An unethical experimenter wants to test the relationship between discomfort and aggression. On a hot day, she turns off the air conditioning in one dorm and leaves it on in another, then has her research assistants count occurrences of verbal aggression in common areas of the buildings. Students in the air-conditioned dorm would be the _______, and students in the overheated dorm would be the _______.
A) representative sample; random sample
B) study population; sampling frame
C) control group; experimental group
D) independent sample; dependent sample

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The students in the air-conditioned dorm would be the control group, while the students in the overheated dorm would be the experimental group. This is because the experimenter is manipulating the independent variable (air conditioning) in the experimental group, and using the control group to compare the effects of this manipulation. This is an unethical experiment because the experimenter is intentionally causing discomfort and potentially harm to the participants without their consent.

An Unethical Experimenter Wants to Test the Relationship Between Discomfort