Question

Juan, a psychologist, is studying participants' perceptions of the attractiveness of several deodorants in a laboratory. However, as he conducts his study, people are cooking their lunches in the cafeteria nearby, and the smells of onions and fish are making their way into the laboratory. Juan should stop his experiment for the day because the odors of the food is most likely a:________.

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is a confounding variable.

Explanation:

A confounding variable is described as a factor in a experiment that may alter the results, or make them ambiguous. In this example, it would be unclear if a negative reaction to the deodorant would be caused by the product itself, or the smell of fish and onions.