Flashcards on Experiments (3.3)

Question	Answer
Why are laboratory experiments considered extremely reliable?	Once an experiment has been conducted, other scientists can replicate it easily, thanks to the original experimenter specifying precisely the steps they took. In addition, experiments are a very detached method: the researcher merely manipulates the variables and records the results.
The laboratory has major advantages as a method to identify cause-and-effect relationships in natural sciences. As such, a sociologist belonging to which perspective would favour this method?	Positivist sociologists, who favour a scientific approach.
There are many practical problems with laboratory experiments. One is linked to the complexity of society. What is it?	Due to society being so complex, it is arguably impossible to identify, let alone control, all the possible variables that might exert an influence over a matter.
Laboratory experiments usually only study small samples. Why does this present a problem?	Small samples make it very difficult to investigate large-scale social phenomena such as religions or voting patterns. It also reduces representativeness.
There are also many ethical objections to conducting experiments on human beings, at least under certain circumstances. One ethical problem is the lack of informed consent. Discuss:	Generally, the researcher needs the informed consent of the research subjects. However, this can be difficult to obtain from groups who may be unable to understand the nature and purpose of the experiment.
Another ethical problem is deception. Discuss:	It is generally considered wrong to mislead people as to the nature of the experiment.
Which researcher was criticised for his deception?	Stanley Milgram.
Another ethical problem is harm. Discuss:	The experiment may harm the participant. In Miligram's experiments, many participants indicated symptoms of pain and suffering.
Supporters of Miligram's experiments argue that the pain and suffering participants felt can be justified. Why?	Because the study alerts us to the dangers of blindly obeying authority figures.
A laboratory is not a natural environment and it is therefore likely that any behaviour exhibited is also unnatrual. If people do not behave in true-to-life ways, what will happen to the results?	They will be invalid.
If people know they are being studied, they may behave differently. This will then ruin the experiment. What is the term used to describe this process?	'The Hawthorne Effect'.
Which sociologist first experienced the Hawthorne Effect when researching factors affecting workers' productivity at the Hawthorne plant?	Elton Mayo.
Interpretivists argue that humans are fundamentally different to other organisms and phenomena studied by natural scientists. Why?	Because we have free will.
Because of our free will, our behaviour cannot be explained in terms of cause and effect. Instead, how can it be understood?	In terms of the choices we freely make.
Why is the experimental therefore not appropriate for studying human beings?	Because the experimental method searches for cause and effect relationships, which are irrelevant to humans' choices.
Given the problems with laboratory experiments, sociologists have two alternatives. What are they?	Field experiments or the comparative method.
A field experiment has two distinguishing features. What are they?	1. The experiment occurs in the subject's natural surroundings, rather than in an artificial environment. 2. The subjects are often unaware that they are being studied, thus eliminating the risk of the Hawthorne Effect.
In a field experiment, the researcher manipulates one or more of the variables to see what effect it has on the subjects. Give an example of a field experiment:	David Rosenhan's 'psuedopatient' experiment.
Rosenhan's study shows the value of field experiments. What are their advantages?	They are more natural and therefore more valid.
However, there is a major disadvantage sociologists experience when using field experiments. What is it?	They have much less control over the situation.
Why do some critics argue that field experiments are unethical?	Because, in most cases, the subjects have no idea they are being studied and obviously have not consented to being observed.
What is the comparative method also known as, and why?	A thought experiment. This is because it occurs only in the mind of the sociologist.
Thought experiments do not involve any actual experimentation. However, how are thought experiments similar to laboratory and field experiments?	They are designed to discover cause-and-effect relationships.
What is perhaps the most famous example of the thought experiment?	Durkheim's study on suicide.
What are the thought experiment's three main advantages?	1. It avoids artificiality 2. It can be used to study past events 3. It poses no ethical problems.
However, the comparative method has its disadvantages too. For example, the research has even less control over variables than they do for field experiments. What does this mean?	We cannot be certain whether a thought experiment has really discovered the cause of something.

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Flashcards on Experiments (3.3)

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	Created by Em Maskrey almost 7 years ago