Question

A researcher designs a study to determine whether female preschoolers prefer sweetened or unsweetened cereal. The researcher uses a box of sweetened colorful cereal and a box of unsweetened tan colored cereal. The research finds that the group of preschoolers ate more of the sweetened colorful cereal and therefore prefers the sweetened cereal. Which two variables are confounded in this experiment?

Answer 1

Answer:

The researcher is confounding the sweetness of the cereal and the colour of the cereal.

Explanation:

Based on the results, it would be unclear if the subjects prefer the cereal because of the colour or because of the sweetness --it is only the latter the researcher wants to know about. This would be the dependent variable.

To fix this, the researcher should use the same colour for both sweetened and unsweetened cereal and have each preschooler try both. It is possible to colect data through observation (look at the children's reactions) or simply asking for their opinions at the end of the experiment.