L1: Experimental Methods

Question 1

What is the independent variable?

Answer 1

What the experimenter manipulates to see its effects on the DV

Question 2

What is the dependent variable?

Answer 2

The variable being measured

Question 3

What is the control variable?

Answer 3

A standard condition where IV is not manipulated

Question 4

What are extraneous variables?

Answer 4

Variables that could affect the DV e.g sleep and food and weather

Question 5

What are confounding variables?

Answer 5

Variables that have effected the DV e.g light and noise

Question 6

What is operationalisation?

Answer 6

The variable needs to be defined and stated how it will be measured

Question 7

What is a laboratory experiment?

Answer 7

• Experiment happens in a controlled environment
• A high level of control over IV, eliminates EV
• Participants are randomly allocated to a condition, neither experimenter nor participant decides the condition. A random method is used
• Conducted in an artificial setting

Question 8

Advantages of a Lab Experiment

Answer 8

• High level of control of IV, controls EVs and prevents them becoming CV
• Allows a cause + effect relationship to be found
• Experiments are often replicated and results can be proven to be reliable

Question 9

Disadvantages of a Lab Experiment

Answer 9

• Demand characteristics can occur and invalid results

- Lack of mundane realism and ecological validity

Question 10

What are field experiments?

Answer 10

• Experiment carries out in the real world rather than in an artificial setting

Question 11

Advantages of a Field Experiment

Answer 11

• More mundane realism + ecological validity
• Cause and effect can be determined
• Less demand characteristics as participants are natural

Question 12

Disadvantages of a Field Experiment

Answer 12

• Less control over EV, results can be invalid
• Less control over sample
• Difficult to replicate, so unreliable

Question 13

What are natural experiments?

Answer 13

• Researcher takes advantage of naturally occurring IV to see its effect on DV
• Experimenter finds participants who already meet conditions of experiment
• eg behaviour in same sex schools vs mixed schools rather than allocating participants

Question 14

Advantages of a Natural Experiment

Answer 14

• High level of Mundane Realism + Ecological Validity

- Better for unethical issues e.g men who have high blood and cholesterol

Question 15

Disadvantages of a Natural Experiment

Answer 15

• Low control over EV
• Hard to replicate, so unreliable
• Hard to determine cause and effect

Question 16

What are Quasi Experiments?

Answer 16

• contain a naturally occurring IV
• the IV is a difference between people that already exist
• Takes place in lab setting

Question 17

Advantages of a Quasi Experiment

Answer 17

• High level of control and EV

- Replication is very likely, so reliable

Question 18

Disadvantages of a Quasi Experiment

Answer 18

• Lack of ecological validity

- Demand characteristics causing invalidity of results