Which of the Following Is the Best Example of a Confounding

question 14

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best example of a confounding variable jeopardizing the internal validity of a study?

• A) Researchers perform a factor analysis and, in the inferential factor-naming stage, assign names to the factors that cause disagreements with other researchers.
• B) A participant in a psychotherapy effectiveness study receives counseling from a minister in addition to the therapy provided in the study.
• C) A participant in a psychotherapy study who is placed on a waiting list receives no treatment at all while other participants in the same study are receiving psychotherapy.
• D) Two variables are found to correlate highly with each other, when in fact they are both caused by a third, unmeasured, variable.

---

Definitions:

Social Scientists

Researchers who share the assumption that the methods of science can be applied to researching and understanding human behavior.

Communication Researcher

A person specializing in the study of communication processes, who may employ various methodologies to examine communication practices.

Empiricism

A theory in epistemology that states knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience.

Observations

The act of monitoring or recording systematically selected variables or behaviors in research to gather data.