year 1 summary

experimental method

aim - general statement describing purpose of investigation

hypothesis - statement stating the relationship between variables

directional - states a clear difference anticipated between two conditions/groups (used when there’s previous research)

non-directional - states an unspecified difference (used when there’s no previous research)

null - states there is no difference

independent variable - what is changed/manipulated

dependent variable - experiences effect of changing IV

operationalising - making a variable measurable (must be in hypothesis)

variables

extraneous variables - other variables that may interfere with the IV (should be controlled/removed)

confounding variables - other variables that may interfere with the IV and can’t be controlled

demand characteristics - cues from the researcher or experiment that may reveal the purpose (change behaviour accordingly)

investigator effects - unwanted influence that the investigator has on the research outcome (control using randomisation)

standardation - list of exact study procedure so that non-standardised changes don’t act as the extraneous variable

experimental design

IG - two separate groups of participants (often if there are diff levels of IV) (no order effects/ demand characteristics)

RM - same groups experience both conditions (no confounding variables)

MP - participants of each condition paired together based on chosen variables (controls confounding variables)

counterbalancing (used in RM) - diff participants have a switched order of conditions

types of experiment

lab - high controlled environment

strength - controls EV, can replicate study

limitation - low external validity, demand characteristics