I'm having problems identifying the confounded variable(s?) in the following scenario...
Karsh (1983) designed an experiment on the relationships between onset of handling and friendliness in cats. She randomly assigned kittens to one of three groups, which differed according to the age of first handling. The first group was handled daily from 3 to 14 weeks of age, the second from 7 to 14 weeks of age, and the third received no handling from birth to age 14 weeks. "Handling" was defined as an experimenter holding a kitten on his or her lap, while petting it for 15 minutes. "Friendliness" was measured by how long each kitten stayed with the experimenter when not restrained, and by how long it took each kitten to reach the experimenter. Karsh found that the kittens handled from 3 to 14 weeks stayed longer with the experimenter and ran more quickly to the experimenter than kittens handled from 7 to 14 weeks. Also, kittens handled from 7 to 14 weeks were more "friendly" than kittens who received no handling at all. Karsh concluded that kittens should be handled as early as possible, to ensure life-long friendliness toward humans.
Help, please? Thank you.
Karsh (1983) designed an experiment on the relationships between onset of handling and friendliness in cats. She randomly assigned kittens to one of three groups, which differed according to the age of first handling. The first group was handled daily from 3 to 14 weeks of age, the second from 7 to 14 weeks of age, and the third received no handling from birth to age 14 weeks. "Handling" was defined as an experimenter holding a kitten on his or her lap, while petting it for 15 minutes. "Friendliness" was measured by how long each kitten stayed with the experimenter when not restrained, and by how long it took each kitten to reach the experimenter. Karsh found that the kittens handled from 3 to 14 weeks stayed longer with the experimenter and ran more quickly to the experimenter than kittens handled from 7 to 14 weeks. Also, kittens handled from 7 to 14 weeks were more "friendly" than kittens who received no handling at all. Karsh concluded that kittens should be handled as early as possible, to ensure life-long friendliness toward humans.
Help, please? Thank you.
