Question

Which of the following best describes a method to avoid participant bias?

1) Giving the control group a mock treatment, so they are unaware of which condition they are in.
2) Explaining the hypothesis prior to the experiment, so participants are aware of potential biases they may have.
3) Exposing the experimental groups to the manipulated variable, so they are aware of which condition they are in.
4) Keeping the experimenter blind to conditions, preventing them from influencing participants' performance.

Answer 1

The best method to avoid participant bias is giving the control group a placebo, which is a mock treatment. This maintains participant blindness to their group assignment, reducing the influence of their expectations on the experimental outcomes.

Step-by-step explanation:

To avoid participant bias in an experiment, a method that can be utilized is giving the control group a mock treatment, so they are unaware of which condition they are in. This strategy is known as a placebo treatment, which helps ensure that the participants' responses are not influenced by their expectations or knowledge of the group to which they belong. This kind of experimental setup is referred to as a single-blind study. It's also important to mention the concept of a double-blind study, where both the participants and researchers are blind to group assignments, which helps to control for both experimenter and participant expectations and is considered the gold standard in experimental design to minimize biases.