Experimental Designs

Question 1

Define independent groups design

Answer 1

in this design, you have more than one group of participants who each only take part in one condition of the experiment.

Question 2

What are the strengths of the independent groups design?

Answer 2

• there is a lower risk of demand characteristics as participants see the experimental tasks only once.
• order effects such as practice and fatigue are less likely to influence the results.

Question 3

What are the weaknesses of the independent groups design?

Answer 3

• individual differences are more likely to distort findings.
• more participants are required, which may be difficult with niche samples.

Question 4

Define repeated measures design

Answer 4

in this design, you have one group of participants who all take part in both conditions of the experiment.

Question 5

What are the strengths of the repeated measures design?

Answer 5

• fewer participants are required.
• individual differences are unlikely to distort findings.

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of the repeated measures design?

Answer 6

• there’s a higher risk of demand characteristics as participants see the experimental tasks more than once.
• order effects such as practice and fatigue are more likely to influence the results.

Question 7

Define matched pairs design

Answer 7

an experimental design where participants are matched in pairs based on shared characteristics before they are assigned to groups.

Question 8

What is a strength of the matched pairs design?

Answer 8

individual differences are less likely to distort the findings on variables that have been matched.

Question 9

What is a weakness of the matched pairs design?

Answer 9

matching participants can be difficult and time consuming.

Question 10

Define demand characteristics

Answer 10

cues that might indicate the study aims to participants.

Question 11

Define randomisation

Answer 11

randomly assigning groups to reduce bias and interference by irrelevant variables.

Question 12

Define order effects

Answer 12

occurs when participant’s responses in the various conditions are affected by the order of conditions to which they were exposed.

Question 13

Define counterbalancing

Answer 13

technique used to deal with order effects when using repeated measure design:
half of the participants complete conditions in one order, the other half complete them in the reverse order.