In one well-known social psychological study, research participants were asked to make very easy perceptual judgments ("Is Line A longer than Line B?"). The catch was that they were asked to do this while sitting around a table with people who continually gave incorrect responses-people who appeared to be other regular research participants. In reality, however, the other people at the table were not real participants at all; they were actually actors who were working for the experimenter and just posing as participants. The question in this research was whether or not the real research participant would conform to the group's opinion (even though the group's opinion was obviously wrong) or whether the real participant would stick to the right answer. In psychological jargon, the "actors" in this study would be referred to as ____.
A) confederates
B) participant players
C) activators
D) role testers

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The actors in this study would be referred to as confederates. A confederate is an individual who appears to be a participant in a study but is actually working on behalf of the experimenter. They play a specific role in the study, such as providing incorrect responses in a conformity study, in order to manipulate the behavior of the actual research participant.

In One Well-Known Social Psychological Study, Research Participants Were Asked