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    ExP Psych 08

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    Louise L.
    This document discusses how to control for extraneous variables in experimental psychology. There are four main types of extraneous variables: physical, social, personality, and context variables. To control for physical variables, researchers should eliminate, keep conditions constant, or balance effects across conditions. Social variables like demand characteristics and experimenter bias can be controlled using single-blind or double-blind experiments, cover stories, and having multiple experimenters. Personality variables may be controlled through balancing or minimizing face-to-face contact. Context variables related to the research environment should also be balanced across conditions.

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    ExP Psych 08

    Uploaded by

    Louise L.
    24 views26 pages
    This document discusses how to control for extraneous variables in experimental psychology. There are four main types of extraneous variables: physical, social, personality, and context variables. To control for physical variables, researchers should eliminate, keep conditions constant, or balance effects across conditions. Social variables like demand characteristics and experimenter bias can be controlled using single-blind or double-blind experiments, cover stories, and having multiple experimenters. Personality variables may be controlled through balancing or minimizing face-to-face contact. Context variables related to the research environment should also be balanced across conditions.

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    ExP-Psych-08

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    This document discusses how to control for extraneous variables in experimental psychology. There are four main types of extraneous variables: physical, social, personality, and context variables. To control for physical variables, researchers should eliminate, keep conditions constant, or balance effects across conditions. Social variables like demand characteristics and experimenter bias can be controlled using single-blind or double-blind experiments, cover stories, and having multiple experimenters. Personality variables may be controlled through balancing or minimizing face-to-face contact. Context variables related to the research environment should also be balanced across conditions.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    24 views26 pages

    ExP Psych 08

    Uploaded by

    Louise L.
    This document discusses how to control for extraneous variables in experimental psychology. There are four main types of extraneous variables: physical, social, personality, and context variables. To control for physical variables, researchers should eliminate, keep conditions constant, or balance effects across conditions. Social variables like demand characteristics and experimenter bias can be controlled using single-blind or double-blind experiments, cover stories, and having multiple experimenters. Personality variables may be controlled through balancing or minimizing face-to-face contact. Context variables related to the research environment should also be balanced across conditions.

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    of 26

    EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

    Chapter 8: Solving Problems


    Controlling Extraneous Variables

     Physical Variables
     Social Variables
     Personality Variables
     Context Variables
    Physical Variables
    Physical variables are aspects of the testing
    situation that need to be controlled:
     day of the week
     experimental room
     lighting
    Elimination
    Elimination completely removes extraneous
    physical variables from the experimental
    situation (e.g., soundproofing a room).
    Removal of extraneous physical variables
    prevents them from operating differently across
    different treatment conditions.
    How does constancy of conditions work?
    Constancy of conditions controls extraneous
    physical variables by keeping all aspects of the
    treatment conditions identical, except for the
    independent variable.
    For example, test all subjects in the same room
    or at the same time of day.
    How does balancing work?
    Balancing controls extraneous physical
    variables by equally distributing their effects
    across treatment conditions.
    For example, running half of the subjects
    in each condition in the morning and half in
    the evening.
    In which order should you use these
    techniques?
    1. Eliminate extraneous variables whenever possible.
    2. Keep conditions constant where elimination is not
    possible.
    3. Balance the effects of extraneous variables when
    constancy of conditions is not possible.
    Social Variables
    Social variables are aspects of the relationships
    between subjects and experimenters that can
    influence experimental results.

    These include demand characteristics and


    experimenter bias.
    Demand Characteristics
    Demand characteristics are cues within the
    experimental situation that demand or elicit
    specific participant responses.
    Example: students cue professors to wrap up
    their lectures by packing their binders, books,
    and water bottles, and by looking at the door.
    How can demand characteristics threaten
    internal validity?
    Demand characteristics can confound an
    experiment if they vary across experimental
    conditions.

    Subjects may act to confirm what they think


    is the experimental hypothesis.
    Single-blind Experiment
    In a single-blind experiment, subjects are
    not told their treatment condition.
    For example, in a single-blind drug study,
    the experimental and control groups might
    receive capsules that look and taste identical.
    How do single-blind experiments control
    demand characteristics?
    When subjects are not told their treatment
    condition, this eliminates cues that might
    alter their behavior.
    Placebo Effect The placebo effect is when
    a subject receives an inert
    treatment and improves
    because of positive
    expectancies.
    How do cover stories control demand
    characteristics?
    A cover story is a false plausible explanation
    of the experimental procedures to disguise the
    research hypothesis from the subjects.
    They should be used sparingly, since they are
    a form of deception.
    Experimenter Bias
    Experimenter bias is any behavior by the
    experimenter that can confound the experiment.
    For example, an experimenter might provide
    more attention to subjects in one condition than
    another.
    Rosenthal Effect
    The Rosenthal effect is the phenomenon in
    which experimenters treat subjects differently
    based on their expectations and their resulting
    actions influence subject performance.
    This is also called the Pygmalion effect and
    self-fulfilling prophecy.
    What is the Rosenthal effect?
    For example, teachers might give more attention
    and feedback to high aptitude students than to
    low aptitude students.
    The Rosenthal effect can confound an
    experiment, producing results consistent with the
    experimenter’s expectations.
    Why is a double-blind design superior to
    a single-blind design in controlling
    experimenter bias?
    Single-blind experiments only control demand
    characteristics, since subjects are blinded to
    their condition.
    Double-blind experiments control both demand
    characteristics and experimenter bias, since both
    the experimenter and subjects are blinded.
    How might an experimenter's personality
    affect experimental results?
    Research on experimenter personality shows
    that when experimenters are warm and friendly,
    subjects learn more, talk more, earn better test
    scores, and are eager to please.
    Hostile or authoritarian experimenters obtain
    inferior subject performance.
    How can experimenters control personality
    variables?
    Employ multiple experimenters to run an equal
    number of subjects in each of the experimental
    conditions (balancing).

    Treat “experimenter” as an independent variable


    in statistical analysis. If an interaction is found,
    then the experiment was confounded.
    How can experimenters control personality
    variables?
    When there is a single experimenter, minimize
    face-to-face contact and closely follow the script.

    Videotape sessions to confirm consistent


    performance.
    How do volunteers differ from nonvolunteers?

    Volunteers are more sociable, score higher in social


    desirability, hold more liberal social and political
    attitudes, are less authoritarian, and score higher
    on intelligence tests than nonvolunteers.
    What are context variables?
    Context variables are extraneous variables
    produced by experimental procedures created
    by the research setting environment, like
    assignment of participants to conditions.
    When might subjects select the experiment?
    When we allow subjects to sign up for
    experiments whose titles differ in their appeal:

    “The Memory Test Experiment”


    “The Heavy Metal Music Experiment”

    However, this could result in a biased sample


    threatening external validity.
    Why shouldn’t you run your friends in your
    experiment?
    Selecting your friends might bias your sample,
    threatening external validity.

    Both you and your friends might act differently


    in your experiment than strangers.
    Summarize the folklore about subjects.
    Subjects who sign up late in the semester may
    be less motivated and may behave differently
    than those who sign up earlier in the semester.
    Rosenthal speculated that the differences seen
    at the start and end of an experiment may be
    just as likely due to changes in the experimenter.
    END

    THANK YOU

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