RM : Experiments Flashcards
Name one example from Lab experiment . what is about?
Milligram’s obedience research
- researched how ordinary people would go in obeying on insinuation from an authority figure. (even it meant harming other people)
What were the process for Milgram’s obedience research?
what was the result for this ?
- Milgram lied to the participant about the experiment into ‘learning and memory’
- then made an role for the participants and the actors which:
- ‘learner’=actor on electric chair
- ‘experimenter’= actor (electric shock generator),
- ‘teacher’= participants
3.then made ‘teacher’ to teach some word pairs to learn to ‘learner’
- and if it makes mistakes, the teacher is generates electric shock to an learner.-> if they refused, they gave an order to continue
=> Results:
65% participants continued giving electric shock in highest volt.
Name two key “classic” studies that used Experiments in their research and give sociologist’s names as well.
- Milgram- (Lab experiment) Obedience
- Zimbardo- (Field experiment)- Sandford Prison Experiment
Name PET strengths in Milligram’s Obedience study
:)P: quick
:) E: benefit to society -showed that ordinary people are likely to follow authorities even it’s harming innocent human being .
:) T: valid-> due to deception, low risk of Hawthorne effect ,reliable (standardised process), detachment
Name PET limitations in Milligram’s Obedience study
:( P: Snapshot( only research in short time) , low relevance
:( E: deception, emotional harm on participants , lack of confidentiality
:( T: low ecological validity,(artificial setting) , lack of verstehen, low representativeness( small scale- 40 participants)
Name one example of field experiments ,what was about?
Zimbardo- Standford Prison experiments
- in 1971, phycologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues made an experiment that looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or prison guard .
what were the process for Zimbardo’s Sandford prison experiment? what was the results?
- he made an life size accurate prison cell under the Stanford university’s phycology building.
- 24 volunteers were randomly chosen to either be the prisoner group or the guard group
- prisoners stayed 24 hours but the guard were allowed to go home after their shifts were finished. (researcher observed them using hidden cameras and microphones)
4.the experiments ended after 5 days due to the risk of further emotional harm on participants . as the guard began to act aggressive toward prisoners .
what was the limitations for Zimbardo’s Sandford prison experiment?
Result:
after the experiment ,Zimbardo was criticized for influencing the results of the study as he was the ‘superintendent’ of the prison.
it has been argued that he asked how guards to act and act more aggressively.
PET strengths in Zimbardo’s -Stanford prison experiment
P: relevant to understanding the US prison system at the time
E: useful for society- greater understanding of social roles
T: detailed ,depth ,high verstehen, reliable
PET limitation in Zimbardo’s -Stanford prison experiment
P: time consuming (should’ve been 2 weeks)
E: emotional harm, confidentiality
T: Hawthorne effect, low validity, low representativeness
what are the two types of experiment? Define two.
- Laboratory experiment
- Field experiments
what is Laboratory experiment?
a research method which researchers create controllable environments to test hypotheses. lab experiments are used for academic research.
what is field experiments?
some experiments that take place outside of the laboratory in a subject’s natural environment.
what are the practical strengths of using lab experiments?
-Cost/time: can be done quite
quickly if facilities are
readily available and at little cost
what are the practical limitations of using lab experiments?
-control of variables :society is complex, can’t control all the variables
-snap shot: can only study one particular time so no historical dimension to the research.
-small sample: can only study issue that only affects small groups of people -limiting relevance
what are the ethical strengths of using lab experiments?
-Beneficial for society: can often provide outcomes that are useful for society to understand.
(e.g. Milgram’s study into obedience helped people to understand how individuals are influenced by authority figures)
-Debriefing : debriefing participants at the end of the study as it can lack some informed consent .
what are the ethical limitations of using lab experiments?
-informed consent: some people may not understand the nature of the experiment. So can’t provide informed consent( children, those with learning difficulties)
Can mislead people about the research
-Harm: experiments can cause distress or some physical and emotional harm . (Milgram’s electro shock research)
what are the theoretical strengths of using lab experiments?
-Reliability
-Objectivity
-Cause and effect relationships /correlations: Lab experiments are useful for discovering cause and effect relationships between independent and dependent relationships
what are the theoretical limitations of using lab experiments?
- Validity : researchers know they are part of the experiments . So this might cause Hawthorne effect.
-Ecological Validity : Experiments are conducted in artificial environments . So people will not react how they will normally react
-Representativeness: small scale and small sample size => cannot be generalised
what are the positivist’s Theoretical perspectives on using Lab experiments?
favour lab experiments as they allow causal laws through manipulation of an independent variables and the measuring of an effect on dependent variable. If the experiments is carried covertly, the behaviour being measured should be objective therefore , valid. The lab experiments can be replicated and can be repeated therefore , it’s reliable.
what are the interpretivist’s Theoretical perspectives on using Lab experiments?
believe lab experiments is not valid as they carried out in artificial environment and do not encourage natural behavior. They cannot reveal the interactions between people as it only produce snap shot. It doesn’t tell us why people react in certain ways .
what are the Feminist’s Theoretical perspectives on using Lab experiments?
believe that lab experiments create an un equal power relationship between the dominant researcher and the compliant participants . Historically often lab experiments happened between only males and ignoring female experience and issues that women will more likely to identify with.
what are the practical strengths of using field experiments?
-Access: you may be able to study
groups who would not grant access
in a controlled setting .
what are the practical limitations of suing field experiments?
- Access: having opportunistic sampling, may be a small number of participants in an area in given times ,takes longer
