Question

A researcher divides people into two groups to study the effects alcohol has on the likelihood people will talk to strangers. one group receives fruit punch that contains no alcohol while the other receives fruit punch that does contain alcohol. people are not told if the punch they consumed contained alcohol. the researcher observes that people who consumed alcohol started conversations with strangers more frequently than people who did not. what is the control group?

Answer 1

The control group is the group that received fruit punch that contained no alcohol.

In research studies or experiments, a control group is a group that receives no treatment. It refers to a group of participants who are not administered the treatment of which the effect is being studied (in this case alcohol ingestion). The purpose of control groups is to check whether a treatment variable (alcohol consumption) actually has an effect (the likelihood people will talk to strangers).