Question 1

A control group is one in which an experimental treatment is administered.

Accepted Answer

A control group is actually one in which no experimental treatment is administered, and is used for comparison purposes to the group that receives the treatment.

Question 2

Experimental research attempts to find causal relationships among variables.

Accepted Answer

Experimental research involves manipulating one variable (independent variable) to observe its effect on another variable (dependent variable) while controlling for other variables. This allows for the identification of causal relationships between variables.

Question 3

An experimental treatment is the term referring to the way an experimental variable is manipulated.

Accepted Answer

An experimental treatment refers to the way an experimental variable is manipulated in order to test the effect it has on the outcome or dependent variable.

Question 4

In experimental research, independent variables are simply measured.

Accepted Answer

Independent variables are not simply measured, they are manipulated by the researcher to observe the effect on the dependent variable.

Question 5

John correctly guessed that the purpose of an experiment he was participating in was to examine the effect of giving employees recognition on his attitude and intention to stay with his company, which creates a confound known as a bias effect.

Accepted Answer

The correct term for this confound is the "demand characteristics" effect, where participants alter their behavior based on their perception of the experiment's purpose.

Question 6

In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the dependent variable and measures its effect on the independent variable.

Accepted Answer

The statement is incorrect. In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the independent variable and measures its effect on the dependent variable. The dependent variable is the outcome being measured, while the independent variable is the variable being manipulated to see its effect on the outcome.

Question 7

Participants in experimental research are typically referred to as respondents.

Accepted Answer

Participants in experimental research are typically referred to as participants or subjects, not respondents. "Respondents" is a term more commonly associated with survey or questionnaire research.

Question 8

Factorial experimental designs are the least sophisticated type of experimental design.

Accepted Answer

Factorial experimental designs are actually more sophisticated than other types of experimental designs as they allow for the manipulation of multiple factors and the interaction between them.

Question 9

The most common procedure to try to ensure that experimental and control groups do not differ from each other in important ways at the beginning of a research study is random assignment of subjects to treatment and control groups.

Accepted Answer

Random assignment of subjects is a widely used method to ensure that experimental and control groups do not differ significantly from each other at the beginning of a research study. This helps researchers to draw accurate conclusions about the effects of the treatment or intervention being tested.

Question 10

A confound is an experimental deception involving a false treatment.

Accepted Answer

A confound is not a false treatment, but rather an unwanted variable that can affect the results of an experiment.

Question 11

Covariates are categorical variables like a subject's gender or ethnicity.

Accepted Answer

Covariates are actually continuous variables that can potentially affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Examples include age, income, and education level. Categorical variables like gender or ethnicity are typically referred to as factors or predictors.

Question 12

One way to reduce demand characteristics is to tell subjects the purpose of the experiment so they will be more willing to participate honestly.

Accepted Answer

Telling subjects the purpose of the experiment may actually increase demand characteristics as they may alter their behavior to align with what they think the experimenter wants to see. Keeping the purpose of the experiment hidden from the subjects can help reduce demand characteristics.

Question 13

As long as the researcher debriefs subjects, any experimental deception is acceptable.

Accepted Answer

While debriefing is an essential ethical practice, it does not make all experimental deception acceptable. Researchers need to ensure that their deception does not cause any harm or negative consequences to the participants and that the study's benefits outweigh its risks. Furthermore, certain types of deception, such as physically harming or traumatizing participants, are never acceptable, regardless of the debriefing process. Therefore, researchers need to justify and carefully consider their use of deception in any experiment.

Question 14

The people administering an experiment must be aware of the experimental hypotheses.

Accepted Answer

One way to reduce demand characteristics is to use a "blind" experimental administrator who does not now the experimental hypotheses.

Question 15

A cell refers to a treatment combination within an experiment.

Accepted Answer

A cell refers to a specific treatment combination within an experiment, consisting of a particular level of each independent variable. It is the smallest unit of analysis in an experimental design.

Question 16

Systematic error can occur in experiments.

Accepted Answer

Systematic error is a type of error in measurements that occurs consistently and affects the accuracy of the results. It can be caused by various factors such as faulty instruments, biased experimenters, or environmental conditions. Therefore, it is possible for systematic error to occur in experiments.

Question 17

An experiment can have only one experimental variable.

Accepted Answer

An experiment can have multiple experimental variables, but it is important to control as many variables as possible in order to ensure that changes in the outcome are due to the experimental variable and not some other factor.

Question 18

A confound in an experiment means that there is a spurious relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Accepted Answer

A confound can create a spurious relationship between variables, making it difficult to determine the true effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Question 19

An experimental construct refers to one of the possible levels of an experimental variable manipulation.

Accepted Answer

This describes an experimental condition.

Question 20

Products are the most common test units in most marketing experiments.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Products are the most common test units...

Quiz 12: Experimental Research