Two groups of graduate students were given rats and were told to teach them how to run mazes.Group 1 was told that they had "very smart" rats that should learn quickly.Group 2 was told that they had "very stupid" rats that should learn slowly.In actuality,neither group was any different and the rats had been randomly assigned.In spite of that,when the experiment concluded,Group 1 rats had learned the maze much more quickly.How can that be explained?
A)experimenter effect
B)placebo effect
C)subject bias
D)treatment effect

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The experimenter effect occurs when the experimenter's expectations or behaviors influence the participants' behavior or performance in the study. In this case, the experimenter's belief that the Group 1 rats were "very smart" may have led them to treat those rats differently or give them more attention, which could have influenced the rats' learning behavior. Therefore, it is likely that the experimenter effect played a role in the rats' differential performance in the two groups. The other options (placebo effect, subject bias, and treatment effect) do not fit the context of this study as well as the experimenter effect.

Two Groups of Graduate Students Were Given Rats and Were