Experiments

Question 1

What is the difference between the independent and dependent variable?

Answer 1

Independent variable - what changes

Dependent variable - what you measure

Question 2

What is the difference between the control and experimental groups?

Answer 2

Experimental - those exposed to special treatment

Control - those who are not exposed to the special treatment

Question 3

Give 3 characteristics of a field experiment

Answer 3

Natural environment
Participants are often unaware
Little control over variables

Question 4

Give 3 characteristics of lab experiments

Answer 4

Artificial environment
Participants know they are being studied
Researcher has strict control over variables

Question 5

Give an ethical, theoretical and practical advantage of lab experiments

Answer 5

Ethical - overt means informed consent
Theoretical - if standardised it is more reliable
Practical - conditions are easy to control

Question 6

Give an ethical, theoretical and practical disadvantage of lab experiments

Answer 6

Ethical - Protection from harm
Theoretical - Not representative as it is small sample
Practical - difficult to control all variables

Question 7

Give an ethical, theoretical and practical advantage of field experiments

Answer 7

Ethical - people are more comfortable in a natural environment
Theoretical - not an artificial environment is more valid
Practical - not time consuming as the environment already exists

Question 8

Give an ethical, theoretical and practical disadvantage of field experiments

Answer 8

Ethical - usually not informed consent
Theoretical - Hard to replicate non artificial environment means less reliable
Practical - Hard to control a natural environment

Question 9

Explain the comparative method

Answer 9

A ‘thought experiment’ that happens only in the mind of the researcher. Compares groups of people by a different characteristic instead of manipulating a variable - like religion as the independent variable and suicide rate as the dependent variable

Question 10

Give 2 advantages of the comparative method

Answer 10

No ethical issues

Avoids artificial manipulating of variables as they are naturally occurring - more reliable

Question 11

Give a disadvantage of the comparative method

Answer 11

Researcher has very little control over all factors and variables so we cannot determine what is the exact cause and effect so it’s less valid

Question 12

What was Roshenhan’s experiment?

Answer 12

5 men and 3 women (including him) describe fake hallucinations and they all get diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to asylums in 5 different states
Then while they were there they acted entirely normally without any symptoms and each spent on average 19 days in the asylum while being entirely sane

Question 13

What kind of experiment was Roshenhan’s?

Answer 13

Covert field

Question 14

Give 2 advantages of Roshenhan’s experiment

Answer 14

Covert and field = valid as people were acting as they would normally
Representative both geographically and over public and private practices

Question 15

Give 2 disadvantages of Roshenhan’s experiment

Answer 15

Deception/no informed consent

Protection from harm for participants (strong drugs given)

Question 16

What happened in Zimbardo’s experiment?

Answer 16

Got 24 young men paid $15 a day and split them into prisoners and guards in a prison built in Stanford university - the atmosphere was oppressive and humiliating and it was shut down in a week

Question 17

What kind of experiment was Zimbardo’s?

Answer 17

Overt lab

Question 18

Give 2 advantages of Zimbardo’s experiment

Answer 18

No deception

Environment and treatment seemed real = more valid

Question 19

Give 2 disadvantages of Zimbardo’s experiment

Answer 19

Protection from harm

Costly

Question 20

What happened in Banduras’ experiment?

Answer 20

Zimbardo observed through a two way mirror 36 boys and 36 girls in nursery watched a man and woman kick a Bobo doll which they got rewarded or punished for and the children copied them showing observational learning

Question 21

What kind of experiment is Bandura’s?

Answer 21

Covert lab

Question 22

Give 2 advantages of Banduras

Answer 22

Covert - no Hawthorne Effect on children

Representative - gender wise

Question 23

Give 2 disadvantages of Banduras

Answer 23

Protection from harm

Lab - children may not be acting naturally

Question 24

What happened in the Marshmallow experiment?

Answer 24

600 children were sat in front of a marshmallow and told if they didn’t eat it in 15 minutes they would get a biscuit and the marshmallow - tested instant and deferred gratification

Question 25

What kind of experiment was the Marshmallow Experiment?

Answer 25

Overt lab

Question 26

Give 2 advantages of the Marshmallow Experiment

Answer 26

No harm

Large sample = more representative

Question 27

What happened in Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 27

40 males aged 20-50 years old were the participants who were told by an actor playing a scientist to electric shock someone if they got a question wrong - two thirds would have given fatal electric shocks of 450V

Question 28

What kind of experiment was Milgram?

Answer 28

Covert lab

Question 29

Give 2 advantages of Milgram’s experiment

Answer 29

Deception to purpose of research = valid

Sample was representative of target population - Nazis

Question 30

Give 2 disadvantages of Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 30

No informed consent

Sample wasn’t generalisable to larger population

Question 31

What happened in Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s experiment?

Answer 31

Went to one class at a school and told the teachers that 20% of students had higher potential than others (the students were picked at random) then 8 months later those students who were selected did better in a test

Question 32

What kind of experiment was rosenthal and Jacobsen?

Answer 32

Covert field

Question 33

Give 2 advantages of Rosenthal and Jacobsen

Answer 33

Field - children and teachers act more naturally = more valid
Field experiment means it is less expensive

Question 34

Give 2 disadvantages of Rosenthal and Jacobsen

Answer 34

No informed consent

One class - not representative