Field experiments

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Field experiments

Advantages

  • Higher ecological validity than laboratory experiments as behaviour occurs in its own natural environment.
  • Less bias from sampling (subjects do not have to be bought into the lab).
  • Lower demand characteristics (if subjects are unaware of being tested).

Disadvantages

  • Ethical problems of consent, deception, invasion of privacy, etc.
  • More difficult to replicate exactly as there are no controls.
  • Effect of extraneous variables.
  • More difficult to record data accurately.

Evaluation

Field experiments are more naturalistic than lab experiments and so may be more reflective of real life behaviour, giving them higher ecological validity. However, due to the lack of controls, field experiments are difficult to repeat or replicate and so they are more difficult to test for reliability.

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