a researcher is studying people of normal weight and obese individuals. She wants to know how the time of day affects hunger feelings in the two groups. When, during the experiment, the researcher looks at her watch, she has introduced a/an __________ into the research study.
A.) placebo effect
B.) control
C.) Volunteer bias
D.) experimenter effect
I think it is D. But not sure/
I agree.
The correct answer is D) experimenter effect.
The experimenter effect occurs when the researcher's actions, behaviors, or measurements unintentionally influence the participants' responses or behaviors. In this case, when the researcher looks at her watch during the experiment, it may subtly signal to the participants that it is time to eat or that they should be feeling hungry, thus potentially affecting their hunger feelings.
To arrive at this conclusion, let's analyze the other options as well:
A) Placebo effect: The placebo effect refers to the phenomenon where an individual experiences some positive effects or improvements in their condition simply because they believe they are receiving treatment, regardless of whether the treatment is actually effective or not. In this scenario, looking at the watch does not involve any form of treatment or intervention, so it is not related to the placebo effect.
B) Control: In research, a control group is a group of participants that do not receive the experimental treatment and are used as a comparison reference to measure the effects of the treatment. However, the presence or absence of a control group does not depend on the researcher looking at her watch. Therefore, looking at the watch is not related to the concept of control.
C) Volunteer bias: Volunteer bias occurs when the characteristics or behaviors of volunteers differ significantly from those of the general population, which may affect the generalizability of research findings. However, looking at the watch during the experiment is unrelated to the self-selection process of participants and does not involve any bias in sampling or recruitment.
Therefore, the most appropriate answer is D) experimenter effect, as it refers to unintended influences exerted by the experimenter on participants during an experiment.