natural experiments

Question 1

strength: provide opportunities

Answer 1

for research that may not have taken place due to practical or ethical reasons, RUTTER’S orphans, unethical to manipulate IV, natural experiments contribute to greater psych understanding of behavior

Question 2

strength: high eco Val

Answer 2

based in real life setting, easier to generalise findings beyond study to similar settings, increasing external validity

Question 3

weakness: happens very rarely

Answer 3

naturally occurring event may happen only rarely, unlikely research can be repeated to check for consistent results.

Question 4

weakness: low control over extraneous variables

Answer 4

take place in natural environment, difficult to establish cause and effect between IV and DV, lowers internal validity