Experimental design in Psychology Design Advantages Disadvantages

Experimental design refers to how participants are exposed to the IV, and to whether they undergo all conditions or levels of the IV, or just one. Fewer Ps are needed than for an independent groups design (as all Ps undergo all conditions rather than needing 2 or 3 different groups for the various levels of the IV) There are fewer participant variables between groups than there are with an independent groups design Order effects can occur in which what Ps have done in one condition helps or hinder them in a subsequent one (eg. learning, practice, boredom, fatigue, confusion) Researchers need to allow a gap between conditions which can mean that Ps drop out, or time of testing becomes a confound

Repeated measures = when all participants are exposed to all levels of the IV

Independent groups = when more than one group is used, and each group is exposed to a different level of the IV

There are fewer order effects (learning, practice, boredom, fatigue, confusion) as different groups are undergoing different conditions and so are doing less than they would in a repeated measures design There is no need to leave a gap between conditions as there are different Ps for the different conditions Researchers can use the same materials for all the groups

Participant variables may act as confounds as people with certain characteristics may all end up in one group (eg. dyslexia, sight problems, ADHD, high IQ) Researchers need to recruit more Ps than in a repeated measures design, twice as many if there are two levels of the IV, three times as many if there are three levels of the IV.

Matched pairs = is an independent groups design when participants are matched on specific variables (eg. IQ, reading ability, genes).

Some participant variables are controlled via the matching of key variables; for example, with MZ twins this means that the role of genes can be studied in relation to that of environmental factors As with independent groups, there are fewer order effects

It is time-consuming to match Ps on variables as it may be hard to find people who match who are willing to participate If one part of the pair withdraws from the study, this means that that whole pair is lost

Nafesa Mumtaz 2012

Nafesa Mumtaz 2012