Resentful demoralization is an issue in
controlled experiment
A scientific control is an experiment or observation designed to minimize the effects of variables other than the independent variable (i.e. confounding variables). This increases the reliability of the results, often through a comparison bet ...
s in which those in the
control group
In the design of experiments, hypotheses are applied to experimental units in a treatment group.
In comparative experiments, members of a control group receive a standard treatment, a placebo, or no treatment at all. There may be more than one tr ...
become
resentful of not receiving the experimental treatment. Alternatively, the experimental group could be resentful of the control group, if the experimental group perceive its treatment as inferior.
They may become angry, depressed, uncooperative, or non-
compliant. This may lead to significant systematic differences in the outcome of the control group, obscuring the results of the study and threatening their
validity
Validity or Valid may refer to:
Science/mathematics/statistics:
* Validity (logic), a property of a logical argument
* Scientific:
** Internal validity, the validity of causal inferences within scientific studies, usually based on experiments
** ...
.
See also
*
Clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
*
Randomized controlled trial
A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical te ...
External links
Resentful Demoralizationin Encyclopedia of Statistics in Behavioral Science. (subscription required)
Design of experiments
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