A researcher conducts an experiment to test the effectiveness of a new memory-enhancing drug compared to a placebo. Participants in the drug group are tested in a brightly lit, modern laboratory, while participants in the placebo group are tested in a dimly lit, older basement room.
Which of the following best describes the difference in the room environments (lighting and room type) in this study?
A demand characteristic, because the different room environments provide clear cues that allow participants to easily guess the experimental hypothesis.
An extraneous variable, because it is a random nuisance variable that has been successfully controlled or kept constant across all participants.
A confounding variable, because it varies systematically with the independent variable, making it impossible to isolate the true cause of any change in the dependent variable.
A dependent variable, because the physical environment is the primary outcome metric being measured and recorded by the researcher.
644 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Psychology Research methods and techniques. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.