Why Has It Been Difficult to Do Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Studies

question 2

Multiple Choice

Why has it been difficult to do double-blind, placebo-controlled studies on the effects of steroids?

• A) The federal government will not allow research with controlled substances
• B) They produce detectable psychological effects, so the participants can tell when they are being given the steroid and when they are being given the placebo
• C) The potency of the drugs is so variable from one sample to another
• D) The researchers could face a massive lawsuit

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Definitions:

Behaviorists

Psychologists who focus on observable behaviors and the ways in which learning influences behavior, excluding internal processes.

Structuralists

Psychologists who aimed to analyze the structure of the mind by breaking down mental processes into their most basic components.

Thought Processes

Thought processes involve the operations of cognition which include thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Animal Learning

The process by which animals acquire new behaviors or information through experience, often studied to understand basic learning processes.