A Friend Is Recounting a Time When She Was Home

question 40

Essay

A friend is recounting a time when she was home and saw something move out of the "corner of her eye." When she turned to look at, all she saw was her coat hanging on a hook. Your friend is convinced what she saw was not of this world. What could you tell your friend about our visual system to put your friend's mind at ease?

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Definitions:

Experimental

Pertaining to a method of research that tests a hypothesis under controlled conditions.

Double-blind

A study or clinical trial design in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment, to prevent bias.

Dependent Variable

A variable that an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable.

Experimenter's Manipulations

The deliberate changes or variations introduced by researchers in an experiment to investigate their effects on the outcome.