In a laboratory, smokers are asked to drive using a computerized driving simulator and cover the maximum distance possible, while avoiding rear-end collisions. Some volunteers are given a real cigarette to smoke immediately before the test. Others smoke a fake cigarette without nicotine. The number of collisions the two groups make is to be compared. In this study, the cigarette without nicotine is a:
A) dependent variable.
B) placebo
C) double-blind procedure.
D) hypothesis.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The cigarette without nicotine serves as a placebo, as it is a fake intervention that looks and feels like the real thing but does not contain the active ingredient (nicotine). This allows the researchers to control for potential confounding variables such as the physical act of smoking or the expectation of nicotine effects.

In a Laboratory, Smokers Are Asked to Drive Using a Computerized