Quiz Question: connecting Willer's article to chapter 8

By pre-sealing the envelopes containing the respondents results to the survey distributed by Willer's research assistants, the possible biases of this experiment were increased/decreased, through the method of:

A. randomization

B. matching

C. double-blind

D. placebo effect

Answers:

DECREASED BIASES through...

A. Randomization: INCORRECT randomization is a way to organize your sample in an experiment, it helps to increase the reliability of your results by getting rid of any trends or commonalities among respondents that wold sway your test results any which way.

B. Matching: INCORRECT matching is also a way of organizing your test subjects to increase the reliability and validity of your test. When a researcher uses matching they pair up their respondents by similarities in important traits such as gender or height (depending on the subject under study) and put one in the control group and one in the experimental group, this way the researchers can see if the dependent variable being tested is actually having an effect on the individual in the experimental group and not the control group.

C. Double-blind- CORRECT double blind tests are a strategy used by researchers to eliminate possible biases that might arise when the researchers know information about the results or conditions of their respondents within an experiment. By pre-sealing the result envelopes the research assistants had no way of knowing which respondents would be assigned as more feminine or more masculine and could therefore not treat them differently in any way that would change the respondents behavior.

D. placebo effect INCORRECT the placebo effect refers to an experiment where the control group is given a fake stimulus, such as a sugar pill, that can not possibly have any impact on them that is not a psychological result of believing that they are being given an active stimulus.