A psychologist is performing an experiment involving a controlled group and an experimental group. With the experimental group, the psychologist is giving a placebo and labeling it as caffeine pill. The control group receives a caffeine pill, which is noted as such. Which of the following is occurring in this situation?

A. The control group feels no affects from the caffeine pill
B. From an observational standpoint, the placebo (independent variable) is measuring what changes are taking place(dependent variable)
C. The experimental group receives no increase from the placebo
D. Nothing occurs in this situation

Sorry, yes

Guess you don't know then why comment

The correct answer is B. From an observational standpoint, the placebo (independent variable) is measuring what changes are taking place (dependent variable).

In this situation, the psychologist is conducting an experiment to observe the effects of caffeine on a group of participants. The group is divided into two: the experimental group and the control group.

The control group receives a caffeine pill, which is clearly labeled as such. This serves as a baseline comparison group against which the effects of the experimental group can be measured. It allows the psychologist to determine the normal effects of the caffeine pill.

In contrast, the experimental group receives a placebo, which is an inactive substance that does not have any physiological effects. However, the participants are falsely informed that they are receiving a caffeine pill. This is done to create the belief that they have consumed caffeine, potentially leading to placebo effects.

By comparing the outcomes of the experimental group to the control group, the psychologist can observe any changes that occur and attribute them to the placebo effect. This enables the assessment of how much of the observed changes are due to the belief in having taken caffeine rather than the actual pharmacological effects of caffeine.

Therefore, in this situation, the placebo (independent variable) is used to measure the changes (dependent variable) that occur in the experimental group compared to the control group.