Lab Experiments

Question 1

What are lab experiments?

Answer 1

Lab experiments in sociology are controlled studies conducted in a laboratory setting where researchers manipulate variables to observe their effects on social behavior

Question 2

Who are lab experiments favoured by and why?

Answer 2

Positivists due to reliable nature and ability to measure behaviour quantitatively

Question 3

how are lab experiments reliable?

Answer 3

Lab experiments are reliable because they use controlled environments and standardized procedures, allowing the experiment to be repeated by other researchers and produce consistent results

Question 4

What are some practical issues using lab experiments?

Answer 4

• only studies small samples
• difficult to investigate large scale phenomena which reduces in its representativeness

Question 5

What are some ethical issues of using lab experiments?

Answer 5

Lack of informed consent — In Milgram’s obedience study (1963), participants were deceived and not fully informed about the true nature of the experiment, which caused emotional stress and raised ethical concerns.

Consent may be difficult to obtain from children who may not understand the nature nor purpose of the research

Question 6

How does the Hawthorne effect impact lab experiments in sociology?

Answer 6

The Hawthorne effect occurs when participants alter their behavior simply because they know they are being observed. In lab experiments, this can lead to unnatural behavior that does not reflect real-life social actions, reducing the validity of the findings. It makes it hard to tell whether the results are due to the experimental conditions or the participants trying to “please” the researcher or act differently because of the setting

Question 7

Lab experiments in the context of education, how does narrow focus affect research into education?

Answer 7

Lab experiments in education often isolate one or two variables, ignoring the broader social context (like class, teacher-student relationships, or school culture). This narrow focus can oversimplify complex educational processes and limit how useful the findings are in real-life school settings.

Question 8

What is a practical issue of using lab experiments in schools due to their large size?

Answer 8

Schools are large and diverse environments with many variables, such as varying teacher-student relationships, different class sizes, and school cultures. Lab experiments, with their controlled and simplified settings, struggle to replicate these complexities, making it difficult to generalize results to real classrooms. This limits the external validity of the research