Experiments

Question 1

what is the acronym to remembering the format to answering a experiment review

Answer 1

TAIMpedpRDR

Question 2

what does TAIMpedpRDR stand ford?

Answer 2

title (10/15 words)
abstract (summary)
introduction (context, <150 words)
method:
-participants (members in each group, age range, gender ratio etc)
-design ( lab, natural, quasi, field)
-equipment (what was used. e.g ruler)
-procedure (step by step description on study’s conduction)
Results (summary of data, descriptives)
Discussion (evaluation, effectivity and reliability)
References (credits)

charts/ graph etc

Question 3

what are the four types of graph used in alevel psychology?

Answer 3

bar chart
scatter graph
histogram
pie chart

Question 4

what does APA format stand for?

Answer 4

American Psychological Association

Question 5

what are the four experiment types?

Answer 5

Lab
field
natural
quasi

Question 6

define cause and effect

Answer 6

this is when the researcher is very certain that the manipulation of the IV variable was the cause of the change in the DV

Question 7

What is an independent variable?

Answer 7

this is what you manipulate and change in an experiment

Question 8

What is a dependant variable?

Answer 8

this is what you measure in an experiment

Question 9

what are extraneous (control) variables?

Answer 9

these should be kept constant to make the experiment reliable and valid. A failure in doing this could mean the DV is changed rather than IV. Validity is therefore lost, making the experiment untrustworthy.

Question 10

what are confounding variables?

Answer 10

These occur when the researcher has failed to control a variable that has impacted the DV. These ‘confuse’ the control and outcomes of the study so it is not clear if the manipulation of the IV or the uncontrolled confounding variable was responsible for the change in the DV.

Question 11

how are confounding variables prevented?

Answer 11

Researchers must be certain to control every variable that may affect the DV instead of the manipulation of the IV.

Question 12

define experimental group
define control group

Answer 12

experimental- this is the group being trialled
control- this is the group being kept the same

Question 13

Define lab experiments

Answer 13

This includes a very controlled setting, where the IV is manipulated easily- leading to a nearly ‘proven’ experiment.

Question 14

what are the pros and cons to a lab experiment?

Answer 14

pros:
- high control, easy to replicate, high internal validity, lots of cause and effect.
cons:
-lacks ecological validity, demand characteristics ( PPTS can change behaviour)

Question 15

what are the types of validity and their definitions?

Answer 15

internal- testing what you intended to test
external- ecological validity ( likely to happen in the real world)
temporal validity- this is whether or not the study is true to modern times
predictive validity- this is whether or not the study can predict what’s to come

Question 16

define mundane realism

Answer 16

this is whether the study is valid in the real world

Question 17

define field experiments

Answer 17

these are conducted in a natural setting, outside the lab, and the IV is manipulated by experimenter.

Question 18

what are the pros and cons to a field experiment?

Answer 18

pros:
- higher ecological validity, show cause and effect, fewer demand characteristics
cons:
-less control over variables, ethical issues ( consent may not be given), harder to replicate as some technology cannot be used that would be in labs.

Question 19

define natural experiments

Answer 19

there are not ‘set up’ by an experimenter and the IV occurs naturally- no manipulation by the researcher.

Question 20

what are the pros and cons to natural experiments?

Answer 20

pros:
-remarkably high ecological validity, you can study things that would be very hard to create e.g the impact of an earthquake on mental health.
cons:
-little control over variables
-no cause and effect, as there isn’t enough control to allow the researcher to claim that one variable caused another
- hard to replicate

Question 21

define quasi experiments

Answer 21

these occur whenever the researcher is using an IV that already exists naturally, e.g gender, age. Any comparison where the IV is something that already exists and the researcher could not allocate the ppts to a group is a quasi experiment.

Question 22

what are the pros and cons to quasi experiments?

Answer 22

pros:
-ethical and practical for studying differences ( only way to study naturally occurring IVs)
cons:
-some control has been lost as the ability to change the IV is impossible, therefore there is barely any cause and effect.
- no random allocation (more confounding variables)

Question 23

state 5 examples of quasi experiments

Answer 23

gender, age, ethnicity, race and intelligence

Question 24

what are the three experimental designs?

Answer 24

repeated measures/groups
independent measures/groups
matched pairs

Question 25

define order effects and give the three types

Answer 25

how the positioning of tasks affects the outcome

practice
boredom
fatigue

Question 26

define repeated measures

Answer 26

same ppts do all conditions for each level of IV

Question 27

what are the pros and cons to repeated measures?

Answer 27

pros:
- controls ppts variables, fewer ppts needed, no ppt diffs
cons:
-order effects, ppts may guess the aim

Question 28

define independent groups

Answer 28

each group does a different condition of the experiment

Question 29

what are the pros and cons to independent groups?

Answer 29

pros:
- no order effects, ppts don’t guess the aim
cons:
-ppt variables may affect results, needs more ppts (less economical)

Question 30

define matched pairs

Answer 30

pps are paired based on relevant characteristics, then split into different conditions.

Question 31

what are the pros and cons to matched pairs?

Answer 31

pros:
- controls ppt variables, no order effects
cons:
- matching is hard and time consuming, needs more ppts which is less ecological.

Question 32

define random allocation

Answer 32

ppts are placed in groups at random using a method like names out a hat. This increases validity and reduces bias.