Control Group: A group in an experiment that does not receive the experimental treatment or change in the independent variable, serving as a baseline to compare the effects of the independent variable...Control Group: A group in an experiment that does not receive the experimental treatment or change in the independent variable, serving as a baseline to compare the effects of the independent variable. Positive Controls: Parts of an experiment designed to give a positive result, demonstrating that the experiment is capable of producing a positive result when it is supposed to.