An Instructor Wishes to Find Out Whether a New Teaching

question 107

Multiple Choice

An instructor wishes to find out whether a new teaching method is superior to his usual procedures, so he conducts an experiment. Everyone in his classes is quite excited about the prospect of learning under the new procedure, but he cannot administer the new teaching method to everyone: a random half of the students receive the new method and the remaining half receive the old method. What is the MOST obvious flaw in this experiment?

• A)Subjects should have been systematically assigned to groups.
• B)The sample is not representative of the population.
• C)Placebo effects or experimenter bias are likely to affect results.
• D)Distortions in self-report will affect results.

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Definitions:

Developmental Theories

The body of theories that attempt to explain the processes, mechanisms, and patterns of growth and change in human behavior and abilities over the course of life.

Societal Structures

The organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together constitute society.

Developmental Tasks

The skills and milestones that individuals are expected to achieve at certain stages in their life, according to psychological theories.

Marital Changes

Alterations in marital status or dynamics, such as marriage, divorce, separation, or widowing, affecting personal and social life.