Problems With Experiments Flashcards
What is an extraneous variable?
An external variable that may affect the DV of the study
What are the two types of extraneous variables?
Participant & Situational
What are participant extraneous variables?
Ways in which each participant varies from the other e.g. nerves, concentration etc
What are situational extraneous variables?
Aspects of the environment that might affect the participants behaviour e.g. noise, time of day etc
What is standardised procedure?
All participants and the researcher do exactly the same during the study
What are standardised instructions?
All participants are given exactly the same instructions
What is randomisation?
Uses chance to reduce the investigators influence on the design of the investigation to try and control investigator effects:
random generation of resources
randomly ordering conditions when using repeated measures
What are individual differences?
Natural variation between participants that means they will perform differently in experiments
What are demand characteristics?
When the participants guess the aim of the study and alter their behaviour
What is the ‘please you’ effect?
When a participant purposely alters their behaviour to give the ‘right’ results
What is the ‘screw you’ effect?
When a participant purposely alters their behaviour to sabotage the study or give the ‘wrong’ results
How can demand characteristics be reduced?
Single blind procedure - when participants don’t know what condition they are in so are unsure how to act
What are investigator effects?
When researchers accidentally influence the results of their research
How can investigator effects be reduced?
Double blind procedure - when neither the participants nor the investigator know which condition the participants are in so cannot give clues
