Question

Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B.

Which of the following makes Dr. Kang's study an experiment?
Select one:
a. The study was conducted by a professor.
b. Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another.
c. The study was conducted at a university.
d. Dr. Kang used a distractor task.

Answer 1

Dr. Kang's study is an experiment because he manipulated one variable and measured another. Group A remembered 15% more words than Group B.

Step-by-step explanation:

Dr. Kang's study is an experiment because he manipulated one variable and measured another. In this case, the independent variable is the content of the word lists given to Group A and Group B. Group A received words that are emotional in content, while Group B received words that are neutral in content. The dependent variable is the number of words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes. Dr. Kang found that Group A remembered 15% more words than Group B.