Experimental Designs in Psychology

Independent Measures Design

An experimental design in which a different group of participants is used for each level of the independent variable (IV).

Repeated Measures Design

An experimental design in which each participant performs in every level of the independent variable (IV) condition.

Match pairs

An experimental situation where participants are arranged in pairs, with one person in each pair performing a different level of the independent variable (IV) condition.

Demand Characteristics

Features of the experimental design that give away the aim of the study.

Participant Variables

Individual differences between participants in a study that could impact behavior and hide or exaggerate differences in the independent variable (IV) condition.

Order Effects

Practice and fatigue that take place when participating in an experiment multiple times.

Controls

Ways to keep potential confounding variables constant so that they do not impact the study.

Standardization

Keeping the procedure for each participant in a study exactly the same to ensure that any differences that occur are due to the investigated variable.

Reliability

The extent to which a study is consistent.

Validity

The extent to which the researcher is testing what they claim to be testing.

Informed Consent

Knowing enough about a study to know if you want to participate or not.

Right to Withdraw

Participants should know they can remove themselves and their data from the study at any time.

Protection From Harm

Participants should not be exposed to any greater physical or psychological harm than they would expect in their day-to-day life.

Deception

Participants should not be deliberately misinformed about the aim or procedure of the study.

Privacy

Participants' emotions and physical space should not be invaded.

Confidentiality

Participants' results and personal information should be kept and not released to anyone outside the study.