Dr. Miller is conducting a study on the effects of alcohol consumption on risk-taking behaviors. When participants show up to his study, he allows them to select which experimental condition they want to be in. Dr. Miller's study will most likely be threatened by a failure of random assignment.

Question

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In a randomized experiment, participants are randomly assigned to different groups or conditions. This is important because it helps ensure that any differences between groups are due to the manipulation of the independent variable, and not due to pre-existing differences between the participants in the different groups. If participants are allowed to self-select which group they want to be in, this can lead to bias and threaten the validity of the study. In this case, participants who are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors might select the alcohol condition, leading to differences between the alcohol and control groups that are not due to the manipulation of the independent variable.

Dr Miller Is Conducting a Study on the Effects of Alcohol