Key Terms Of An Experiment

Question 1

Standardisation

Answer 1

Procedures and conditions being controlled and kept the same across all conditions allowing for replication

Question 2

Ecological validity

Answer 2

The extent to which the experimental setting represents real life situations and behaviour

Question 3

Demand characteristics

Answer 3

Behaviour from participants in the experimental setting that may be unnatural and affect how they perform on tasks

Question 4

Validity

Answer 4

The extent to which an experiment is accurate in measuring what it claims to measure

Question 5

Mundane realism

Answer 5

The extent to which the tasks are used in the experiment are representative of tasks completed in everyday life

Question 6

Reliability

Answer 6

The extent to which can experiment can be repeated to check the consistency of the results

Question 7

Internal validity

Answer 7

The extent to which there is confidence in the IV causing the effect on the DV (I.e. control over EV’s and confounding variables) establishing ‘cause and effect’