Question

Swedish researchers concluded that viewing and discussing art soothes the soul and helps relieve medical conditions such as high blood pressure and constipation. This conclusion was based on a study in which 10 elderly women gathered once a week to discuss different works of art. The study also included a control group of 10 elderly women who met once a week to discuss their hobbies and interests. At the end of 4 months, the art discussion group was found to have a more positive attitude, to have lower blood pressure, and to use fewer laxatives than the control group.(a) Why would it be important to determine if the researchers assigned the women participating in the study at random to one of the two groups?i) Assigning women at random ensures that the two groups are comparable.ii) Assigning women at random satisfies the conditions of a single-blind experiment. iii) Assigning women at random is not important for the study and can be neglected.(b) Explain why you think that the researchers included a control group in this study.i) A control group is absolutely unnecessary hereii) A control group allows the experiment to be conducted once more if the first attempt failed. iii) A control group is used to increase the size of the sampleiv) A control group provides a baseline for comparisons to determine treatment effects.

Answer 1

i) Assigning women at random ensures that the two groups are comparable.

iv) A control group provides a baseline for comparisons to determine treatment effects.

Explanation:

(a)

It is pertinent that there two comparable groups. In light of the fact that it will help in making better decisions since there will be some people who have blood pressure as a result of uncontrolled physical characteristics such as anger, positive attitude, lower blood pressure. etc Thus, there is a need to consider two equivalent groups.

(b)

A control group is used as a benchmark for determining the cause and effect of a treatment on a given experimental group. This may be in regard to the social aspect of meeting other individuals involved that make up the physical changes.