Laboratory Experiment

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Laboratory Experiment

Advantages

  • Control - the effects of confounding variables are minimised
  • Replication - strict controls mean you can run the study again to check the findings
  • Causal relationships - ideally it's possible to establish whether one variable actually causes changes in another

Disadvantages

  • Artificial - experiments might not measure real-life behaviour (lack ecological validity)
  • Demand characteristics - participants may respond according to what they think is being investigated, which can bias the results
  • Ethics - deception is often used, making informed consent difficult

Evaluation

An experiment is a way of conducting research in a controlled wayThe aim is to control all relevant variables except for one key variable, which is altered to see what the effect is. The variable that you alter is called the independent variable. Laboratory experiments are conducted in an artificial setting 

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