Discuss the experimental design in social psychology.

 In an experiment, it is important that (1) the experimenter keep all theoretically irrelevant features of the experimental setting constant, manipulating just the key independent variable; and (2) that participants are allocated randomly to the different conditions of an experiment. Experimental designs are used so that the above goals aaafulfilled. The first called one shot case study. Followings cook and Campbell (1979) we shall use symbol ‘X’ to stand for a manipulations (of the independent variable) and the symbol ‘O’ to stand for observations (i.e., the dependent variable). 

For example, an educational researcher wanted to know the effect of a new teaching method on learning. The researcher takes a class of students, introduces the new method (X), and measurers the student’s comprehension of the taught material (O). There is nothing with which X is compared. One shot case study is a research design in which observations are made on a group after some event has occurred or some manipulation has been introduced. There is nothing with which these observations may be compared. So one has no way of knowing whether the event or manipulation had an effect.

A true experimental design is known as Post test only control group design. In this type of design participants are allocated randomly to one of the two groups. One group is exposed to the independent variable (experimental group) and the other is not (control group). Both groups are assessed on the independent variable and the comparison of the two groups on this measure indicates whether or not the independent variable had an effect. Let R stand for random assignment of participants to conditions, and X and O stand for manipulation and observation. 

In the previous example, the researcher might compare one group of students who have been exposed to new teaching method with respect to their comprehension of the taught material. In this design participants are randomly allocated to the two conditions which ruled out the possibility that differences between O1 and O2 are due to the differences between the two groups of participants. If O1 and O2 differ markedly, it is reasonable to inter that this difference is caused by X.

There are many types of experimental designs used in social psychology, more sophisticated and complex than the above. Each design represents a more complete attempt to rule out the possibility that observed difference between conditions result from something other than the manipulation of independent variable.

A common design in social psychological experiment is the factorial experiment, in which two or more independent variables are manipulated within the same study. The simplest case can be represented diagrammatically as follows, where R stands for random assignment of participants to conditions, X stands for a variable with two levels (X1 and X2 ) and Y stands for another variable with two levels (Y1 and Y2).

This design contains all possible combinations of the independent variables. In the design shown above, each independent variable has two levels, resulting in four conditions (2×2), which can be added further (3 × 3, 2×2×2) etc. The main benefit of a factorial design is that it allows the researcher to examine the separate and combined effects of two or more independent variables. The separate effects of each of the independent variable are known as main effects. Interaction effect is a term used when combined effects of two (or more) independent variables in a factorial experiment yield a pattern that differs from the sum of the main effects

For PDF copy of Solved Assignment

Any University Assignment Solution

WhatsApp - 8409930081 (Paid)