Research has shown that social exclusion activates the same brain regions as physical pain. A researcher wants to test the hypothesis that over-the-counter pain relievers will also reduce the pain of social exclusion. She gives half of her participants ibuprofen and half a placebo, then has them play a game in which other players ignore them. Participants who take the ibuprofen are the _______ and participants who take the placebo are the _______.
A) experimental group; control group
B) randomly assigned group; blind group
C) representative sample; random sample
D) independent sample; dependent sample

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The participants who take the ibuprofen are in the experimental group, as they are receiving the treatment being tested. The participants who take the placebo are in the control group, as they are not receiving the treatment being tested and can be compared to the experimental group to evaluate the effectiveness of the ibuprofen.

Research Has Shown That Social Exclusion Activates the Same Brain