FEILD AND LAB EXPERIMENT Flashcards
Where does a laboratory experiment take place?
A artificial and highly controlled environment
Where does a field experiment take place?
Pps’ natural environment
Lab - ecological validity
The behaviour of the pps may not reflect their behaviour in everyday life as the environment is artificial
Field - ecological validity
Very high ecological validity as a natural environment will trigger natural behaviour
Lab - internal validity
Experimenter has full control over the environment, therefore can limit extraneous variables and prevent confounding variables. They can be confident on the IVs effect on the DV
Field - internal validity
The experimenter does not have full control over extraneous variables as a natural environment is unpredictable.
Lab - Reliability
As they can control variables they can create a standardised procedure, it’s easy to replicate and produce consistent results
Field - Reliability
Can’t control variables and therefore can’t create a standardised experience for pps. Can’t be easily replicated for consistent results
Strengths of Lab experiments
- High control over extraneous variables
- Results tend to be reliable
- Variables can be measured accurately with the tools in a lab
Weaknesses of lab experiments
- Lacks ecological validity
- High risk of demand characteristics
- Risk of experimenter bias
Strengths of field experiment
- Higher ecological validity
- Demand characteristics are less of an issue
Weaknesses of field experiments
- Extraneous variables are difficult to control and therefore we can’t find the true relationship between the IV and the DV
- Precise replication of a natural environment can’t be replicated
- More susceptible to sample bias as pps are not allocated to experimental conditions
What is an operationalised variable?
A very precise form that can be measured
Extraneous variable?
A variable that MIGHT impact the DV that’s not the IV
Confounding variable?
A variable that DOES impact the DV that’s not the IV
Situational variable
Relating to the context or environment - noise, temp, light, place etc
Participant variable
Relating to a specific pps -
age, intelligence, personality etc
