HOW TO DO EXPERIMENTS

Psychology as a Science
Nature Of Scientific Research
Empirical
All scientific explanations must
experiments and observation
Rigorous
Based on good
methodology

theoretical

be

base

based

and

on

sound

Replicable
Same study can be re-tested in different condition
Objective
Conclusion derived from data BUT not personal opinion

Psychology as a Science
Objective Of Scientific Research
Describe
Describe a situation or phenomenon objectively
Explain
Investigate such situation based on description and provide
explanation
Predict
Based on research explanation, able to predict a likely
outcome
Control
Being able to control and manipulate situation based on
confirmed prediction

Variables
What is variables?
A variable is something that can be
changed, such as a characteristic or value.
Variables are generally used in psychology
experiments to determine if changes to one
thing result in changes to another.

Variables
Any characteristic that can assume multiple
values or can vary in participants.
hot
Temperatur
e

Room
temperature

cold

Angry
Emotions

Happy
Sad

A variable is any factor that can be

controlled or changed in an experiment.

Variables

How
many
type
of
variables?
Independent Variable (IV)
Dependent Variable (DV)
Extraneous Variable
Confounding Variable

Variables

Independent Variable (IV):

Definition: a circumstance having 2 or
more levels manipulated by the
experimenter so that effects on the
dependent variable can be observed.
The criteria for IV:
manipulation of variable
control variables
random variables

Independent Variable
Manipulation of variables
IV
Temperature

DV
Emotions
hot

Positive

Negative

Happy

Room
temperature

Angry
Worry
Exciting

Sad
Calm

cold

Independent Variable
Control variables
IV
Temperature

hot

Room
temperature

cold

Control:
Only 3 levels are
being
manipulated.
Hot temperature
(32C0).
Condition of the
participants
before
participating the
experiment.
instructions
given.
instrument used.

Independent Variable
Random variables
IV
Temperature

hot

Room
temperature

cold

Random:
Not all the
variables can be
controlled by the
experimenter.
example:individual
differences
among the
participants.
Solution:- using
random
selection/
random
assignment
where
participants have
equal chances to

Variables
Dependent Variable (DV):
Definition: The behavior the experimenter
chooses to measure; this behavior may
dependent upon the levels of the IV.
Important concepts or Keywords for DV:
Observed
Measured
Constant
Effect

Dependent Variable
IV
Temperature

Experimenter can:
Observe the emotions.
Measure the emotions.
The emotions shown by the
participants are constant.
Understand the changes of
emotions is the effect of
different temperatures.

DV
Emotions
Positive

Negative

Happy

Angry
Worry
Exciting

Sad
Calm

Variables
Extraneous Variable:
Definition: Any variables other than the IV and DV. Variables
that the researchers believes affect DV.
Two types of extraneous variables are:
Participant Variable.
Related to individual characteristics of participant that may
impact how they respond. These factors can include
capability, desire, intelligence or other characteristics that
are unique to each person.
Situational Variables.
These extraneous variables are related to things in the
environment that may impact how each participant
responds, such as time of the day, condition of laboratory.

Variables

Confounding Variable:
Definition: An extraneous variable
whose presence affects the
variables being studied so that
the results you get do not reflect
the actual relationship between
the variables under investigation
and could ruin the credibility of
an experiment's results.

Confounding Variable
IV
Temperature

Bodys
temperature

DV
Emotions

Extraneous variable:
Participant variables

Participants
experience

Facility at
the lab

Extraneous variable:
Situational variables

Threats to Internal Validity

The confounding variables are threatening
to the internal validity of experiments.
Internal validity means it is certain that it
was the manipulation of the IV that
caused the change in the DV.
To avoid confounding variables in the
experiments, we need to understand the
various possible threats to internal
validity.

Threats to Internal Validity

There are 7 threats to internal

validity:
1. History
2. Maturation
3. Selection
4. Mortality
5. Testing
6. Statistical regression
7. Interactions with selection

Threats to Internal Validity

There are 7 threats to internal validity:
1. History
A change in the DV due to the occurrence of an
event between the testing of levels of the IV.
Example:
To see the effectiveness of online teaching in
improving grades within 2 semester trials.
Methods of
teaching

Students
grades

History threats:
. students may engage in other form of online
activities other than in lab.
. University has imposed that online learning is
compulsory to be taken.

Threats to Internal Validity

2.

Maturation
A change in the DV due to participants aging
or becoming more experienced between the
administration of levels of the IV.
Maturation can be a problem in long-term
experiments or when participants are
undergoing rapid change.
Example: Experiment using children as
participants. There is a huge gap in
psychomotor abilities between toddlers aged
2 and 3 years old ( 1 year)

Threats to Internal Validity

3.

Selection
A change in the DV due to experimenters
cannot
assign
participants
randomly
exposed to different levels of the IV.
Example:

Methods of
teaching
Online
teaching
Class-based
teaching

Students
grades

Making sure that participants

are randomly distributed
between 2 levels in terms of:
Intelligence levels
Skills levels
Demographical variables

Threats to Internal Validity

4.

Statistical regression
This term refers to the fact that when
experimenters choose participants on the
basis of their having scored very high or very
low on a particular test, their scores tend to
move toward the mean on a second test.
Example:
In
order
to
examine
the
effectiveness
of
certain
educational
program, the experimenter tend to choose
only students who have lower of IQ score to
be the participants.

Threats to Internal Validity

5.

Testing
A change in the DV due to participants prior
exposure to the testing instrument or
situation.
Testing can be a threat to internal validity
when the experimenter sensitizing the
situation in the pretest.
Example: In examine the effectiveness of
Tak Nak advertising campaign on the
Showing
Tak the experimenter
awareness of the
public,
Pretest
Nak
Posttest
design the pretest
and postest experiment.
advertisement

Asking questions
about various
smoking campaign

Testing threat

A pretest can also provide

information thus increasing
the participants knowledge
of a topic so that scores on
the posttest will be higher.

Threats to Internal Validity

6.

Mortality
Participants dropping out of an experiment.
Differential mortality is a threat to internal
validity when more or different kinds of
participants drop out of the groups assigned
to various levels of the IV.
Example: to test the effectiveness of stressinoculate program on number of complaints
among managers.

Group 1:
managers
expose to
stress-inoculate
program

Group 2:
managers
without the
program

Threats to Internal Validity

7.

Interactions with selection

A threat to internal validity caused by
validity threat such as maturation and
history interacting with the threat of
selection.
In other words, interactions with selection is
a combination of interaction of 3 kinds of
threats; maturation, history and selection.
Example of the case : please refer to the
page of 37.