Practice question · Match the pairs
Match each safeguard to the specific threat it is designed to counter.
- Random assignment
- Placebo control
- Double-blind procedure
- Operational definition
- Vagueness that would make the study non-replicable
- The effect of merely believing you are treated
- Confounding variables differing between groups
- Participant expectation AND experimenter bias
Hints
- Pair each tool with the problem it exists to neutralize, not with a definition.
- The double-blind guards against BOTH sides' expectations; the operational definition guards replicability.
Show the answer
- Random assignment → Confounding variables differing between groups
- Placebo control → The effect of merely believing you are treated
- Double-blind procedure → Participant expectation AND experimenter bias
- Operational definition → Vagueness that would make the study non-replicable
Why
Random assignment counters confounds, the placebo counters belief effects, the double-blind counters both participant and experimenter expectations, and operational definitions counter vagueness so the study can be replicated. Each safeguard targets one specific threat to validity.
Practise Experimental Design
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