Section A: Research Methods Flashcards
What is an experimental method in psychology?
i) What is a ‘true’ experiment?
-An experiment sets out to test a research AIM and HYPOTHESIS.
(i) A ‘true’ experiment is a study of DIFFERENCE and is nomothetic.
It involves the deliberate manipulation of one variable, while trying to keep all other variables constant.
What are the FOUR defining characteristics of a ‘true’ experiment?
- Researchers are looking for a DIFFERENCE between conditions.
- Researchers look to manipulate the operationalised independent variable.
- Reduce extraneous variables and measure/ record a change in the operationalised dependent variable (likely that the change in IV is impacting the DV in highly-controlled conditions).
4.Researchers will randomly allocate participants to each condition.
What is a laboratory experiment? What characterises one?
- Lab experiments usually take place in a special facility (laboratory) within a university psychology department.
- The IV is directly manipulated by the researcher and its effect on the dependent variable is directly measured.
- All extraneous variables are controlled as much as possible.
- A standardised procedure is followed.
What is meant by a ‘standardised procedure’?
Give a few examples of how researchers may ensure they are following a standardised procedure?
-The process in which procedures used in research are kept the same.
-Great attention is taken to keep all elements of a procedure identical.
-E.g. All participants should be placed under the same conditions (the level of lighting, noise and heat remains the same for all participants).
-All ppts tested at roughly the same time of day, as people may behave differently if tested at nine o’clock in the morning rather than five o’clock at night.
-Given standardised instructions in exactly the same way (e.g. audio recorded instructions).
What is the purpose of a ‘standardised procedure’?
-To ensure all participants have the same experience.
What are the 4 types of experiment?
- Laboratory
- Field
- Quasi
- Natural
What is the most common way of conducting a laboratory experiment? (think how participants are assigned to the conditions!)
To randomly allocate - This means that everyone has an equal chance of participating in each condition (i.e. without bias).
Which variable is manipulated in a laboratory experiment?
The Independent Variable (all other variables are held constant).
A03 - Strength of Laboratory Experiments
P: Lab experiments are HIGH in reliability.
E: They follow a standardised procedure (all elements of the procedure are kept identical) and take place in highly controlled settings, where extraneous variables (such as situational variables) are limited.
E: This means the study can be easily replicated by other researchers to test the consistency of results found.
A03 - Strength of Laboratory Experiments
P: Lab experiments are high in internal validity.
E: The strict level of control over extraneous variables and subsequent isolation of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable allows us to establish cause and effect relationships.
E: This means that researchers can be confident that a change in the DV is due to a change in the IV and nothing else.
A03 - Limitation of Laboratory Experiments
P: Lab experiments are LOW in ecological validity.
E: Lab experiments take place in artificial and highly controlled settings which are unnatural to the participant .
E: Therefore, participants’ behaviour is unlikely to be representative of their natural behaviour, as it is likely to be influenced by the environment they are in.
A03: Limitation of Laboratory Experiments
E: Lab experiments are LOW in internal validity.
E: Demand characteristics are likely in an artificial setting as participants may look to the researcher and the research environment for cues about how they should behave.
E: Therefore, their behaviour may change accordingly (they adjust their behaviour to their interpretation of the aims of the study).
What is a ‘field experiment’?
-Field experiments are the SAME as laboratory experiments in terms of the treatment of independent/dependent/extraneous variables.
-However, the laboratory environment is swapped for a real-life setting (e.g. a school, town centre).
(A03) Strength of field experiments -ecological validity –> How does this compare to laboratory experiments?
P: Field experiments are high in ecological validity (higher than in a laboratory experiment).
E: They take place in a natural, real world, uncontrolled settings which are natural to the participant.
E: Therefore, participants’ behaviour is likely to be representative of natural behaviour, as it is unlikely to be influenced by the environment they are in. This means that the researcher can generalise the research findings to other settings.
(A03) Strength of field experiments - internal validity.
P: Field experiments are high in internal validity.
E: Demand characteristics are greatly reduced in the natural setting (compared to a laboratory experiment) as participants are unaware they are taking part so they act more naturally and they will not look to the researcher and the research environment for cues about how they should behave.
E: Therefore their behaviour is likely to be more natural and genuine.
(A03) Weakness of field experiments (or counter to them being high in internal validity) - Think about a researcher’s control over extraneous variables in a natural environment!
P: Field experiments are LOW in internal validity.
E: There is not a strict level of control over extraneous variables as the researcher’s control over the environment reduces in the real world. There are more extraneous (later confounding) variables which greatly reduce the validity of results.
E: We cannot therefore establish cause and effect because we cannot be confident that a change in the dependent variable is due to a change in the independent variable as there may be an extraneous variable affecting it as well.
(A03) Weakness of Field Experiments - ETHICS - what ethical issues may arise?
P: Field experiments may suffer from ethical issues.
E: In a field experiment, participants may not be aware that they are taking part and they may become distressed by the manipulations of the independent variable.
E: Therefore, it is difficult to gain fully informed consent and debrief them, as well as right to withdraw and confidentiality.
(A03) Weakness of Field Experiments - RELIABILITY - why are they difficult to replicate?
P: Field experiments are LOW in reliability.
E: They use standardised procedure but take place in real-life settings (e.g. a school)
E: This means the study cannot be easily replicated to test the consistency of results found.
(A01) What is a QUASI EXPERIMENT?
(THINK Characteristics of the participant! - e.g. male, female, age)
In a quasi-experiment, the researcher is unable to freely manipulate the independent variable or randomly allocate the participants to the two conditions. An example would be a study with gender or age as the independent variable.
How do quasi experiments differ to a typical experiment?
In an experiment, usually with a high degree of control of extraneous variables, a researcher MANIPULATES an independent variable to find out its effect on a dependent one.
What is an example of a Quasi experiment?
For example, a teacher conducts the stroop test with their class to see whether MALES are quicker and more accurate at completing the test than FEMALE.
The researcher can’t randomly allocate participants to conditions (males and females).
General Evaluation Points for Quasi experiments?
A quasi- experiment is similar to a laboratory experiment, so they share similar strengths (and limitations).
However, one significant difference is there is no random allocation of participants. Therefore, PARTICIPANT VALUES ARE MORE LIKELY TO CONFOUND THE RESULTS COMPARED TO A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT.
(A01) What is a natural experiment?
Give an example of a natural experiment?
In a natural experiment there is NO MANIPULATION OR CONTROL OF ANY OF THE VARIABLES - THEY ARE NATURALLY OCCURRING. These variables would have happened without the research(er).
For example, studies of the effects of child abuse on adult relationships.
Why are natural experiments sometimes the only option for psychologists to use?
Often, practical and ETHICAL reasons mean that a natural experiment is the only option for psychologists, if they want to use an experimental method.