8) A researcher gives participants either a list of one syllable words or a list of three syllable words to learn and recall. She finds that the participants given three syllable words recall significantly fewer words than participants given one syllable words. She concludes that three syllable words are harder to recall because their length takes up more space in memory. A likely confounding variable in this experiment could be:
A) Order effects caused by participants learning two lists of words
B) Participants guessing that one and three syllable word performance are being compared
C) The fact that three syllable words might also be less common than one syllable words
D) The type of breakfast participants had eaten

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Three syllable words might inherently be less common and less familiar to participants than one syllable words, which could influence recall ability independently of their length. This difference in familiarity, rather than just the memory space they occupy, could be a confounding variable affecting the results.

8) a Researcher Gives Participants Either a List of One