Natural Experiments Flashcards
When does a natural experiment take place?
When it is not possible, for ethical or practical reasons to deliberately manipulate an IV.
What is the key point about the natural experiment definition?
The IV occurs ‘naturally’
When can you measure the effect?
When the cause has happened naturally.
What is a natural experiment in relation to a field experiment?
Minus the manipulation of the setting.
What are the two advantages to natural experiments?
1) Allows research where IV cannot be manipulated
Could be practical or ethical reasons, e/g the effects of a disaster no mental health.
2) High ecological validity
Allows psychologists to study the effect of a ‘real’ problem.
What are the two disadvantages to natural experiments?
1) Lack of causal relationship.
Because the IV is not directly manipulated, a causal relationship cannot be demonstrated.
2) Lack of random allocation.
Because the IV is naturally occurring, the participants cannot be allocated so there may be confounding variables affecting the results, e.g a small baby could be due to genetics but you presume its due to alcohol consumption.
