Control in Experiments

Question 1

What are order effects?

Answer 1

• When participants experience practice or tiredness which can effect their performance in the second condition
• Only likely in repeated measures designs

Question 2

What is counterbalancing?

Answer 2

• A strategy to balance order effects between conditions
• Group 1 must do condition A then condition B
• Group 2 must do condition B then condition A
• Order effects aren’t removed but are balanced

Question 3

What is Randomisation?

Answer 3

• A strategy to balance order effects between conditions
• participants are randomly assigned to do either condition A then condition B or vice versa
• order effects aren’t removed but balanced

Question 4

What are Demand Characteristics?

Answer 4

-Demand characteristics are when participants perceive the demands of the study and act accordingly, changing their natural behaviour

Question 5

What is the Single-Blind Technique?

Answer 5

• Participants do not know what condition they have been allocated to
• This means that they are less likely to perceive the demands of the experiment

Question 6

What is the Double-Blind Technique?

Answer 6

• Both the participants and the experimenter do not know the aims or conditions of the research
• the researchers are unable to influence the participants in any way

Question 7

What is a Pilot Study?

Answer 7

• Used to check the level of control in the procedure before carrying out the experiment
• It can be used to check if the design works, if participants understand the instructions and if there are any sources of bias that require control