In a study of the effects of humor on memory, Schmidt (1994) had participants read either humorous sentences or non-humorous sentences, and then he later tested participants' memory for the sentences.The control group in this experiment was:
A) the group of participants assigned non-humorous sentences.
B) the group of participants assigned humorous sentences.
C) a third group of participants who were not asked to read any sentences.
D) irrelevant because there was no control group in this experiment.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The control group in an experiment serves as a baseline for comparison. In this case, the control group consisted of participants who were assigned non-humorous sentences, which allowed the researcher to compare the memory performance of participants who read humorous sentences to those who did not. The other options (B and C) do not accurately represent a control group in this study. Option D is not correct because every experiment should have a control group.

In a Study of the Effects of Humor on Memory