What aspect of participant placement was utilized in the study design?

• A. Random assignment
• B. Counterbalancing
• C. Stratified sampling
• D. Systematic bias

Answer: (B)

The study design highlighted the use of counterbalancing, which is a method aimed at controlling for order effects in experimental research. In this context, counterbalancing ensures that every participant experiences different conditions in varying orders, which helps to eliminate or reduce any potential influence that the order of conditions might have on the results.

Counterbalancing is particularly useful in studies where participants might show a preference or an alternative performance effect simply due to the sequence in which they are exposed to different tasks or stimuli. By incorporating counterbalancing in participant placement, the researcher can draw more reliable conclusions about the effects of the variables being tested, rather than the confounding effects of the sequence order itself.

This technique enhances the internal validity of the study by ensuring that the results are more attributable to the experimental manipulation rather than to artifacts of the design.