Experiments: Lab & Field

Question 1

Define an ‘independent variable’.

Answer 1

A variable that the researcher changes.

Question 2

Define a ‘dependent variable’.

Answer 2

A variable that changes due to the independent variable and the one that the researcher measures.

Question 3

Define an ‘extraneous variable’.

Answer 3

A variable that the research doesn’t include or that can’t be controlled.

Question 4

Describe a lab experiment using 4 points.

Answer 4

1) Controlled conditions
2) Control over IV and DV
3) Unnatural setting to ppt
4) Attempt to discover cause and effect

Question 5

Describe a field experiment using 3 points.

Answer 5

1) Conducted in a natural setting
2) Less control over variables
3) EVs can affect results and interfere with cause and effect

Question 6

Give 3 strengths of lab experiments as a research method.

Answer 6

1) Variables can be controlled to establish cause and effect
2) Can be easily replicated due to controlled conditions
3) High in reliability due to being replicable

Question 7

Give 3 weaknesses of lab experiments as a research method.

Answer 7

1) People may not behave naturally due to unnatural environment
2) Ethical problems are inevitable
3) Mostly dependent on volunteers who are a certain type of person

Question 8

Give 3 strengths of field experiments as a research method.

Answer 8

1) More natural to the ppt and so they will behave more naturally
2) Certain variables can still be controlled
3) Higher levels of ecological validity and so less chance of demand characteristics

Question 9

Give 3 weaknesses of field experiments as a research method.

Answer 9

1) Higher chance of EVs influencing experiment
2) Higher chance of the ‘Hawthorne Effect’ in which ppts may change their behaviour when they know they’re being watched
3) Low reliability due to being harder to replicate

Question 10

Give 3 reasons why sociologists may not use experimental methods.

Answer 10

1) Representativeness - most experiments are small scale and are difficult to generalise to wider population
2) Practicality - it can cost a lot and take a lot of time to complete
3) Hawthorne Effect - people change their behaviour when they know they’re being watch and so wouldn’t represent real life natural behaviour

Question 11

Give 3 examples of lab experiments.

Answer 11

1) Milgram - Electric Shock experiment
2) Bandura - Bobo Doll experiment
3) Zimbardo - The Stanford Prison experiment

Question 12

Briefly describe Milgram’s experiment.

Answer 12

• Testing to see if it isn’t just German people who blindly follow authority
• The ‘teachers’ were told to read out a word list to the ‘learner’ (the confederate) who had to remember their pairs
• When the teacher read back the list the learner had to remember the word that matched what the teacher read out
• If the learner got it wrong the teacher had to administer an electric shock (65% of ppts went to 450V)

Question 13

Give 2 strengths of Milgram’s experiment.

Answer 13

1) No demand characteristics due to being deceived of the true aim
2) Standardised procedure means can replicate the study

Question 14

Give 2 weaknesses of Milgram’s experiment.

Answer 14

1) Ethical issues of deception due to hiding aim of the study
2) Could experience Hawthorne Effect due to ppts being watched by the experimenter

Question 15

Briefly describe Bandura’s experiment.

Answer 15

• Testing to see if social behaviours such as aggression can be acquired through observation
• One group of ppts saw an adult attacking a bobo doll in real life
• One group of ppts saw a video of an adult attacking a bobo doll
• One group of ppts saw cartoon characters attacking a bobo doll
• One group of ppts saw no violent acts at all
• Found ppts of the first 3 groups being violent towards the toys

Question 16

Give 2 strengths of Bandura’s experiment.

Answer 16

1) Followed a standardised procedure and so can be replicated
2) Controlled conditions means can establish cause and effect

Question 17

Give 2 weaknesses of Bandura’s experiment.

Answer 17

1) Vulnerable group of ppts were used (children) so right to withdraw compromised
2) Artificially creating aggression in children and could have just thought that the bobo doll was meant to be attacked

Question 18

Briefly describe Zimbardo’s experiment.

Answer 18

• Testing people’s willingness to commit cruelty in a prison environment
• Ppts randomly selected to play either ‘prisoners’ or ‘guards’
• Guards reinforced prison rules through physical violence
• Experiment was stopped after 2 weeks due to the violence getting too bad

Question 19

Give 2 strengths of Zimbardo’s experiment.

Answer 19

1) Controlled conditions allows for accurate replication of the same conditions
2) Standardised procedure allows for accurate replication

Question 20

Give 2 weaknesses of Zimbardo’s experiment.

Answer 20

1) Hard to establish cause and effect because ppts played their roles due to social expectation rather than revealing cruel nature
2) Protection from harm of the ppts was broken

Question 21

Give 2 examples of field experiments.

Answer 21

1) Rosenthal and Jacobsen - The Pygmalion Effect

2) Rosenhan - Being Sane in Insane Places

Question 22

Briefly describe Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s experiment.

Answer 22

• Tested how teachers respond to pupils with differing abilities
• Informed teachers that a randomly selected group of pupils were ‘intellectual bloomers’ whose performance would increase in the next year
• When they returned in the next year they found thsoe pupils’ improvement significantly higher than other pupils
• Led to the concentration on the self-fulfilling prophecy and labeling

Question 23

Give 2 strengths of Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s experiment.

Answer 23

1) Due to conditions being more life real life, the ppts behaved naturally
2) No demand characteristics from teachers or pupils due to not knowing the aim of the study or that they were in one

Question 24

Give 2 weaknesses of Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s experiment.

Answer 24

1) Ethical issues due to not gaining consent from any ppts

2) There were no control over EVs and so could have affected results

Question 25

Briefly describe Rosenhan’s experiment.

Answer 25

• Testing the validity of psychiatric diagnosis
• Ppts were asked to fake a mental illness to gain entry into a psychiatric facility
• They were then told to act ‘normally’ and ask to be released
• Staff diagnosed 41 patients with mental illness disorders but all were faking it
• Concluded that you can’t distinguish the sane from insane in psychiatric hospitals

Question 26

Give 2 strengths of Rosenhan’s experiment.

Answer 26

1) Maintained confidentiality of ppts

2) Those diagnosing ppts behaved naturally due to being unaware of the study

Question 27

Give 2 weaknesses of Rosenhan’s experiment.

Answer 27

1) Not a representative sample of only 12 psychiatric facilities
2) Hard to replicate due to lack of control of EVs

Question 28

Define the ‘Hawthorne Effect’.

Answer 28

When people who know they’re being watched change their behaviour.