Researchers Who Were Interested in the Effects of Alcohol Consumption

Multiple Choice

Researchers who were interested in the effects of alcohol consumption on perceived attractiveness of members of the opposite sex randomly assigned participants to two groups. Each participant in the first group received a fruit flavored drink containing a set amount of alcohol and those in the second group received an identical tasting drink with no alcohol. Next, the participants viewed pictures of members of the opposite sex and rated their attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 10. Why did the experimenters include a group that received nonalcoholic drinks?

A) to examine demand characteristics
B) to encourage practice effects
C) to eliminate random assignment
D) to serve as a baseline for comparison against the experimental group