Psychological Experimental Methods

Experimental Methods

Laboratory

This method of experimentation is described as the most scientifically used since it allows the researcher full control of the environment while focusing on the independent variable and its effect on the dependant variable. These types of experiments are easily replicated since they involve simple standardized procedures that can be carried out by all researchers. In regards to ethical considerations, the laboratory is a safe environment where the participants have given their informed consent. This means that they are aware that they are participating in a study and understand that they are allowed to discontinue their contribution when they would like. But, there are also a few disadvantages to using a laboratory: more demand characteristics- it is an artificial environment where subjects may act unnaturally in an attempt to prove the researcher's hypothesis. Also, it lacks ecological validity- most experiments conducted in laboratories are often unusual and ask people to perform tasks that they would not normally have to in everyday life.

5/10

Field

Field experiments are quite similar to laboratory experiments except that they are carried out in a natural environment. This method has less demand characteristics because since the subjects are in their own environment, they are more likely to give honest opinions and behave normally. There is little chance of the participants learning the nature of the study. Also, it is more ecologically valid because in a natural setting it is likely that the results will generalize from the experiment to real life. However, these points can be seen as unethical. According to the American Psychological Association's code of ethics, all participants in a study must give informed consent before partaking in the experiment. Also, Field experiments have relatively low reliability compared to laboratory experiments because they are hard to replicate due to a lack of control over variables. Extraneous variables may occur in a natural setting and may affect the findings of the experiment leading to inconsistent results and therefore low reliability.

7/10

Natural

In these experiments, the independent variable is affected by exterior, natural variables meaning that there is no control over the independent variable. It has great ecological validity because any changes that occur are 'natural'. The answers are entirely honest and behavior is normal. However, it is almost impossible to replicate the studies in a natural environment as there is no real control over the situation. In the case of ethics, there is no informed consent from the subjects.

4/10

Observation

Naturalistic

This mode of observation has very high ecological validity because the observed behavior is spontaneous and occurs in the subject's natural environment. There are few ethical violations since there is no deception involved and if there are several observers, they can compare results to increase the reliability of the study. It can also be used to validate the