Consider the following experiment. Each participant interacted for an hour with another person who was actually a research confederate (an actor working for the researcher). The confederate either presented herself as similar or dissimilar to the participant. After this interaction, both persons agreed to return 1 week later for another session with each other. When the real participants returned, they were falsely informed that the person they had met the week before had died. The researchers then compared how long the participant spent viewing a picture of the "deceased" depending on whether the person had presented as similar or dissimilar to them. The participant was never told that the reported death was untrue. (Adapted from Cozby, 12E)

hypothesis that is tested in this study.