Researchers who were interested in the effects of alcohol consumption on perceived attractiveness of members of the opposite sex randomly assigned participants to two groups. Each participant in the first group received a fruit flavored drink containing a set amount of alcohol and those in the second group received an identical tasting drink with no alcohol. Next, the participants viewed pictures of members of the opposite sex and rated their attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 10. Which group was the placebo control group?
A) The group that watched violent video games.
B) The group that received alcoholic drinks
C) The group that received nonalcoholic drinks
D) There was no placebo control group.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The placebo control group is typically the group that receives a fake treatment or intervention that is identical in every way to the real treatment except for the active ingredient. In this experiment, the group that received nonalcoholic drinks would be the placebo control group because they received a drink that was identical in taste and appearance to the alcoholic drinks but did not contain the active ingredient (alcohol) being studied.

Researchers Who Were Interested in the Effects of Alcohol Consumption