In previous studies, Dr. Schulenberg has established that finding meaning in one's everyday work activities can lead to greater success in the workplace (e.g., productivity, creativity). He is curious as to whether this can happen in the college classroom. Specifically, he is curious whether finding meaning in one's classroom experience can lead to greater academic performance. In the spring semester, he has his teaching assistant randomly assign half the class to write a paragraph each class period about how the material has meaning for their lives (meaning group). The other half writes a paragraph about what they did to prepare for class (preparation group). He does not know which of his students are writing which paragraph, and the students are not aware they are responding to different writing assignments. To measure academic performance, he gives the students a midterm essay exam and a final exam.
Which of the following aspects of Dr. Schulenberg's study allows him to prevent observer bias?
A)Keeping his students unaware of which type of essay they are writing
B)Having his teaching assistant assign students randomly to the two groups
C)Grading the exams himself (a Ph.D.) instead of having his teaching assistant (a college senior) do it
D)Ensuring the person grading the exams is unaware of each student's writing group

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ensuring the person grading the exams is unaware of each student's writing group prevents observer bias because the grader would not have any preconceived notions about which group the student belongs to and would grade the exam objectively. It is also important to note that option B (having his teaching assistant assign students randomly to the two groups) helps to prevent selection bias as it ensures that the two groups are similar in terms of their characteristics and abilities. Option A (keeping his students unaware of which type of essay they are writing) helps to prevent demand bias as it ensures that the students are not consciously altering their responses based on the assigned task. Option C (grading the exams himself (a Ph.D.) instead of having his teaching assistant (a college senior) do it) may help to prevent differential treatment bias (as the Ph.D. grader may have higher standards or expectations for the writing), but it is not directly relevant to preventing observer bias.

In Previous Studies, Dr