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Experimental Psychology PSY 433: Experiments - Designs

This document discusses key concepts in experimental design, including: 1) The difference between systematic and random variables and how they can influence results. Systematic variables can introduce bias while random variables introduce noise. 2) How to control for confounding variables and the goal of controlling as many variables as possible to eliminate their potential effect on the dependent variable. 3) The definition and purpose of control groups, experimental groups, conceptual definitions, and operational definitions in experiments.

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89 views22 pages

Experimental Psychology PSY 433: Experiments - Designs

This document discusses key concepts in experimental design, including: 1) The difference between systematic and random variables and how they can influence results. Systematic variables can introduce bias while random variables introduce noise. 2) How to control for confounding variables and the goal of controlling as many variables as possible to eliminate their potential effect on the dependent variable. 3) The definition and purpose of control groups, experimental groups, conceptual definitions, and operational definitions in experiments.

Uploaded by

Fakiha8Khan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Experimental Psychology

PSY 433

Chapter 3
Experiments -- Designs
Two Kinds of Influence on DV
 Systematic – affects the DV in the same way
each time.
 Can introduce bias into results.
 When it occurs due to the manipulation of the
IV we call it an “effect.”
 Random – varies and thus affects the DV
differently from observation to observation.
 Can introduce “noise” into results.
 Typically makes it more difficult to observe
systematic influences.
Confounding Variable
 Any variable, besides the IV, that can
influence the DV.
 A potential cause for the experimental effect,
other than the IV.
 An alternative explanation for observed
findings in a study.
 Any variable whose values change
systematically across levels of the IV.
Control Variable
 A variable whose values remain the same
across levels of the IV (e.g., room temp, light
levels, time-of-day, etc).
 A goal in experimentation is to control as
many variables as possible, to eliminate their
potential effect on the DV.
 Eliminates both confounds and noise.
 Except for the IV, each subject should have
as closely similar an experience in the
experiment as possible.
Random Variable

 Variable whose values vary randomly in an


unbiased way across levels of the IV.
 Random variables are usually created by the
process of random assignment to levels in the
experiment.
Subject Variable
 A personal characteristic
 Sex, height, weight, age, education, ethnicity,
socio-economic status, etc.
 Sometimes called a “demographic” variable.
 Data describing subject characteristics should
be collected in every study.
 Can be controlled or left to vary
unsystematically (through random
assignment to levels).
Control Group
 The group that receives no intervention,
“zero” or “the absence of” the IV.
 Eg, the placebo group in a drug experiment.
 The group that serves as a baseline to
compare with the behavior of the
experimental groups.
Experimental Groups (Levels)

 The groups that receive non-zero values of


the IV, the groups receiving some
intervention.
 The drug groups in a drug study.
 Also called “levels” of the IV.
 The performances of these groups are
compared with the performance of the
control group.
Conceptual Definition
 Definition of a variable at the conceptual or
idea level.
 Tends not to be very precise, more general.
 May be expressed in terms of constructs
(intervening variables).
Operational Definition
 Specifies the operations or procedures
necessary to measure the variables
relevant to the conceptual definition.
 Very precise.
 Not general or vague at all.
 Tells how the dependent variable was
measured.
 There may be many operational definitions
(and DVs) for a single conceptual definition.
ODs and CDs - Example 1

 Conceptual - Amount of alcohol consumed


 Operational - # of beers in 1 hour (0,1,2,3)
 Operational - grams of alcohol/kg body weight
 Operational – blood alcohol content, BAC (mg
alcohol/deciliter blood).
ODs and CDs - Example 2

 Conceptual - Helping behavior


 Operational - # of people who help a “victim”
in a defined context.
 Operational - duration of helping behavior.
 Operational - # seconds before helping
occurs (latency).
Complex Designs

 More than one IV


 Left/Right and 1, 5, or 10 spaces from
center
 More efficient than single IV experiments
 Gives more information
 Allows analysis of main effects and
interactions.
Complex Designs - Terminology
 An IV is called a factor
 number of numbers = how many IVs there are
 values of numbers = how many levels each IV has

 Examples:
 “2 X 2 design” (two IVs, each with 2 levels)
 “2 X 3 design” (first IV has 2 levels, second IV has 3
levels)
 “2 X 8 design” (first IV has 2 levels, second IV has 8
levels)
 “2 X 2 X 4 design” (first IV has 2 levels, second IV
has 2 levels, third IV has 4 levels).
Main Effects

 There is one potential main effect for


each IV
 A 2 X 8 design has two possible main
effects
 A 2 X 2 X 4 has three possible main
effects
 A main effect is present if an IV had a
significant effect on the experiment’s
outcome (regardless of the effects of the
other IVs).
Interactions
 Please memorize: “An interaction occurs if
the effect of one IV varies depending on the
level of the other IV”
Designing Experiments
 Two general types of designs
 Between-subjects (independent groups) =
each group gets one level of the IV 
 Within-subjects (repeated measures) =
each subject gets all levels of the IV
 Equivalency of groups at each level is built-
in for within-subjects and achieved by
random assignment for between-subjects
 Within designs require fewer subjects
because there is less variability between
levels.
Order Effects
 Order effects (practice effects) =
experiencing one level affects behavior in
another level
 Effects of practice, boredom, fatigue
 Example: Does content (biology text vs.
novel) affect proofreading speed? Order is
Biology-Novel
 Order effects are controlled in within-
subjects designs by randomizing or
counterbalancing the presentation orders.
Differential Carryover Effects
 Carryover effects, differential/asymmetrical
transfer effects occur when experiencing
one level affects performance on the next.
 The effect of the first level on the second
level differs depending on which comes
first.
 Effect of B following A ≠ effect of A following
B
 Confound occurs when one level
consistently precedes the other.
Order Effects in Proofreading

Group 1 (no practice) (practice)


Biology Novel
1 2

Group 2 (no practice) (practice)


Novel Biology
1 2
Differential Carryover Effects in
Problem Solving
(no practice) (practice)
Group 1 Neutral Special
instructions instructions
1 2
(no practice) (practice)
Group 2 Special Neutral
instructions instructions
1 2
Other Considerations

 Mixed designs (some between, some


within)
 Small-n designs
 Matched groups designs
 Demand characteristics = cues that tell
subjects how they should behave (eg, drug
studies)
 Blind and double-blind procedures
 Internal and external validity
 Quasi experiments.

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