Question 1: a) The Independent variable: the three different amounts of the new energy drink “blast”, and it’s the manipulated factor in the experiment.
The Dependent variable: performance on multiplication tasks b) The operational definition of the dependent variable is how well a participant does on a multiplication task. c) The control group is the group that doesn’t drink any of the “blast” drink, but do the multiplication and task and be compared with the experimental group that drinks the “blast” drink and does the multiplication task.
There will be three experimental groups the groups exposed to the treatment, each will receive a different amount of the “blast”, and the data is collected and then compared with the control group. d) A placebo effect: experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behaviour caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent. Yes, the placebo is a concern in the study, the control group will be given an identical drink. Both the experimental group and the control group will have expectations towards the multiplication task after drinking the energy drink. e) One control procedure is giving the three experimental groups and the control group the same exact information in the same exact way for example giving them the same multiplication task. f) Yes, random assignment and random selection are needed because not all variables are known, to get the most accurate results, the experimenter/researcher must assign the groups in random manner in other words randomize, random selection is most related to the external validity of the results and allows the experimenter to make unbiased inferences about the population based on his sample, and random assignment better represents the larger group, and most related to internal validity and insures that the participants are unbiased. Before the groups are assigned each, all subjects have the same probability of being assigned to any of the two groups. g) Intelligence can be a confounding variable, it can produce an effect in this experiment. In other words, the scores on the multiplication task may vary between participants due to intelligence level. h) A double-blind procedure: an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Yes, it should be used in this study the experimental groups drink the “blast” whereas the control group drinks a similar liquid. The placebo is a concern in this study so the double-blind procedure is needed to keep the staff and participants “blind” about whether it’s a placebo or the actual drink. Also, it’s important to prevent expectations of the individuals and researchers from giving biased results. i) In conclusion, this is an experimental research method, its objective is to explore cause and effect, and how two variables are related to each other with the independent variable being manipulated and dependent variable being measured in this case “performance on multiplication tasks.” To ensure that the independent variable is the reason for the observed results, control and double blind procedure are important to produce accurate results, if a cofounding variable interferes in the study the experiment will lack internal validity and will produce different explanations. The assignment of individuals is also is important because it links to a population. Under this experiment cause and effect can be identified. If people who drank the “blast” had better results we could assume that “blast” has an effect on the performance.

Question 2: a) To determine whether there’s a correlation between “blast” and “intelligence” you would gather every groups scores and the amount of “blast” they drank and then do a correlation test for the two factors to see if the amount of blast predicts intelligence/scores and how strong is their relationship and plot it on a scatter plot. b) No, blast consumption is not the cause of intelligence, the amount of blast consumed can only predict the level of intelligence. A strong correlation doesn’t prove causation. In other words, blast consumption only indicates possibility of cause-effect relationship and can never prove it. c) One variable that would likely be positively correlated with the consumption of blast is concentration. The more “blast” university students consume the more concentrated they become. d) One variable that would likely be negatively correlated with the consumption of blast is sleep the more “blast” university students drink the less sleep they get and vice versa. e) R=-0.86 means they’re strongly correlated, but the relationship is negative meaning they’re inversely related. When the consumption of “blast” increases the intelligence level decreases. f)

Question 4 a) Yes, Waldo’s grades indicate that he has analytical intelligence based on Robert Sternberg of three intelligences. This type of intelligence is assessed by intelligence tests which present well-defined problems having a single right answer. With Waldo’s grades being high this indicates that he’s intelligent. b) Yes, genetics are partially responsible for his intelligence, researchers have shown than IQ is influenced by genetic factors, but also environmental influences are an important factor. Studies have shown that intelligence is polygenetic “many genes” that determine the variation in an individual’s intelligence. The extent to which intelligence test score variation can be attributed to genetic variation range from 50%-80%, with Waldo’s parents being intelligent this tells us that Waldo is intelligent too. The intelligence test scores of identical twins put together are very similar. Identical twins brains are built and function similarly, unlike fraternal twins, but still environmental factors plays a role too. Whereas, adoptive studies emphasize on the fact that genetics play a greater role than environmental influences, because of the fact that with age the similarity of adoptive children reduces. The idea behind reaction range refers to how people have different reactions and attributes, although might be exposed to the same environmental factors. Genes make a difference, even if we were raised in the same intellectually stimulating environment, we have different aptitudes. c) I would advise him to meet the three criteria which are standardization, reliable, and valid. Standardization is defining meaningful scores and using it as a comparison between others, researches retest people to ensure reliability which is a measure of tests consistency, then validity is measured which is a measure of tests usefulness, and the score needs to predict intelligence level. If Harvey meets the three criteria he would be able to construct a good intelligence test.