All experimental methods involve an IV (independent variable) and DV (dependent variable)

• Lab Experiments are conducted in a well-controlled environment, not necessarily a laboratory, and therefore accurate and objective measurements are possible

  • The researcher decides where the experiment will take place, at what time, with which participants, and in what circumstances,  using a standardized procedure

• Field experiments are conducted in the everyday (natural) environment of the participants. The experimenter still manipulates the IV but in a real-life setting. It may be possible to control extraneous variables, though such control is more difficult than in a lab experiment

• Natural experiments are when a naturally occurring IV is investigated that isn’t deliberately manipulated, it exists anyway. Participants are not randomly allocated, and the natural event may only occur rarely