Experimental Research Strategy

 Intended to answer cause-and-effect questions about the relationship between two

variables

 If the two groups differ only on the one variable, then the variable may be considered to
be the cause of the difference

Cause and Effect Relationships

4 elements*

1. Manipulation
 Researcher manipulated one variable to create a set of 2 or more Tx conditions

Purposes:

 To allow researchers to determine the direction of a relationship

 Manipulate A

 Observe what happens to B

 Manipulation of A causes changes in B = conclude that A caused B

 To allow researcher to command one of the variables

2. Measurement
 Second variable is measured for a group of participants to obtain a set of scores in each
Tx condition
3. Comparison
 Scores in two conditions are compared
 Consistent differences between Txs = evidence that manipulation was the cause of
difference in scores
4. Control
 All other variables are controlled to be sure they do not influence the variables being
examined
Terminology

 Independent variable (IV)

 The variable manipulated by the experimenter

 Treatment condition (TC)

 A situation or environment characterized by one specific value of the manipulated

variable

 Experiment contains 2 or more TCs that differ according to the values of the IV

 Different values of IV can be selected to create different TCs = levels of IV

 Dependent variable (DV)

 A variable observed for changes in order to assess the effect of manipulating the IV

Causation & the Directionality Problem

 When cause-and-effect is demonstrated, you still may not know which is the cause and which is
the effect

E.g. successful executives tend to be more assertive than less successful executives

 Assertive people who enter these careers will tend to be successful

 Assertiveness causes success

OR

 Executive positions require people to become assertive

 people who persist and are successful tend to become assertive

 success causes assertiveness

Remember: Distinguishing Elements of an Experiment

It is possible for two variables to be related but one does not Goal:
cause the other
To establish a cause-and-effect relationship between 2
 A could cause B variables
 B could cause A
Additional goals:
 Both A and B could be caused by a
third variable Show that changes in one variable cause changes in the
other variable

Rule out possibility that the changes are caused by some

other variable
Manipulation & the Directionality Problem

Manipulation helps researchers control the influence of outside variables

Control and the Third Variable Problem

 Confounding variable

 An extraneous variable that changes systematically along with the variables being
studied

 Provides an alternative explanation for the observed relationship between the two
variables

In a true experiment…

 Experimenter wants to rule out any other explanations for the observed changes in the
DV

 Want to ensure that it was not a third confounding variable that caused the change

Dealing with Extraneous Variables

 Types of extraneous variables

 Environmental variables

 Participant variables

 Time-related variables

Control

 Researcher tries to prevent extraneous variables from becoming confounding variables

a) Holding a Variable Constant

E.g. test all individuals…

  In the same room
 At the same time of day
 By the same researcher

Disadvantages

 Requires extra effort

 Can reduce external validity

b) Randomization

Random Assignment (a.k.a. random allocation)

 Assignment process that gives each subject an equal and independent chance of being
placed in any of the groups (EG or CG)
 Reduces likelihood confounding of subject variables with IV

Advantage: can control wide variety of extraneous variables simultaneously

Disadvantage: not guaranteed to be successful

c) Matching

Procedure that ensures that both groups are equated on one or more variables before the
experiment

Match up pairs that are similar on a variable and then randomly assign each to a group

Disadvantages

 Requires extra effort

 Can reduce external validity

Control Groups

 Experimental Group

 The Tx condition

 Control group

 The group that receives no Tx or placebo Tx

 Types: No-treatment control group and Placebo control group

 No-treatment control group

o A Tx condition in which the participants do not receive the Tx being evaluated
o Provides a standard of normal behaviour – a baseline to compare the Tx condition to
o Creates a “full amount” Tx group and a “zero amount” Tx group

 Placebo Control Group

o Participants receive a placebo instead of the real Tx
 o Used to separate out “real” effects from those that come from expectation
o May choose to add a 3rd, no-treatment group to evaluate the magnitude of the placebo
effect

Manipulation Checks

An additional measure to…

 assess how participants perceived and interpreted the manipulation

 assess the direct effect of the manipulation

2 ways to check:

 Use an explicit measure of the IV

 Embed specific questions about the manipulation in a questionnaire that participants

complete after their participation in the experiment

 Important in 4 situations:

1. Participant manipulations
2. Subtle manipulations
3. Simulations
4. Placebo controls

Simulation

 The creation of conditions within an experiment that simulate or closely duplicate the
natural environment being examined

 E.g. flight simulators, Stanford prison experiment

 Mundane realism

 The extent to which the superficial (usually physical)

characteristics of the research environment duplicate the
real-world environment that is being simulated
 Experimental realism
 The extent to which the psychological aspects of the
research environment duplicate the real-world
environment that is being simulated
Simulation & Field Study Pros & Cons
 Advantages
Allow researchers to examine
behaviour in more lifelike situations =
increased chances that results reflect
real events

Field Study  Disadvantages

 An experiment conducted in a place that the Allowing nature to intrude decreases

participant/subject perceives as a natural environment control (especially in field
experiments)
 Taking the experiment into the field
 E.g. staging flat tire to measure helping behaviour, placing litter on the ground to
measure littering behaviour