What was the outcome of Hanel's study regarding group discussions?

• A. The experimental group's discussions were more civil than the control group's
• B. The control group's discussions were more civil than the experimental group's
• C. There was no difference in civility between groups
• D. The experimental group spoke more aggressively

Answer: (B)

This item tests how to read a comparison between control and experimental groups and understand what the outcome says about the effect of the manipulation. The study measured civility in group discussions and found that the control group was more civil than the experimental group. That means the intervention given to the experimental group led to less civil discussions, or at least did not promote civility as much as the control condition did. In other words, the observed difference supports the idea that the treatment reduced civility relative to no treatment. The other patterns—experimental group being more civil, no difference, or the experimental group speaking more aggressively—do not match the reported outcome.