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GATE 2025 XH5 (Psychology) – Question 52

Research Methods and Statistics · Nature of Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Interview, survey, observation, experiment, quasi-experiment, field studies, focus groups, narratives, case studies, ethnography · 2 marks · Multiple choice

Match the concept to the correct answer :

ConceptMeaning
PConfoundingiWe can draw clear causal conclusions from an experiment.
QHigh internal validityiiPresence of an uncontrolled variable creates uncertainty as to whether the dependent variable was influenced by the independent variable.
RHigh external validityiiiParticipant improves because of the expectation of receiving a treatment, not because of the treatment itself.
SPlacebo effectivThe results of a study generalize to other settings and populations.
  1. P: ii, Q: i, R: iv, S: iii
  2. P: iv, Q: ii, R: iii, S: i
  3. P: iii, Q: iv, R: ii, S: i
  4. P: i, Q: iii, R: ii, S: iv

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Correct answer: (A) P: ii, Q: i, R: iv, S: iii

Explanation

A confounding variable is an uncontrolled variable that blurs the effect of the independent variable (ii). High internal validity allows clear causal conclusions (i). High external validity means that the results generalise to other settings and people (iv). The placebo effect is improvement from the expectation of treatment (iii).