Experiments Flashcards
what is the acronym to remembering the format to answering a experiment review
TAIMpedpRDR
what does TAIMpedpRDR stand ford?
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
what are the four types of graph used in alevel psychology?
bar chart
scatter graph
histogram
pie chart
what does APA format stand for?
American Psychological Association
what are the four experiment types?
Lab
field
natural
quasi
define cause and effect
this is when the researcher is very certain that the manipulation of the IV variable was the cause of the change in the DV
What is an independent variable?
this is what you manipulate and change in an experiment
What is a dependant variable?
this is what you measure in an experiment
what are extraneous (control) variables?
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.
what are confounding variables?
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.
how are confounding variables prevented?
Researchers must be certain to control every variable that may affect the DV instead of the manipulation of the IV.
define experimental group
define control group
experimental- this is the group being trialled
control- this is the group being kept the same
Define lab experiments
This includes a very controlled setting, where the IV is manipulated easily- leading to a nearly ‘proven’ experiment.
what are the pros and cons to a lab experiment?
pros:
- high control, easy to replicate, high internal validity, lots of cause and effect.
cons:
-lacks ecological validity, demand characteristics ( PPTS can change behaviour)
what are the types of validity and their definitions?
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
define mundane realism
this is whether the study is valid in the real world
define field experiments
these are conducted in a natural setting, outside the lab, and the IV is manipulated by experimenter.
what are the pros and cons to a field experiment?
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.
define natural experiments
there are not ‘set up’ by an experimenter and the IV occurs naturally- no manipulation by the researcher.
what are the pros and cons to natural experiments?
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
define quasi experiments
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.
what are the pros and cons to quasi experiments?
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)
state 5 examples of quasi experiments
gender, age, ethnicity, race and intelligence
what are the three experimental designs?
repeated measures/groups
independent measures/groups
matched pairs
define order effects and give the three types
how the positioning of tasks affects the outcome
practice
boredom
fatigue
define repeated measures
same ppts do all conditions for each level of IV
what are the pros and cons to repeated measures?
pros:
- controls ppts variables, fewer ppts needed, no ppt diffs
cons:
-order effects, ppts may guess the aim
define independent groups
each group does a different condition of the experiment
what are the pros and cons to independent groups?
pros:
- no order effects, ppts don’t guess the aim
cons:
-ppt variables may affect results, needs more ppts (less economical)
define matched pairs
pps are paired based on relevant characteristics, then split into different conditions.
what are the pros and cons to matched pairs?
pros:
- controls ppt variables, no order effects
cons:
- matching is hard and time consuming, needs more ppts which is less ecological.
define random allocation
ppts are placed in groups at random using a method like names out a hat. This increases validity and reduces bias.
