1. Which of the following statements is not true? [TY3.1]
2. A researcher conducts an experiment that tests the hypothesis that ‘anxiety has an adverse effect on students’ exam performance’. Which of the following statements is true? [TY3.2]
3. An experimenter conducts a study in which she wants to look at the effects of altitude on psychological well-being. To do this she randomly allocates people to two groups and takes one group up in a plane to a height of 1000 metres and leaves the other group in the airport terminal as a control group. When the plane is in the air she seeks to establish the psychological well-being of both groups. Which of the following is a potential confound, threatening the internal validity of the study? [TY3.3]
4. What distinguishes the experimental method from the quasi-experimental method? [TY3.4]
5. Which of the following is not an advantage of the survey/correlational method? [TY3.5]
6. Which of the following statements is true? [TY3.6]
7. An experimenter, Tom, conducts an experiment to see whether accuracy of responding and reaction time are affected by consumption of alcohol. To do this, Tom conducts a study in which students at university A react to pairs of symbols by saying ‘same’ or ‘different’ after consuming two glasses of water and students at university B react to pairs of symbols by saying ‘same’ or ‘different’ after consuming two glasses of wine. Tom predicts that reaction times will be slower and that there will be more errors in the responses of students who have consumed alcohol. Which of the following statements is not true? [TY3.7]
8. What is an extraneous variable? [TY3.8]
9. Which of the following statements is true? [TY3.9]
10. A piece of research that is conducted in a natural (non-artificial) setting is called: [TY3.10]
11. “Measures designed to gain insight into particular psychological states or processes that involve recording performance on particular activities or tasks.” What type of measures does this glossary entry describe?
12. “An approach to psychology that asserts that human behaviour can be understood in terms of directly observable relationships (in particular, between a stimulus and a response) without having to refer to underlying mental states.” Which approach to psychology is this a glossary definition of?
13. “The complete set of events, people or things that a researcher is interested in and from which any sample is taken.” What does this glossary entry define?
14. “Either the process of reaching conclusions about the effect of one variable on another, or the outcome of such a process.” What does this glossary entry define?
15. “The extent to which the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable has been correctly interpreted.” Which construct is this a glossary definition of?
-The most customary experiment consists of three main parts:
Independent and Dependent Variables
Pretesting and Post-testing
Subjects tend to undergo behavioral changes as a result of participating in an experiment. Examples of such changes include:
Experimental and Control Groups
(Insert graph pg 234)
The Double-Blind Experiment
Probability Sampling
Randomization- a process for selecting people to be in a control or experimental group. Randomization is preferable because it limits the potential bias (systemic error) in the experiment, as it provides an equal likelihood that "good" and "poor" performers will be in the experimental group. However, there is still a chance that more of one category may end up in a given group. The best way to overcome this is a large sample size; hence, randomization is ideal when the population is very big.
-there are several ways of randomly selecting people for a control or experimental group; for example:
Matching
Matching or Randomization?
Randomization over Matching
Combining Randomization and Matching
Pre-experimental Research Designs
Sources of Internal Invalidity Internal Invalidity- explains that there is a possibility that conclusions gathered from experimental results may not precisely represent the occurrences in the experiment.
Sources of External Invalidity External Invalidity- explains the possibility that conclusions gathered from results may be a "generalization about the real world."
Validity Internal validity – the ability to eliminate alternative explanations of the treatment effect - a combination of validity and reliability issues - represents the possibility that the results of an experiment do not accurately reflect what occurred in the experiment - classical experiments tend to eliminate all internal validity External validity - the ability to generalize experimental findings to events and settings outside the experiment itself - results of the experiment may not translate to the real world Web-Based Experiments
Reasons: -cheaper -less time consumingNatural Experiments
Weaknesses ex. what happens in the experiment may not take place in the real world.Strengths ex. the independent and dependent variable are isolated from one another in study. This makes changes easy to spot and conclusions to be drawn.
Avoid biased Items An issue with prejudice is the lack of a correct definition. Given different circumstances, how prejudice is defined can be derived. Concerning questionnaires, bias is defined by the property of the question in-which encourages the respondent to answer in a particular way. Ex. "Don't you agree with the CEO of Apple..." would manipulate the question by promoting agreement with Apple's CEO. This bias usually would increase support in this situation, yet at the cost corrupting the results. An example of this would be: More support vs Less support "Halting rising crime rate" vs "Law enforcement"; "Dealing with drug addiction" vs "Drug rehabilitation"; "Scholarly financial support" vs "Financial aid" Furthering biasism, the social desirability regards questions and answers. In this case, people are more prone to respond with an answer that will make them look good. This can deter a participants revealing their true thoughts, especially when being questioned face-to-face. To counter this problem, a questioner should deter from asking inquires that makes the questioner feel embarrassment, inhumane, perverted, stupid, or socially disadvantaged. The asking of hypothetical situations can also elicit biased responses due to the respondent answering a question that has no direct consequence on his/her being. The use of proper or specific names has also shown biases, with more positive valued names directed to men than woman. Experiments involve taking action and then observing the consequences of that action. Experiments seek to answer the question: how do subjects change as a result of the experimental treatment? They fundamentally address causality; however, establishing causality in experiments is not necessarily an easy process. Experiments are infrequently used in sociology. Within the social sciences, they are more often used in social psychology. They are frequently used in the natural sciences and medicine. Experiments are typically well-suited for projects that involve limited and well-defined concepts and propositions. They are better suited for explanatory purposes rather than descriptive ones. The classical experiment design serves as the foundation for all modern experiments. Major components of this method include independent and dependent variables, pre-testing and post-testing, and experimental and control groups. Validity issues in experimental research - Internal validity refers to the possibility that the conclusions drawn from experiment results may not accurately reflect what went on in the experiment itself. External validity refers to the possibility that conclusions drawn from experimental results may not be generalizable to the "real" world.
- Basis for all modern experiments - Major components of classical experiment
In social research, experiments are a mode of scientific observation. Experiments involve taking action and observing the consequence of that action. Experiments are more appropriate for some topics and research purpose than others. Experiments are especially well suited to research projects involving relatively limited and well defined concepts and propositions. Because experiments focus on determining causation, they are also better suited to explanatory than to descriptive purposes. The most conventional type of experiment involves three major pairs of components: independent and dependent variables, pretesting and posttesting, and experimental and control groups. An experiment examines the effects of independent variable on a dependent variable. The independent variable takes the form of an experimental stimulus which is either present or absent. The experimenter compares what happens when the stimulus is present to what happens when it is not. To be used in an experiment, both independent and dependent variables must be operationally defined and they must be operationally defined before the experiment begins. In experimental design subjects are measured in terms of a dependent variable which is called pretesting, exposed to a stimulus representing an independent variable, and then remeasured in terms of the dependent variable which is called posttesting. Any difference between the first and last measurements on the dependent variable are then attributed to the independent variable. Experimental group is a group of subjects to whom an experimental stimulus is administered in experimentation. Control group is a group of subjects to whom no experimental stimulus is administered and who should resemble the experimental group in all other respects in experimentation. The comparison of the control group and the experimental group at the end of the experiment points to the effect of the experimental stimulus. Pre-testing: the measurement of a dependent variable along subjects Post-testing: the measurement of a dependent variable among subjects after they have been exposed to an independent variable.
Hawthorne Effect:subjects perform better when in an experiment Demand Characteristics:subjects try to give the answer they think is correct Placebo Effect: subjects respond to the belief that they are receiving a drug Experimental group:a group of subjects to whom the experimental stimulus is administered Control group:a group of subjects to whom no experimental stimulus is administered but who should resemble the experimental group in all other respects The Double-Blind Experiment:an experimental design in which neither the subjects nor the experimenters know which is the experimental and which is the control group Selecting Subjects:
Variations on Experimental Design
Validity in Experimental Design
Strengths of Experimental Method:
Weaknesses of Experimental Method:
Ethics and Experiments As with other methods for conducting social research, there are ethical considerations to take into account when creating and carrying out an experiment. 1) Deception should only be used if it is necessary for the purposes of the research; that is, it must be confirmed that there is no way of getting around the use of deception. Additionally, deception should only be used when the potential benefits of the research outweigh the risks of deceiving subjects. Using deception is considered an ethical violation, so its use must essential, and the research in which it is used must have the potential for valuable, implicative findings. 2) If it is necessary that the experiment is intrusive in some way in the participants' lives, considerations should be made so that they will not be physically or psychologically damaged. The potential value should, again, outweigh the possible risks of such intrusion in experiments. |