A recent sociological experiment sought to determine the exact role social support plays in the health of expectant mothers. To conduct the experiment, the researchers asked midwives to flip a coin each time they received a new client, and if it came up heads to try as hard as possible to put the client in contact with others who could provide social support. If the coin came up tails, the midwives would not discourage the woman from receiving social support but would not facilitate it either. Who is the control group in this experiment?

Question

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The control group is the group that does not receive the intervention being tested. In this experiment, that would be the expectant mothers whose coin comes up tails. They are not deliberately given social support but can receive it if they seek it out on their own.

A Recent Sociological Experiment Sought to Determine the Exact Role