Question

1. a researcher wanted to find out how breast size affected male desire. to measure this, a woman of average attractiveness spent an hour each night at a nightclub for three consecutive nights. while there, she was instructed to look longingly at the dance floor. meanwhile, the researcher was hidden in the club and counted the number of times men approached the woman to dance. on the first night, the woman wore no latex inserts (she was a natural a cup). on the second night, she wore latex inserts to increase the size of her bust to a b cup. on the third night, her inserts were increased to a c cup. the woman was approached 13 times the night of the a cup, 19 times the night of the b cup, and 44 times the night of the c cup.

independent variable: ____________ dependent variable: ____________
experimental group #1: ____________ experimental group #2: ____________
control group: ______________
what would be a potential confounding variable? ______________
what ethical considerations were violated in this experiment? ______________
why would this example not qualify as a legitimate psychological experiment? ______________

Explanation:

• Independent Variable: The factor that is manipulated. Here, it's the breast size (A, B, C cup).
• Dependent Variable: The variable that is measured. It's the number of times men approached the woman to dance.
• Experimental Group #1: Group with B - cup (latex inserts to increase bust to B).
• Experimental Group #2: Group with C - cup (inserts increased to C).
• Control Group: Group with A - cup (natural, no inserts).
• Potential Confounding Variable: The men's prior knowledge of the experiment, the time of night (different crowds at different times), the woman's mood (could affect her “longingly look” differently each night).
• Ethical Considerations Violated: Lack of informed consent from the men (they didn't know they were part of an experiment), potential harm (if men felt deceived or uncomfortable after finding out), anonymity and confidentiality (if men's identities were not protected).
• Not a Legitimate Psychological Experiment: No proper control for all confounding variables (many extraneous factors could influence the results), lack of a proper experimental design (e.g., random assignment of participants to “breast - size” conditions is not possible here in a proper sense as it's a repeated - measures on one woman in a non - controlled environment), ethical violations as mentioned above.

Answer:

• Independent Variable: Breast size (A, B, C cup).
• Dependent Variable: Number of times men approached the woman to dance.
• Experimental Group #1: Woman with B - cup.
• Experimental Group #2: Woman with C - cup.
• Control Group: Woman with A - cup.
• Potential Confounding Variable: Men's prior knowledge of the experiment, time of night, woman's mood.
• Ethical Considerations Violated: Lack of informed consent, potential harm, anonymity and confidentiality issues.
• Why not a Legitimate Psychological Experiment: Uncontrolled confounding variables, improper experimental design, ethical violations.