study was conducted, researchers set up in the welcome centre of the university. Participants were then approached by researchers and asked if they wanted to participate in a study. After reading and signing a consent form, the participants were given a questionnaire and instructed to fill it out. Participants were then thanked for their time and data was compiled. All procedures were approved by the Lourdes University IRB.