Dr. Segal is studying the effects of television watching on the language development of children under the age of 2. Because of room scheduling issues, the children in the experimental group underwent testing in the morning and the children in the control group underwent testing in the afternoon. This is an example of
A) random assignment.
B) a situational confounding factor.
C) a confounding factor due to individual differences.
D) randomization error.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario describes a situational confounding factor because the time of day (morning vs. afternoon) could influence the outcomes of the study independently of the variable being studied (television watching). This difference in testing times between groups introduces a potential variable that could affect the results, making it a situational confounding factor.

Dr Segal Is Studying the Effects of Television Watching on the Language