While conducting a year-long study on friendship patterns in the sixth grade, a researcher discovers that some of the students had reached puberty during that year while others had not. Which potential threat to internal validity would this example illustrate according to Campbell and his colleagues?
A) selection
B) instrumentation
C) maturation
D) history

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Maturation refers to changes that naturally occur over time, such as physical and emotional development. In this example, the fact that some students reached puberty while others did not could be a potential threat to internal validity because it could affect the outcome of the study. For example, those who had reached puberty may have had different friendship patterns and behaviors compared to those who had not yet gone through puberty. This is a natural occurrence and not a result of the study manipulation or any external factor, hence it is a threat to internal validity due to maturation.

While Conducting a Year-Long Study on Friendship Patterns in the Sixth