Dr. Lonsbary is a cognitive psychologist who is curious about how mood affects memory. She recruits 60 high school students. When a participant would come to her laboratory, Dr. Lonsbary would greet the participant and then randomly (based on a computer algorithm) assign them to one of three conditions. The participants were then given an unlabeled CD to listen to; for participants in condition A, the CD contained a 5-minute piece of happy music; for participants in condition B, the CD contained a 5-minute piece of sad music; for participants in condition C, the CD contained 5 minutes of silence.
They were then escorted into a different room, where they were greeted by a research assistant who conducted the experiment. The research assistant sat the participants in front of a computer screen and told them that a list of 25 words would be displayed on the screen. They were instructed to listen to the CD with headphones while trying to memorize the list of words. All participants were given the same list of 25 common words to remember (e.g., desk, gray, plane, car, spoon, etc.).
When 5 minutes had passed, the screen displayed a question asking them whether they felt happy, sad, or neutral. After the participant responded, a new screen was displayed asking them to type in all the words they could remember from the list of 25 words. All participants were given 3 minutes to type the words they remembered. Afterward, the participant was thanked and dismissed.
At the end of the experiment, Dr. Lonsbary compared the mean number of words remembered between the three groups.
In Dr. Lonsbary’s study, which of the following is NOT present?
Group of answer choices
a control variable
a manipulation check
a placebo group
a treatment group
This essay explores an experiment conducted by Dr. Lonsbary, a cognitive psychologist, to investigate how mood affects memory. The study involves 60 high school students who are randomly assigned to one of three conditions – happy music, sad music, or silence. Participants are asked to listen to a 5-minute CD while attempting to memorize a list of 25 common words. Afterward, they report their emotional state and attempt to recall the words. The study aims to compare the mean number of words remembered between the three groups.
Explanation: A placebo group is a control group that receives an inactive or neutral treatment to compare the effects of the experimental treatment. In this memory experiment, there is no mention of a group receiving an inactive treatment for comparison purposes.
Answer: The purpose of a control variable is to hold certain factors constant throughout the study to ensure that the only variable affecting the results is the one being manipulated – in this case, the mood induction (happy music, sad music, or silence). Examples of control variables could include the age range of participants, the time of day the experiment is conducted, and the length of exposure to the CD.
Answer: A manipulation check is used to verify whether the manipulation of the independent variable (mood induction through music) was successful in producing the intended psychological effect on the participants. In this experiment, a manipulation check might involve asking participants about their emotional state after listening to the CD to confirm whether the happy and sad music effectively induced the desired moods.
Answer: The treatment groups in this study are the three conditions to which participants are randomly assigned – happy music, sad music, and silence. Each group experiences a different mood induction, and their memory recall will be compared to examine the impact of mood on memory.
Dr. Lonsbary’s cognitive psychology experiment explores how mood affects memory in high school students. The study utilizes control variables to ensure the validity of results, incorporates manipulation checks to verify the effectiveness of mood induction, and involves treatment groups comprising different mood induction conditions. While a placebo group is not utilized in this study, it provides valuable insights into the relationship between mood and memory, contributing to the understanding of cognitive processes in different emotional states.
Control Variable: In this experiment, the control variable would refer to any factor that is held constant throughout the study to ensure that the only variable affecting the results is the one being manipulated. In this case, the control variable could be factors like the age range of the high school students, the time of day the experiment was conducted, the length of exposure to the CD, etc. These factors would be controlled to minimize their influence on the memory recall results.
Manipulation Check: A manipulation check is a method used to verify whether the manipulation of the independent variable was successful in producing the intended psychological effect on the participants. In this study, a manipulation check might involve asking the participants about their emotional state after listening to the CD to confirm that the happy and sad music effectively induced the desired mood.
Placebo Group: A placebo group is a control group that receives an inactive or neutral treatment, typically used in medical or drug studies to compare the effects of an experimental treatment against no treatment. In psychological experiments, a placebo group might receive a treatment that has no expected psychological effect but is presented as if it does. However, in this specific memory study, there is no mention of a placebo group being used.
Treatment Group: In experimental research, a treatment group is a group of participants who receive a specific treatment or manipulation of the independent variable. In this study, the three conditions (A, B, and C) represent the treatment groups, as each group experiences a different mood induction (happy music, sad music, silence) to examine how mood affects memory recall.
In summary, the experiment described in the scenario has a control variable (factors held constant), uses a manipulation check (verifying mood induction), and has treatment groups (conditions A, B, and C). However, it does not involve a placebo group, as there is no mention of using an inactive or neutral treatment for comparison.
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