Final answer:
The amount of sleep is the explanatory variable in this experiment, and the performance measured in assigned tasks is the response variable. The treatments are normal sleep and 27 hours of total sleep deprivation. Lurking variables that could interfere with the study include overall health, fatigue levels, and medication use. Blinding can be used to assess subjects' performance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The explanatory variable in this experiment is the amount of sleep. The response variable is performance measured in assigned tasks. The treatments in the experiment are normal sleep and 27 hours of total sleep deprivation. When selecting participants, one should consider their level of professional driving experience, since this is not specified in the question. Randomly dividing participants into two groups, one to drive without distraction and one to text and drive simultaneously, is not a good idea because texting and driving poses significant risks and is illegal in many places. Lurking variables that could interfere with this study include the overall health and well-being of the participants, their level of fatigue prior to the experiment, and any medications they may be taking. Blinding can be used in this study by having researchers evaluating the subjects' performance unaware of which treatment (normal sleep or sleep deprivation) is being applied at the time.