Question

In a study of maze learning, some rats are fed after reaching the end of the maze during the course of 30 trials; others aren’t fed at all, still others are not fed for the first 15 trials but are fed for each of the 15 trials thereafter; a final group is fed for the first 15 trials and not fed for the last 15 trials. The research makes note of any errors (wrong turns) made and how long it takes the animal to reach the goal. Please label the following: 1. Independent variables (all of them!) 1. Levels of the variable 2. Manipulated or subject variable? 2. Dependent variables (all of them!) 1. Scale of measurement? (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio).

Answer 1

In the given experiment the following cane be noted-

1. Independent Variable- Positive reinforcement in the form of being fed after reaching the goal. There are four different levels of manipulation- namely- reinforcement after each trial, no reinforcement at all, reinforcement in the first fifteen trails and reinforcement in the last fiteen trails.
2. Dependent Variable- Learning (indicated by lesser wrong turns and less time to reach the goal).
3. Scale of Measurement- Nominal- The experimenter makes notes of the mistakes and the time duration to reach the goal by rats in each group. This is the lowest level of measurement used to calculate or get the data.

The research is an experimental research.