Many researchers devise "sham" treatments for their control groups to undergo, meaning that the control group interacts with researchers in some way that is not thought to impact the dependent variable, or the outcome. This is done to weaken the argument that the treatment group improvement may have occurred in part simply due to the attention this group received from the researchers. These researchers are attempting to control for which of the following?
A) multiple treatment interference
B) the Hawthorne effect
C) selection
D) experimenter effects

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sham treatment is used to control for the Hawthorne effect, which is the phenomenon where study participants may improve simply from being observed or receiving attention from researchers. Multiple treatment interference refers to the effect of receiving multiple treatments, selection refers to the process of choosing participants for a study, and experimenter effects refer to the ways in which the researcher may unintentionally influence the study outcome.

Many Researchers Devise "Sham" Treatments for Their Control Groups to Undergo