Chapter 7 that the term random assignment
simply means that a random process (such as a coin toss) is used to assign participants
to groups. The goal is to ensure that all individuals have the same
chance of being assigned to a group. Because group assignment is based on a
random process, it is reasonable to expect that characteristics such as age, IQ,
and gender are also distributed randomly across groups. Thus, we minimize
the potential for confounding because it is unlikely that any group is systematically
older, or smarter, or more feminine than another.