Two randomly selected groups of 30 adults each were asked to write short stories on a particular topic. One group was...

Naz on September 2, 2015

We are looking for the answer choice that explains why the stories written by the adults in the group that were told that the best stories would be awarded cash prizes were ranked on average significantly lower than those from the other group.

Answer choice (A) does not help us. Even if the cash prizes were too small to motivate an average adult to make a significant effort to produce stories of high quality, this doesn't explain why, on the whole, those who were told about the cash prize, were ranked on average significantly lower than the stories from the other group. This could explain why the stories from the group told about the prizes were not especially amazing, but it doesn't explain why there were on average ranked worse than those of the other group.

Answer choice (B), on the other hand, helps clear up the mystery. (B) tells us that people who are writing in order to win prizes will show a penchant towards creating stories that are stereotypical and show little creativity.

This explains why the group told that the best stories would win a cash prize were ranked on average significantly lower than those from the other group.

Hope that clears things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.