Psychologists Have Found That People Are Generally Reluctant to Transmit

question 52

Essay

Psychologists have found that people are generally reluctant to transmit bad news to their peers. This phenomenon has been named the "MUM effect." To investigate the cause of the MUM effect, undergraduates at a university participated in an experiment. Each subject was asked to administer an IQ test to another student and then provide the test taker with his or her percentile score. (Unknown to the subject, the test taker was a bogus student who was working with the researchers.) The experimenters manipulated two factors, subject visibility and success of test taker, each at two levels. Subject visibility was either visible or not visible to the test taker. Success of test taker was either top 20% or bottom 20%. Twenty-five subjects were randomly assigned to each of the 2 x 2 = 4 experimental conditions. Then the time (in seconds) between the end of the test and the delivery of the percentile score from the subject to the test taker was measured. (This variable is called the latency to feedback.) Describe the experiment, including the response variable, factors, factor levels, replications, and treatments.

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Definitions:

Price Change

Refers to the variation in the cost of a good or service over time.

Short Run

A period in economics during which at least one input, such as plant size, is fixed and cannot be changed.

Long Run

A period in economics where all factors of production and costs are variable, allowing for complete industry adjustment.

Fixed Inputs

Resources or factors of production that cannot be increased or decreased in the short run, often including capital and land.