Experimental methods
- Created by: z_mills1
- Created on: 12-05-14 17:45
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- Experimental methods
- Laboratory experiments
- controlled situation, researcher manipulates one variable to find its effect on another, all other variables are held constant
- Advantages
- effects of extraneous variables are minimised
- experiment can be easily replicated to check the findings
- possible to establish whether one variable actually causes change in another
- Disadvantages
- demand characteristics - participants may respond accordingly to what they think is being investigated
- lack of ecological validity - may not measure real-life behaviour
- ethics - deception is often used, making informed consent difficult
- Field experiments
- behaviour is measured in a natural environment - key variable still altered so its effect can be measured
- Advantages
- demand characteristics can be avoided if participants don't know they're in a study
- high ecological validity - less artificial than lab, relate to real-life better
- Disadvantages
- extraneous variables are more likely in a natural experiment
- ethics - participants who didn't agree to take part might experience distress (deception/lack of informed consent)
- Natural experiments
- measures variables that aren't directly manipulated by the experimenter
- Disadvantages
- can't control extraneous variables which may affect behaviour
- ethics - can only conduct observations where people may be expecting it
- limits the possible situations that a natural experiment could be used
- Advantages
- ethical - it's possible to study variables that would be unethical to manipulate e.g. victims of abuse (Genie)
- high ecological validity
- Laboratory experiments
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