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Imagine you are designing a laboratory experiment to test a new anxiety-reduction therapy. How would you apply the principles of a double-blind study to organize the roles of the primary investigator (who designs the study) and the research assistants (who administer the therapy and measure anxiety levels)?
Question: Imagine you are designing a laboratory experiment to test a new anxiety-reduction therapy. How would you apply the principles of a double-blind study to organize the roles of the primary investigator (who designs the study) and the research assistants (who administer the therapy and measure anxiety levels)?
Sample answer: To apply a double-blind procedure, the primary investigator should manage the participant random assignments behind the scenes but have no contact with the participants. The research assistants who interact with the participants to administer the therapy and measure anxiety levels must be kept completely unaware of whether each participant is receiving the active therapy or a control treatment. This setup ensures that neither participant expectations nor experimenter bias can influence the measured outcomes.
Key points:
- Assign research assistants who are kept unaware of the participants' conditions to interact with them and record measurements.
- Ensure participants remain unaware of their condition assignments.
- Isolate the primary investigator (who knows the assignments) from participant interaction to prevent experimenter bias.
Rubric: The response must specify that: 1) The research assistants interacting with the participants are kept unaware of the participants' assigned conditions. 2) The participants are also kept unaware of their conditions. 3) The primary investigator, who knows the assignments, does not interact with the participants, thereby minimizing both participant expectations and experimenter bias.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Imagine you are designing a laboratory experiment to test a new anxiety-reduction therapy. How would you apply the principles of a double-blind study to organize the roles of the primary investigator (who designs the study) and the research assistants (who administer the therapy and measure anxiety levels)?