Experiments
Cards (12)
- Field:
- Research takes place in a natural setting but the researcher is manipulating the variables
- Strengths of field:
- External validity compared to lab experiments
- Large scale reliability
- Can establish cause and effect
- Limitations of field:
- Impractical for some situations
- Not all variables can be controlled
- Experimental effect
- Access problems
- Can have deception + harm
- Example studies of field:
- Rosenthal and Jacobson - Pygmalion in the classroom
- Bandura - social learning through imitation
- Rosenthal + Jacobson - Pygmalion in the classroom :
- Teacher expectations influence pupil performance
- Pygmalion effect = positive expectations influence performance positively
- Laboratory :
- Research takes place in an artificial setting + the variables are manipulated by the researcher
- Strengths of laboratory:
- High reliability
- Can establish cause + effect
- Informed consent is gained
- Easy to analyse the data
- Limitations of laboratory:
- Artificial environment
- Small sample size
- Impractical for some situations
- Not all variables can be controlled
- Example studies of laboratory:
- Milgram - study of obedience
- Harvey + Slatin - teacher expectations + social class
- Charkin - teacher labelling
- Charkin - teacher labelling:
- conducted research with a sample of 48 university studetns who each taught a lesson to a 10 year old boy
- 1 third told boy = intelligent
- 1 third = low IQ
- 1 third = told nothing
- found that those in the high expectancy group made more eye contact + used more encouraging body language than the low expectancy group
- Harvey + Slatin - teacher expectations + social class:
- Lower class = objects of negative teacher expectations
- Teacher evaluations significantly related to perceived student socioeconomic status
- Milgram - study of obedience :
- Obedience measured by the level of shock the participants were willing to deliver
- While many became agitated, distraught and angry they continued to follow orders till the end