Experiments(types+design)

• Laboratory experiments- defined by high level if control the researcher has over all the variables in the study, has standardised procedure
• Laboratory experiment strength:

  1. confidence in establishing cause and effect
  2. high internal validity
  3. easily replicable
• Laboratory experiment weakness:

  1. lacks ecological validity
  2. lacks mundane realism
  3. behaviour may be a demand characteristic
• Field experiment- defined by conduction the experiment in a naturalistic setting to try and avoid the artificial nature of labs
• Field experiment Strength:

  1. High external validity
  2. Has mundane realism
  3. Less likely to show demand characteristics
• Field experiment weakness:

  1. lacks control over external validity
  2. impossible to allocate random participants (less internal validity)
• Natural realism- Two levels of Independant variable occurs naturally and researcher only records it and changes Dependant variable
• Natural realism Strength:

  1. can research ethically difficult topics
  2. high external validity
• Natural realism Weakness:

  1. extraneous variables can be controlled
  2. can’t be replicated
  3. can’t prove cause and effect
• Quasi Experiments- participants cannot be randomly assigned between levels of independant variables (often because the levels of independent variable is an innate characteristic of the participant)
• Quasi Experiments Strength:

  1. only way to study pre existing characteristics of a participant
• Quasi Experiments Weakness:

  1. confounding variables
• Repeated measures- when the same person is used in both conditioned and it produces related date
• Independent groups- different participants are used to complete each conditions of the experiments

  (randomly allocated participants and produces unrelated data)
• Matched Pairs- different participants complete each condition

  (participants are assessed and ranked based on they character, produce related data)