location of the research Flashcards
field?
working with participants within an environment which is familiar to them
Laboratory?
an environment that can be controlled by the researcher. A researcher may wish to control the extraneous variables, needs to manipulate the independent variables
advantages of a lab experiment?
Allow researchers to be able to measure the dependent variable more easily - easier too control confounding variables or extraneous variables
- Lab experiments also make it easier to be able too replicate research
what are the disadvantages of a lab experiment?
- they may cause participants to demonstrate artificial behaviours(lacking ecological validity) - laboratory reminds them that they are taking part in a piece of research this may result in participants acting well behaved
- some cannot be conducted in a lab due to the nature of the behaviour, some of the behaviours may occur in small, inaccessible populations - observing breeding habits of dugongs in the great barrier reef some might take a long time to demonstrate - 22 month gestation period of an African elephant
what are the advantages of a field experiment?
- It has a high level of ecological validity - people are in a real world environment they are less likely to be aware of there participation within the research which may allow them to behave in a more natural way
- Allows psychologists to examine behaviour in lot’s of contexts that might not be accommodated within a lab - for example investigating how happiness might increase after spending time in an area with lot’s of beauty - field experiments allows someone to be able to do this
What are the disadvantages of a field experiment?
- There may be less control over extraneous variables - not able to be entirely sure what independent variable is having a certain impact on the dependent variable
- difficult for researchers to be able to set up - brain scanning machines they are not very portable and not used easily by field researchers, although there is so much improvement within psychological equipment - like eye tracking glasses
What is a natural experiment?
within a natural experiment the experimenter has no control over the independent variable and it is naturally occurring
What is a quasi experiment?
Within a quasi experiment the general critea of participants is selected by the researcher so they end up with a range of participants, while in a natural experiment the participant selections occur “naturally”, without the researcher intervention
What are the advantages of a natural experiment?
natural experiments contain high external validity because they involve the study of real life issues and problems as they happen
- It also allows research to take place that might not be ethical otherwise
what are the disadvantages of a natural experiment?
- naturally occurring event it might only happen rarely, which reduces the opportunities for the research - this also means there is a less chance of being able to generalise findings to other situations
- participants might not be randomly allocated to experimental conditions, means the researcher might be less sure that the IV has an effect on the DV
what are the advantages of a quasi experiment?
- have control over extraneous variables - we can exactly know what independent variable is affecting the dependent variable as of being able to manipulate the dependent variable
- lab experiments make it more easy to be able to replicate the research
what are the disadvantages of a quasi experiment?
- may cause participants to display artificial behaviours (lacking ecological validity) - lab reminds them they are taking part in research - participants may act well behaved
- Lacks mundane realism - the task that they might be completing may not be able to be further applied towards real life so it is not generalisable
