topic 24 - field and natural experiment

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A-Level Psychology A2 (RESEARCH METHODS) Flashcards on topic 24 - field and natural experiment, created by Charlotte Hewson on 21/04/2015.
Charlotte Hewson
Flashcards by Charlotte Hewson, updated more than 1 year ago
Charlotte Hewson
Created by Charlotte Hewson over 9 years ago
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Question Answer
what are the three types of experiment? -lab -field -natural
what makes this similar to a lab experiment? experimenter directly controls IV and observes its effects on the DV
what makes it different to a lab experiment? DV is assessed in an environment that is more like every day life therefore less likely to be controlled
what happens in a natural experiment? IV isn't manipulated. DV can be tested in a lab.
why are these necessary? to avoid ethical issues such as whether someone is adopted
what are two strengths of a field experiment? -conducted in a more every day environment -participants are often unaware
why does it help to be conducted in an everyday environment? greater ecological validity so can be applied better
why does it help for participants to be unaware? increases mundane realism as participants aren't effected by experimenter effects, so behave more naturally
what are two limitations of field experiments? -less control of extraneous variables -more ethical issues
what does less control of extraneous variables lead to? reduced internal validity as changes in the DV may not be caused by changes in the IV
why are there more ethical issues? usually, participants aren't asked for informed consent beforehand so they often cant be debriefed afterwards
what are two strengths of natural experiments? -allows research to be carried out where IV cant be manipulated for ethical or practical reasons -enables psychologists to study 'real' problems
why is it good to be able to do this research? allows us to study aspects of behaviour that couldn't usually be studied
what is an example of studying 'real' problems? the effects of a disaster on health. this increases ecological validity of the approach
what are two limitations of a natural experiment? -IV isn't directly manipulated by experimenter -less control of extraneous variables
why is it bad to have no control over the IV? cant claim IV has CAUSED a change in the DV, only that there is a CORRELATION
what does lack of control over Extraneous variables lead to? low internal validity
what makes results reliable? -if we repeat them under the exact same conditions and get the same results
what is internal validity? the degree to which an observed effect was due to experimental manipulation rather than extraneous variables
what is external/ecological validity? the extent to which research can be applied to the real environment. an experiment with high mundane realism means it can be applied to everyday life
what is mundane realism? an experiment with high mundane realism means it can be applied to everyday life
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