A researcher wants to see whether she can make the typical administrative assistant job more motivating at Acme, Inc. To experimentally investigate this possibility, she randomly assigns administrative assistants to one of the following conditions: doing the job as it has always been done, having a computer performance monitoring device installed, receiving feedback about their performance on a weekly basis, or being given a say in how one's workload is structured and done. Which of the preceding conditions is an example of a control group?
A) being given a say in how one's workload is structured and done
B) doing the job as it has always been done
C) having a computer performance monitoring device installed
D) receiving feedback on a weekly basis

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The control group in an experiment is the group that does not receive the treatment being tested. In this case, the control group would be the administrative assistants who are doing the job as it has always been done, without any of the experimental conditions being applied. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

A Researcher Wants to See Whether She Can Make the Typical