Topic 3: Experiments

Question 1

Experimental Group

Answer 1

Group under study in investigation

Question 2

Control Group

Answer 2

Variable that is kept constant

Question 3

Laboratory Experiments

Answer 3

Controlled experiment in artificial environment

Question 4

Field Experiments

Answer 4

Carried out in a social setting

Question 5

Comparative Method

Answer 5

It is a ‘thought experiment’, not involving researchers experimenting on real people

Question 6

What are the advantages of laboratory experiments?

Answer 6

• Theoretical:
  o reliable
  o detached method
  o control variables
• Identify cause-and-effect relationships

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of laboratory experiments?

Answer 7

• Practical problems:
  o impossible to control all factors that can influence results
  o cannot be used to study past
  o cannot investigate large-scale social issues
• Ethical problems:
  o lack of informed consent e.g children
  o deception e.g Milgram’s study of obedience
  o psychological / physical harm
• Theoretical problems:
  o small samples ≠ representative
• Hawthorne effect due to artificial setting

Question 8

What is Milgram’s study of obedience?

Answer 8

• Laboratory experiment
• Lied to research participants about purpose of research
• Told assisting in experiment of learning, ordered to administer electric shocks if learner answered incorrectly
• Real purpose of experiment test willingness to obey to authority
• Supporters justify it’s ethical as it alerts us to the dangers of blindly obeying

Question 9

Why do interpretivists oppose laboratory experiments?

Answer 9

• Humans have free will, behaviour cannot be explained by cause and effect

Question 10

What are the advantages of field experiment?

Answer 10

• Practical:
  o large scale settings
• Theoretical:
  o better external validity (natural setting)

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of field experiments?

Answer 11

- Practical problems:
         o time consuming and expensive
         o schools and workplaces reluctant to allow researcher in
         o in comparison to labs cannot control variables
- Ethical problems:
          o lack of informed consent
          o deception
- Theoretical problems:
          o not reliable
          o low representativeness
- Hawthorne effect

Question 12

What is Rosenhan’s ‘pseudo-patient’ experiment?

Answer 12

• Field experiment
• 12 researchers admitted themselves to mental hospitals claiming they heard voices
• Diagnosed as schizophrenic
• In hospital, stopped complaining about voices and acted normal
• Not the patients behaviour that led them to being treated as sick instead the label meant they were treated that way

Question 13

How does the comparative method work?

Answer 13

• Identify 2 groups that are alike in all aspects apart from one variable interested in studying
• Compare groups to see if this one difference has an effect

Question 14

What are the advantages of the comparative method?

Answer 14

• Avoids artificiality
• Used to study past events
• No ethical problems

Question 15

What is Durkheim’s study of suicide?

Answer 15

• Comparative method
• Hypothesis:
  o low levels of integration cause high suicide rates
  o Catholicism = higher levels of integration that Protestantism
  o predicted Protestants higher rates of suicide
• Tested prediction by comparing suicide rates with those with those who were similar
• OS show Catholics had lower suicide rates