What is a laboratory experiment?
An experiment in a highly controlled environment where the researcher manipulates the IV and measures the DV.
What is a field experiment?
An experiment in a natural setting where the researcher manipulates the IV and measures the DV.
What is a natural experiment?
An experiment where the IV changes naturally rather than being manipulated by the researcher.
What is a quasi-experiment?
A study where the IV is a pre-existing difference between participants, such as age or diagnosis.
What is the main strength of a laboratory experiment?
High control of extraneous variables, which can increase internal validity and support causal conclusions.
What is the main weakness of a laboratory experiment?
Artificial settings or tasks can reduce ecological validity and encourage demand characteristics.
What is the main strength of a field experiment?
Behaviour is often more natural, which can increase ecological validity.
Why are natural experiments useful?
They allow psychologists to study variables or events that would be impossible or unethical to manipulate directly.
Why are quasi-experiments vulnerable to confounding variables?
Pre-existing groups may differ in ways other than the quasi-IV, so alternative explanations remain possible.
Which experiment types are true experiments?
Laboratory and field experiments, because the researcher directly manipulates the IV.