Rosenthal and Fode (1968) asked students to teach a rat to learn a maze. Some students were told they had been given a genetically engineered "intelligent" rat, whereas others were told that they had a "dull" rat. Although there were no actual differences among the rats, the "intelligent" rats learned the maze more quickly than the "dull" rats. Which of the following topics discussed in your book can best explain the results of this experiment?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This experiment shows an example of experimenter expectancy effects, where the beliefs and expectations of the experimenter influence the outcome of the experiment. The experimenter's belief in the intelligence of the rat may have led them to unconsciously provide more encouragement or training to the "intelligent" rat, which in turn could have affected the rat's performance.

Rosenthal and Fode (1968) Asked Students to Teach a Rat