what is the control group

A control group is a group of participants in an experiment who do not receive the experimental treatment. The control group serves as a comparison group to the experimental group, which receives the treatment being tested. It is important that the control group is matched as closely as possible to the experimental group, including age, gender, social class, ethnicity, etc. . The difference between the control and experimental groups is that the control group is not exposed to the independent variable, which is thought to be the cause of the behavior being investigated. Researchers compare the individuals in the control group to those in the experimental group to isolate the independent variable and examine its impact. The control group is important because it serves as a baseline, allowing researchers to confidently conclude that any differences between groups are actually due to the difference in treatments. There are different types of control groups, including placebo control groups, clinical control groups, and no-treatment control groups.