A Researcher Was Interested in Whether Different Types of Music

question 32

Essay

A researcher was interested in whether different types of music have different effects on an
individual's appetite. The researcher randomly breaks his psychology class into two groups each
containing 100 students. The first group is told to arrive at the testing facility at 9:00 AM, right after
breakfast has ended. The students in the first group are placed in a room with snacks and instructed sit quietly and listen to rock-n-roll music. The second group is told to arrive at the testing facility at 11:00 AM, right before lunch starts. The students in the second group are placed in a room with snacks and instructed sit quietly and listen to hip-hop music. The researchers measure the amount of food eaten by each group and they find that the group listening to the hip-hop music ate significantly more food than the group listening to rock-n-roll music. What variable is most likely confounding this study's results?

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Definitions:

Emotional Stability

A personality trait that involves the ability to remain calm and balanced, even in stressful situations.

Attachment Style

Patterns of expectations, needs, and behaviors in interpersonal relationships that are formed early in life and influence later relationships.

Secure Attachment Style

A pattern of attachment where individuals feel confident and trust their relationship partners, displaying healthy dependency and independence.

Strange Situation

A research method used in developmental psychology to assess attachment styles in infants by observing their behavior.