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Psychology: Research Methods > Experiments > Flashcards

Experiments Flashcards

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1
Q

Experiments

A
  • This is a research method that can establish a causal (cause-and-effect) relationship between variables
  • If psychologists change one feature (variable) of a situation this causes a behavioural change
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2
Q

Independent Variable

A
  • Is the variable being manipulated by the experimenter
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3
Q

Dependent Variable

A
  • Is the variable being measured by the experimenter
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4
Q

Laboratory Experiment

A
  • This is conducted in a well-controlled environment where accurate measurements are possible
  • As this uses a standardised procedure
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5
Q

Laboratory Experiment Evaluation

A

+ Easier to replicate: a standardised procedure is used
+ Precise control of extraneous and IV’s: cause and effect relationship can be established

  • Artificial setting produces unnatural behaviour: low ecological validity as it cannot be generalised to a real life setting
  • Demand characteristics or experimenter effects: bias the results and become confounding variable
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6
Q

Field Experiment

A
  • These are done in the real life environment of participants in a real life setting
  • But the experimenter still manipulates the independent variable
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7
Q

Field Experiment Evaluation

A

+ High ecological validity: behaviour is likely to reflect real life due to natural setting this creates
+ Less demand characteristics: participants may not know they are being studied e.g. if the study is covert

  • Less control over extraneous variables that might bias results: makes it difficult for another researcher to replicate the study in the same way
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8
Q

Quasi Experiment

A
  • Natural experiment in real life where the independent variable is occurring naturally
  • E.g. investigating adopted and fostered children
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9
Q

Quasi Evaluation

A

+ Behaviour reflects real life: due to natural setting there is high ecological validity
+ Less likelihood of demand characteristics: participants may be unaware they are being studied so act naturally
+ Useful for situations where it would be unethical to manipulate the independent variable e.g. researching stress

  • More expensive/time consuming
  • Less control over extraneous variable that may bias results: makes it difficult for another researcher to replicate the study in the same way
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10
Q

Demand Characteristics

A
  • Are when participants are led to think they know the aims of the research due to clues so they act accordingly
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11
Q

Order Effects

A
  • Changes in participants’ performance due to repeating similar test
  • E.g. practice effects lead to improvement due to repetition/familiarity of task
  • E.g. fatigue effects decrease performance due to boredom or tiredness from repetition of task
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12
Q

Independent Measures

A
  • Participants only take part in one condition of the experiment, as there will be two groups
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13
Q

Independent Measures Evaluation

A

+ Each participant only experiences one condition which reduces demand characteristics
+ If participants drop out new ones can be found

  • Twice as many participants are required as there are two groups
  • Doesn’t control participant variables; researcher may end up with participants in one group who are naturally ‘better’ at the DV than the other group
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14
Q

Repeated Measures

A
  • Participants take part in both conditions of the experiment, as there is only one group
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15
Q

Repeated Measure Evaluation

A

+ Controls participant variables: participants in condition A are precisely the same as in condition B
+ Only a small number of participants needs to be recruited

  • Situational variables occur: doing one variable first may affect performance in the other
  • Demand characteristics as they can predict the aim from both conditions
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16
Q

Matched Pairs

A
  • Participants are matched in each condition for characteristics that may have an effect on their performance
17
Q

Matched Pairs Evaluation

A

+ Participant variables are controlled as they are matched across the conditions
+ There are no problems with order effects

  • If one participant drops out a new match must be found or risk losing two sets of data
  • Requires hard work to match participants e.g. on IQ which requires testing
18
Q

Counterbalancing

A
  • Overcomes the problem of order effects

- Half the participants do condition A first followed by B and the other half do condition B followed by A

19
Q

Operationalising Variables

A
  • How well you define and measure a specific variable as it’s used in the study
  • E.g. instead of “young participants will have significantly greater memories than older participants,” you would say, “participants aged between 16-30 will recall significantly more nouns from a list of twenty than participants aged between 55-70”
  • This provides a clearer and objective definition of even complex variables, making it easier for researchers to replicate a study and check for reliability
20
Q

Extraneous Variables

A
  • Variable which are not the IV but could affect the DV, these should be controlled
21
Q

Situational Variables

A
  • Aspects of the environment that may affect the participant’s behaviour
  • E.g. noise, temperature or order effects
  • This can be controlled by using a standardised procedure to ensure that the conditions are all the same for all participants
22
Q

Participant Variables

A
  • Ways that participants vary from each other
  • E.g. intelligence, concentration or mood
  • This is controlled by using random allocation to conditions of independent variable or by counterbalancing
23
Q

Experimenter Variables

A
  • Unintentional ways that the experimenter gives clues to participants about the expected behaviours of the study
  • This is controlled by using single blind or double blind methods
24
Q

Confounding Variables

A
  • Variables that have affected the DV apart from the IV

- An extraneous variable that hasn’t been controlled

25
Q

Test-Retest-Reliability

A
  • Ensures that the experiment gives the same results when repeated at another time or place
26
Q

Inter-Rater-Reliability

A
  • Ensures that the experiment gives the same result when carried out by a different investigator

Psychology: Research Methods (8 decks)

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