Reasearch methods- chapter 3 field experiments

Field experiments

Experiments taking place within society rather than artificial laboratory setting

The pseudo patient experiment

8 sociologists, presented hearing voices and were checked into a mental institution, after they were checked in they didn’t complain of hearing voices but were still treated as though mentally ill, they tested the hypothesis that being negatively labelled defines a person

Positives of Pseudo Patient experiment

Natural surroundings allow external validity, genuine participant behaviours as they were unaware, forming true cause and effect

Negative of Pseudo Patient

Less able to control variables than laboratory experiments

Ethical Issues- by pretending they denied access to someone who may really need help

Field experiments are less predictable- researchers had trouble getting out

Rosenthal and Jacobson

Teachers were tricked into thinking the class was given an iq test, scores were randomly assigned to students who were unaware of the experiment, the power of positive expectations meant that the people who the teachers were told would do the best, did

Positives of Rosenthal and Jacobson

A great example of how cause and effect can be established using variables

Good reliability- repeatable experiment

Negatives of Rosenthal and Jacobson

Ethically flawed- experimenting on children, this study may have caused long term disruption to a child’s education

Lying and deceiving students and teachers

Time consuming, took place over a year

Field experiments often have gatekeepers preventing the study from taking place