Types of experiments
- Laboratory experiments
- Field experiments
- Comparative method
Hawthorne effect
- Demand characteristics
Free will
- Humans can decide their own actions through consciousness and choice and so cannot be studied through experiments
Practical advantages of laboratory experiments
- Funding bodies
- Personal characteristics
- Easy
Ethical strengths of laboratory experiments
- Informed consent
- Legality
- Benefits society
Theoretical strengths of laboratory experiments
- Reliability
Practical weaknesses of laboratory experiments
- Sample size
- Society as a complex issue
- Time
- Money
Ethical weaknesses of laboratory experiments
- Deception
- Harm
Theoretical weaknesses of laboratory experiments
- Validity
- Representativeness
Milgram
- Laboratory experiment
- Electric shock administration
Bandura
- Laboratory experiment
- Bobo Doll
Field experiments
- Positivists
- Natural environment = no Hawthorne effect
Practical strengths of field experiments
- Sample size
- Pre-existing setting
- Money
Ethical strengths of field experiments
- Confidentiality and privacy
- Not intrusive
Theoretical strengths of field experiments
- Validity (ecological)
- Representativeness
Practical weaknesses of field experiments
- Time
- Lack of control over variables
Ethical weaknesses of field experiments
- Consent
- Covert
Theoretical weaknesses of field experiments
- Reliability
Zimbardo
- Stanford prison experiment
The comparative method
- Identification two groups of people which are alike except for the variable they are interested in
- Compare the two groups to see if the difference has any effect
Practical strengths of the comparative method
- Money
- Time
Ethical strengths of the comparative method
- No ethical issues as people are not involved
Theoretical strengths of the comparative method
- Reliable
Practical weaknesses of the comparative method
- Access
- Language barriers
