An experiment was designed to test a hypothesis that stated that high-drive subjects would be able to learn a simple task much more quickly than would low-drive subjects. The hypothesis further state that on a difficult task the opposite would be found – low-drive subjects would learn the task more quickly. The experimenter’s operational definition of drive was each subject’s score on the Manifest Drive Scale. Twenty adolescents who scored high on the scale (high-drive) and 20 others who scored low on the scale (low-drive) were given a difficult task to learn. The low-drive group learn the task more quickly than did the high-drive group and the experimenter concluded that the hypothesis is correct.
1) Identify the independent variables
2) Identify the dependent variables
3) Identify the experimental error
1) The independent variable in this experiment is the level of drive, which is determined by the scores on the Manifest Drive Scale. The subjects are divided into two groups based on their scores: high-drive group and low-drive group.
2) The dependent variable in this experiment is the time it takes for the subjects to learn the difficult task. It is measured by comparing the time taken by the high-drive group and the low-drive group to learn the task.
3) Experimental error refers to any factors that could potentially influence the results of the experiment other than the independent and dependent variables. In this particular experiment, some potential sources of experimental error could include:
- Individual differences within the groups: Even though the subjects are divided into high-drive and low-drive groups based on their scores, there might be some individual differences within each group that could influence the learning process.
- Sample size: The experiment used a relatively small sample size with only 20 adolescents in each group. Having a larger sample size could help reduce the impact of individual differences and increase the reliability of the results.
- External factors: The experiment does not mention if any other external factors were controlled or accounted for. It is possible that factors such as motivation, prior experience, or any other uncontrolled variables could have affected the learning process and thus influenced the results.
- Measurement accuracy: The accuracy and reliability of measuring the time taken to learn the task could also be a potential source of experimental error.
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