The psychologist Robert Rosenthal told student researchers that some rats in a study would learn a task quickly and others would learn the task slowly.In reality,there was no difference in the rats' ability to learn the task.When the students tested the rats,the animals' learning matched what the students were told.These results reflect the:
A) Hawthorne effect
B) experimenter expectancy effect
C) directionality problem
D) third variable problem

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of the experimenter expectancy effect, where the experimenter's expectations can unintentionally influence the results of the study. Rosenthal's belief that some rats would learn faster likely influenced how the students perceived the rats' performance and affected the outcome of the study. The other options do not fit the scenario as well - the Hawthorne effect refers to participants changing their behavior because they know they are being observed, the directionality problem relates to determining the order of cause and effect in a study, and the third variable problem refers to the possibility of a third variable influencing the relationship between two studied variables.

The Psychologist Robert Rosenthal Told Student Researchers That Some Rats