Experiments Flashcards
What is the difference between the independent and dependent variable?
Independent variable - what changes
Dependent variable - what you measure
What is the difference between the control and experimental groups?
Experimental - those exposed to special treatment
Control - those who are not exposed to the special treatment
Give 3 characteristics of a field experiment
Natural environment
Participants are often unaware
Little control over variables
Give 3 characteristics of lab experiments
Artificial environment
Participants know they are being studied
Researcher has strict control over variables
Give an ethical, theoretical and practical advantage of lab experiments
Ethical - overt means informed consent
Theoretical - if standardised it is more reliable
Practical - conditions are easy to control
Give an ethical, theoretical and practical disadvantage of lab experiments
Ethical - Protection from harm
Theoretical - Not representative as it is small sample
Practical - difficult to control all variables
Give an ethical, theoretical and practical advantage of field experiments
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
Give an ethical, theoretical and practical disadvantage of field experiments
Ethical - usually not informed consent
Theoretical - Hard to replicate non artificial environment means less reliable
Practical - Hard to control a natural environment
Explain the comparative method
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
Give 2 advantages of the comparative method
No ethical issues
Avoids artificial manipulating of variables as they are naturally occurring - more reliable
Give a disadvantage of the comparative method
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
What was Roshenhan’s experiment?
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
What kind of experiment was Roshenhan’s?
Covert field
Give 2 advantages of Roshenhan’s experiment
Covert and field = valid as people were acting as they would normally
Representative both geographically and over public and private practices
Give 2 disadvantages of Roshenhan’s experiment
Deception/no informed consent
Protection from harm for participants (strong drugs given)
What happened in Zimbardo’s experiment?
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
What kind of experiment was Zimbardo’s?
Overt lab
Give 2 advantages of Zimbardo’s experiment
No deception
Environment and treatment seemed real = more valid
Give 2 disadvantages of Zimbardo’s experiment
Protection from harm
Costly
What happened in Banduras’ experiment?
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
What kind of experiment is Bandura’s?
Covert lab
Give 2 advantages of Banduras
Covert - no Hawthorne Effect on children
Representative - gender wise
Give 2 disadvantages of Banduras
Protection from harm
Lab - children may not be acting naturally
What happened in the Marshmallow experiment?
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
What kind of experiment was the Marshmallow Experiment?
Overt lab
Give 2 advantages of the Marshmallow Experiment
No harm
Large sample = more representative
What happened in Milgram’s experiment?
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
What kind of experiment was Milgram?
Covert lab
Give 2 advantages of Milgram’s experiment
Deception to purpose of research = valid
Sample was representative of target population - Nazis
Give 2 disadvantages of Milgram’s experiment?
No informed consent
Sample wasn’t generalisable to larger population
What happened in Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s experiment?
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
What kind of experiment was rosenthal and Jacobsen?
Covert field
Give 2 advantages of Rosenthal and Jacobsen
Field - children and teachers act more naturally = more valid
Field experiment means it is less expensive
Give 2 disadvantages of Rosenthal and Jacobsen
No informed consent
One class - not representative
