Conducting Experiments

Question 1

Types of Straightforward Manipulation

Answer 1

Instructions:
-Manipulate something within the instructions to make various IV levels

Task Manipulation/Environment:
-Manipulating task someone is doing or the environment they are in

Invasive Manipulations:
-Surgery, implant, drugs

Question 2

Staged Manipulation

Answer 2

Simulate a real-world situation:
-Confederate:
-Someone in on the study

Question 3

What to consider regarding manipulation

Answer 3

External Validity:
-Make it similar to the real world if the primary goal is generalizability

Ethics

Question 4

Types of outcomes

Answer 4

Behavioral:
-Occurrence of behavior
-Frequency of behavior
-Duration
-Reaction Time
-Body Language
-Distance

Physiological Outcomes:
-Heart rate
-Cortisol

Question 5

Sensitivity of outcome

Answer 5

Ceiling effect (too sensitive/easy):
-IV appears to have no effect on the outcome because participants quickly reach the maximum performance level

Floor effect (not sensitive enough)
-Occurs when the task is so difficult that hardly anyone can perform well

Question 6

Demand Characteristics

Answer 6

When the participants knowledge of what the study is testing effects their reactions or answers

Solutions:
-Deception
-Filler Items

Question 7

Expectancy Effects/Experimenter bias

Answer 7

Researcher’s expectations influence the interpretation of results

Solutions:
-Single masked/blind procedure:
-Experimenter or participants does not know condition assignment

-Double-blind

-Triple Blind:
Data analyst too!

Question 8

Manipulation Checks

Answer 8

What if we find no difference between groups?

Pilot Study:
-Study done with a few participants to work out the kinks
-Examine effectiveness of a manipulation prior to the experiment