Final answer:
Increasing variance within groups increases the likelihood of finding a difference between the treatment conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is a) increases.
Increasing variance within groups increases the likelihood of finding a difference between the treatment conditions. Variance refers to the spread or dispersion of data within a group. When the variance is high, it indicates that the values within the group are spread out, making it more likely to find a difference between the treatment conditions.
For example, let's say we are comparing the effectiveness of two different teaching methods on test scores. If there is a high variance within each group (students' performance varies greatly), it increases the likelihood of finding a significant difference between the two teaching methods.