A researcher would like to determine the effect of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to receive a caffeine pill or a sugar pill. Both groups complete a recall task that assesses their memory. However, even those who received the sugar pill had a small increase in memory. This is likely due to: a. The placebo effect b. The correlational approach to the study c. The participants becoming smarter d. The experimental effect

Question

Jayda Sampson

Biology

23 March, 00:22

A researcher would like to determine the effect of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to receive a caffeine pill or a sugar pill. Both groups complete a recall task that assesses their memory. However, even those who received the sugar pill had a small increase in memory. This is likely due to: a. The placebo effect b. The correlational approach to the study c. The participants becoming smarter d. The experimental effect

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Answers (1)

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River Nguyen · Answer 1

The placebo effect

Explanation:

The placebo effect in psychology refers to a situation in which participants in a research receive beneficial effects due to the administration of an inactive substance or a sham treatment. The positive beneficial effect received can then be attributed purely to believe and not to the treatment itself. A placebo treatment could produce a real healing effect like a true medical or psychological treatment.

The participants who received the sugar believed it to be a memory enhancing treatment hence the slight increase in memory capacity due to placebo effect.