Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.
Which of the following makes Dr. Kang's study an experiment?
A)Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another.
B)Dr. Kang used a distractor task.
C)The study was conducted at a university.
D)The study was conducted by a professor.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A key feature of an experiment is that the researcher manipulates one variable (in this case, the emotional content of the word lists) while measuring another variable (in this case, the number of words remembered). Thus, Dr. Kang's study meets the definition of an experiment. The use of a distractor task is a common technique in memory research but is not what makes the study an experiment. The fact that the study was conducted at a university and by a professor are not relevant to whether it is an experiment.

Dr Kang, a Cognitive Psychologist, Conducts an Experiment Examining the Effect