Experiments: Types & Design (College Board AP® Psychology): Flashcards
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- FrontTypes of Experiment
Define laboratory experiment.
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Define laboratory experiment.
A laboratory experiment is an experimental method where the researcher systematically changes the IV and measures its effect on the DV under highly controlled conditions.
What is a key strength of a laboratory experiment?
The use of tight controls and objective measurement makes it easier to establish a cause-and-effect relationship, giving lab experiments high internal validity.
What is one limitation of a laboratory experiment?
Lab tasks are artificial and the setting is unfamiliar, which makes it harder to generalize findings to real-world behavior and lowers ecological validity.
Define field experiment.
A field experiment is an experimental method conducted in a natural, real-world setting rather than in a lab.
True or False?
In a field experiment, the researcher still controls the IV, which distinguishes it from a naturalistic observation.
True.
The researcher actively changes the IV and measures its effect on the DV, even though the study takes place in a real-world environment; a naturalistic observation involves no such change.
What is a key strength of a field experiment?
Behavior is observed in a real-world setting, so participants are more likely to behave naturally, which gives field experiments higher ecological validity.
Define natural experiment.
A natural experiment is a non-experimental method in which the researcher measures a DV while the IV occurs naturally, without any intervention from the researcher.
Why might researchers choose a natural experiment over a lab experiment?
Natural experiments allow researchers to study phenomena that would be unethical to impose on participants (e.g., living through a natural disaster or developing a mental illness).
Define quasi-experiment.
A quasi-experiment is a non-experimental method in which the IV is a pre-existing participant characteristic (e.g., age, gender, experience) rather than something imposed by the researcher.
True or False?
Natural and quasi-experiments are classified as true experiments because they still have an IV and a DV.
False.
They are non-experimental methods because the IV is not under the researcher's control, and participants cannot be randomly assigned to conditions, so cause-and-effect conclusions cannot be drawn.
What is a key strength of a quasi-experiment?
Because the IV reflects a real participant characteristic rather than an artificial condition, the findings tend to have higher external validity and generalize more easily to real-world populations.
In a quasi-experiment, the researcher does not __________________ the IV.
In a quasi-experiment, the researcher does not manipulate the IV.
Define independent groups design.
An independent groups design uses two separate groups of participants, where each group experiences only one condition of the IV.
What is a key strength of an independent groups design?
Because each participant completes only one condition of the IV, they cannot become tired, bored or over-practiced, which eliminates order effects.
What is one limitation of an independent groups design?
Pre-existing differences between the two groups (participant variables) may unevenly favor one condition, so results may not purely reflect the IV's effect on the DV.
Define repeated measures design.
A repeated measures design is one in which the same participants experience all conditions of the IV, so each person's score in one condition is compared with their own score in another.
True or False?
In a repeated measures design, each participant acts as their own control, so individual differences are held constant.
True.
Because the same person completes both conditions, participant variables are held constant and any difference in scores can be attributed to the IV.
What are three types of order effect?
Order effects include fatigue (becoming tired), boredom (losing interest) and practice (performance improving with familiarity across conditions).
How does counterbalancing control for order effects?
Half of the participants complete condition A first then B, while the other half complete condition B first then A, so order effects are distributed evenly across both conditions.
Define matched pairs design.
A matched pairs design pairs participants on a characteristic relevant to the study (e.g., age, IQ), with each member of the pair then placed into a different condition of the IV.
True or False?
In a matched pairs design, each participant completes both conditions of the IV.
False.
In a matched pairs design, each matched partner completes a different condition; it is only in a repeated measures design that each participant completes all conditions.
How does matching control for participant variables?
Matching participants on relevant characteristics ensures that each condition contains a similar spread of people, so differences in the DV are more likely to reflect the IV rather than individual differences.
Why are identical (monozygotic) twins considered an ideal matched pair?
Identical twins share the same DNA and typically the same upbringing, so they represent an ideal match on genetic and environmental variables between the two conditions.
In an independent groups design, participants are ____________ assigned to each condition of the IV.
In an independent groups design, participants are randomly assigned to each condition of the IV.
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