A Cognitive Psychologist Decides to Study the Effects of Chess

question 10

Multiple Choice

A cognitive psychologist decides to study the effects of chess practice on math abilities in middle school students. All students are tested on a standard math test at the beginning of the study. Students are then randomly assigned to a chess group and a control group. Students in the chess group spend thirty minutes every school day learning chess strategy and playing chess. Students in the no-chess control group spend thirty minutes every school day watching educational television. At the end of three months, students take another standardized math test. The improvement or decline in their test score is computed and compared across the two groups. In this experiment, what is the DEPENDENT variable?

• A)the change in math test scores
• B)playing chess or watching educational television
• C)improvement in chess-playing ability
• D)the number of chess matches won

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Definitions:

Operant Conditioning

An instruction technique whereby the power of a conduct is adjusted by positive reinforcement or punitive measures.

Skinner

B.F. Skinner was an influential American psychologist known for his work on behaviorism and developing the theory of operant conditioning.

Thorndike

An American psychologist famous for his work on learning theory and the law of effect, which states that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are likely to recur.

CS Without US

This refers to a condition where a conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented without pairing with an unconditioned stimulus (US), generally leading to extinction in classical conditioning.