Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Thank you in advance for your help. We need to know what the control group would be on the No pain, lots of game experiment, listed on this website.

Gifted and Talented teachers

Since you are investigating if being distracted (by a video game in this case) effects the amount of pain a person percieves your control group would be the group not playing video games.

Hope this helps!

Audrey

Audrey is correct. To get a little more insight, control variables are quantities that a scientist wants to remain constant, and he must observe them as carefully as the dependent variables.The use of control variables is generally done to answer four basic kinds of questions: 1. Is an observed relationship between two variables just an accident? 2. If one variable has a causal effect on another, is this effect a direct one or is it indirect with other variable intervening? 3. If several variables all have causal effects on the dependent variable, how does the strength of those effects vary? 4. Does a particular relationship between two variables look the same under various conditions?

Thanks
Deja