Instructions: For the following experiments, identify the components listed below each.
1. A health psychologist wants to test the hypothesis that yellow hospital rooms will shorten the recovery time for surgical patients when compared to recovery times of patients in standard white hospital rooms. Half of the patients are randomly assigned to yellow rooms, the other half to white rooms. The number of days until recovery is noted for each patient.
a) Independent variable color of the walls
b) Dependent variable the length of recovery time
c) Control group the half in white rooms
d) Experimental group the half in yellow rooms
2. An educational psychologist wants to explore whether a new math program, which involves textbooks with special colored pictures, will help high school students in learning geometry. Half of the students are randomly assigned to traditional textbooks, while the other half are assigned to the special textbooks. Scores on a standardized geometry test are measured at the end of the semester.
a) Independent variable Type of textbook/math program
b) Dependent variable Scores on geometry test
c) Control group Students use traditional books
d) Experimental group Students use special books
3. A counseling psychologist wants to know whether the methods in a new self-help book are effective. The book promotes a special set of "reflectional" writing exercises for individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The psychologist has some clients complete these "reflectional" writing exercises, while another group of clients are asked to write ordinary journal entries. The level of PTSD symptoms are measured and compared between the two groups of clients.
a) Independent variable
b) Dependent variable
c) Control group
d) Experimental group
4. A psychologist studying memory wants to test the hypothesis that an herbal supplement aids memory. The research involves having 80 individuals complete a memory test. Half of these individuals first consumed the herbal supplement; the other half consumed a placebo pill.
a) Independent variable Medication
b) Dependent variable Performance on memory test
c) Control group Individuals who consumed the placebo pill
A workplace psychologist believes that giving workers frequent but small rewards will improve worker morale and productivity more than the standard reward program (infrequent large rewards to only the best employees). In order to test this hypothesis, some managers are instructed in giving their employees frequent small rewards, while others are left to continue with the standard reward program.
a) Independent variable.
b) Dependent variable.
c) Control group.
d) Experimental group.