Question

The purpose of this exercise is to provide some familiarity with the different components of an experiment. The experiment is not a real one, so if it seems a bit over the top, it is. This experiment would never pass IRB approval. A fourth-grade teacher tells all of her students they must participate in a study designed to assess the relationship between pain and memory. Students are told that if they do not want to be in the study, they will lose one grade on their next exam. The teacher then assigns students to one of three groups (high pain, medium pain, low pain). Also, half of the children are tested at the beginning of the school day, while others are tested at the end of the day. Each child then reads a list of 100 foreign words and is asked to remember as many of the words as they can. Whenever a child makes a correct response the researcher says, "corect." Whenever a child makes an incorect response, they receive the following: a high pain condition, where they must hold a 150 degree iron rod for 5 seconds, a medium pain condition, where they must hold a 120 degree iron rod for 2.5 seconds, or a no pain condition, where they must hold a 70 degree iron rod for 1 second. During the task, students are reminded that their parents will be told of their results. Results indicate that the no pain group correctly remembered the most words 1. Identify the independent variables (and levels) in this experiment. IVI and Levels: IV2 and Levels: 2. How is cach independent variable operationally defined? IV1: IV2 3.Identify the dependent variable in this experiment. DV: 4. How is the dependent variable operationally defined? DV: 5. Please identify two extraneous variable(s) in this experiment. EV: 6 Please identify at least two ethical concerns you might have regarding this experiment. Ethical Concems

Answer 1

1. IV1 and Levels: Pain and the three levels
IV2 and Levels: Number of children and when they are tested (morning, evening)

2. IV1: Pain for an answer is incorrect
IV2: Test half at the beginning of the day and the other half at the end of the day

3. DV: How well pain changes memory such as high pain ensures better memory.

4. DV: Fluctuation in memory (ability to remember words) when pain is administered

5. Effect of forcing the experiment on the children.
Effect of threatening the children about informing parents of the results.

6. Many ethical concerns are seen in this case:

1. The teacher tells the children that those who do not participate shall lose a grade - she is forcing them indirectly to participate
2. The pain condition is administered on children who cannot provide consent to the experimenter. Even if they did, there is no mention of protective measures.
3. The students are threatened that their test results will be told to the parents