Asked by Sari & MarMar on May 09, 2024
Verified
Diaz conducts a decision-making experiment to determine if people reason more logically when they have more time to decide.All the participants who are under 40 are allowed 15 minutes to reach a decision about a problem; all the participants who are over 40 are allowed 20 minutes to reach a decision about the same problem.What is the problem with this experimental design
A) The age of the participants is confounded with the independent variable.
B) There are two control groups and no experimental group.
C) There is no dependent variable in the experiment.
D) The time allowed for the decision is confounded with the independent variable.
Experimental Design
The plan for a scientific study, determining how to test hypotheses by specifying and controlling variables.
Dependent Variable
A variable in an experiment that is affected by changes in another variable, known as the independent variable.
Confounded
A term used in experimental research to describe a situation where the effect of one variable cannot be separated from the effect of another, complicating the interpretation of results.
- Ascertain the roles of independent, dependent, and confounding variables in the structure of research studies.
- Appreciate the ethical considerations in research with human participants.
Verified Answer
RL
Robert LaymanMay 14, 2024
Final Answer :
A
Explanation :
The problem with this experimental design is that the age of the participants is confounded with the independent variable (time allowed for decision-making). This means that any differences observed in the participants' reasoning abilities may be due to age rather than the time allowed for decision-making. To avoid this confound, a better approach would be to randomly assign participants to either a 15-minute or 20-minute time limit group regardless of their age.
Learning Objectives
- Ascertain the roles of independent, dependent, and confounding variables in the structure of research studies.
- Appreciate the ethical considerations in research with human participants.