In the context of the lighting and worker productivity experiment, how must a researcher manage the presence of a loud noise to ensure it behaves as an extraneous variable rather than a confounding variable, and what is the benefit of doing so?
Question: In the context of the lighting and worker productivity experiment, how must a researcher manage the presence of a loud noise to ensure it behaves as an extraneous variable rather than a confounding variable, and what is the benefit of doing so?
Sample answer: The researcher must ensure that the loud noise is present equally under both the bright and dim lighting conditions. Doing so prevents the noise from varying systematically with the lighting, ensuring it remains a mere extraneous variable that does not disrupt the researcher's ability to draw causal conclusions about the lighting's effect on productivity.
Key points:
- Apply the rule that noise must be present equally under both lighting conditions.
- Explain that this prevents the noise from systematically varying with the independent variable.
- Identify the benefit as maintaining the ability to draw causal conclusions.
Rubric: The answer should state that the noise must be present equally under both lighting conditions (or kept constant). It must also state that the benefit is maintaining the ability to draw causal conclusions about the independent variable (lighting).
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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