topic 3- experiments

what are the different types of experiments

lab, field and comparative

what are experiments for

observing cause and effect relationships

whats a lab experiment like

carried out in controlled, artificial environment

what is a field experiment like

in a natural setting but still manipulating variables

what is the comparative method

‘thought experiment’ that compares two social groups that are similar except from one variable and compares if the difference has any effect

what happens in lab experiments

researchers try to isolate the influence of variables

how many groups do lab experiments have

two- experimental group and control group

what are the possible variables of lab experiments

age, gender, temperature, lighting

what is an independent variable

the thing that’s changed

what is a controlled variable

things the researcher has control over

what is a dependant variable

the thing thats measured

whats an extraneous variable

variable that the researcher has no control over

what do positivists think about lab experiments

favour them as they achieve numerical data but recognise they may not be representitive and often unethical or impossible

what do interpretivists think about lab experiments

dont like them as they are artificial and produce unnatural behaviour and dont take into account feelings and emotions

who did the obedience lab experiment

stanley milgram

what was the milgram obedience study

40 males were tested to see if they would inflict pain on someone because they’re being instructed to by an authority figure

what were the results of the milgram obedience study

65% of participants inflicted lots of pain despite the patients screams

some disadvantages of milgrams obedience study

unethical, hawthorne effect meaning not valid, doesn’t take into account participants reasons

advantages of milgrams obedience study

reliable as it can be copied, produces numerical data that can be compared

where can field experiments take place

school, work ect.

why isn’t hawthorne effect a problem in field experiments

participants often aren’t aware they’re being watched

what is done in field experiments

researchers manipulates variables to see the effect on the subjects

example of a field experiment

rosenthal and jacobson spurters study

disadvantages of rosenthan and jacobsonn spurters study

lack of informed consent, unethical, reliability issues as different schools will produce different outcomes

advantages of rosenthan and jacobsonn spurters study

reliable, was repeated 242 times in 5 years, no hawthorne effect

how are comparative method studies carried out

theoretically by comparing two similar groups with one difference and seeing if the difference has effect

what are the 3 advantages of comp. method experiments over lab experiments

not artificial, can be used to study past events, no ethical problems

who did the suicide study

durkheim

how did durkheim do his suicide study and what did he find

compared official statistics between various societies and identified what was apparent in one society and not the other may have been the reason for suicide and found suicide was due to society not the individual

limitations of durkheims suicide study

validity of groups similarities is subjective, reliability as a different researcher may come to a different conclusion

advantages of durkheims suicide study

practical, ethical, reliable as other researchers may get same results, valid as no hawthorne effect, representative

who did the student photo lab experiment

harvey and slatin

what did harvey and slatins pupil photo experiment find

teachers label due to social class and rate lower class looking children less favourably

who did the teacher expectations lab experiment

charkin et al

what did charkin et al find

teachers who were told the student has a low IQ and bad attitude gave less eye contact and less encouragement than those told he was intelligent

rosenthall and jacobson

used field experiments on academic spurters strudy in schools

rosenhan

used field experiments to study how nurses and doctors in mental hospitals treated ‘schizophrenic’ patients

milgram

used lab experiments in his obedience study to test americans response to police instructionb

harvey and slatin

used lab experiments to see if teachers had preconceived ideas about pupils of different classes