Dr. Hyper treated 20 patients using a new therapeutic procedure. An outside observer rated the children's activity level on a laboratory task before and after the treatment; 80% of the children decreased their activity level following treatment, and Dr. Hyper concluded that the procedure was highly effective. Which of the following is a likely a confound in Dr. Hyper's experiment?
A)The children were not truly hyperactive.
B)The children decreased their activity level because the task was no longer novel.
C)The person who rated the children's activity level was biased.
D)The children improved because they were just trying to please the experimenter.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

It is possible that the decrease in activity level was due to the fact that the laboratory task was no longer novel, rather than the effectiveness of the new therapeutic procedure. This is a confounding variable that could have influenced the results.

Dr Hyper Treated 20 Patients Using a New Therapeutic Procedure