matched-pairs design

a study involving two groups of participants in which each member of one group is paired with a similar person in the other group, that is, someone who matches them on one or more variables that are not the main focus of the study but nonetheless could influence its outcome. For example, a researcher evaluating the effectiveness of a new drug in treating Alzheimer’s disease might identify pairs of individuals of the same age and intelligence and then randomly assign one person from each pair to the treatment condition that will receive the drug and the other to the control condition that will not. A matched-groups design (matched-samples design; matched-subjects design) is a similar approach but broader in that it allows for the inclusion of more than two groups of participants.

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Psychology term of the day

November 21st 2024

feedback system

a circuit in which output information (e.g., biological, mechanical) is used to modulate the input to the same circuit. In a negative feedback system, the output is used to reduce the input; such systems play important roles in maintaining equilibrium of processes within organisms. See homeostasis; positive feedback.