Consider a Color-Blind Firm That Is Currently Maximizing Profits

question 29

Multiple Choice

Consider a color-blind firm that is currently maximizing profits. An affirmative action policy is put in place requiring that all firms in the industry abide by a certain quota. Which of the following will occur?

• A) The firm will have to start hiring some workers that it would prefer not to.
• B) If the quota is already met, the firm will make no changes in its hiring practices.
• C) If the firm currently meets the required quota, it will cut costs by adjusting labor to exactly meet the affirmative action requirements.
• D) If the firm currently meets the quota, it will begin to lose profits due to the affirmative action requirements.
• E) The firm will have to fire some workers.

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Definitions:

Demand Characteristics

Aspects of an experimental setting that lead participants to guess the purpose of the study and adjust their behavior to what they believe the experiment expects.

Experimenter-Expectancy Effect

A bias in research outcomes where the researcher's expectations inadvertently influence the participants' performance.

Double-Blind Design

An experimental design in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment.

External Validity

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized or extended to other contexts or populations.