Field experiment

Evaluation

A field experiment has two features that distinguish if from a laboratory experiment: 1) It takes place in the subject's natural surroundings rather than in an artificial laboratory environment.2) Those involved are generally not aware that they are the subjects of an experiment, in which case there is no Hawthorne effect. Evaluation: Rosenhans's study shows the value of field experiments. They are more ‘natural’, valid, and realistic, and they avoid the artificiality of laboratory experiments. The more realistic we make the situation, the less control we have over the variables that might be operating if so, we cannot be certain that the causes we have identified are the correct ones.