You Are Interested in Studying Health Behaviors, Particularly Why Some

question 154

Essay

You are interested in studying health behaviors, particularly why some patients comply with their doctors' order to take the full course of a prescribed medication, whereas others stop taking the medication once they begin to feel better. You run an experiment to test whether people who write down their own dosing instructions are more compliant than those who have the doctor do it for them. Results reveal that having patients write their own dosing instructions has a significant impact on compliance. However, a colleague disputes your claim saying perhaps the severity of illness is what is affecting compliance behavior. Use your understanding of random assignment to respond to this concern.

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Definitions:

Sales Returns and Allowances

Transactions in which customers return damaged or unsatisfactory products for refunds or credit, and adjustments made to sales revenue for these returns or granted concessions.

Accounts Receivable

Outstanding payments from customers to a firm for delivered or utilized goods or services awaiting settlement.

Merchandise Return

The process whereby customers return previously purchased merchandise to the seller for a refund, store credit, or exchange.

Selling Expenses

Costs incurred directly and indirectly in selling a product, such as commissions, advertising, and promotional materials.