EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND CONTROL

Good experimental design is characterized by careful

attention to the control of real extraneous variables and
the investigation of important topics.

Even the most exquisitely crafted experiment cannot

save a stupid idea, and a brilliant idea is wasted in an
experiment with serious design problem.

Even if observations are valid, if the experiment lacks

control, the results may be meaningless or may
misdirect future research.
Good design requires that only variable being
manipulated be the independent variable and that
all other conditions be held constant for the
various treatment group. (....why?)
If some other variable is (CAN BE ASSUMED)
affecting the results, this variable is usually called
an extraneous variable or a confounding variable.

The variable is extraneous in that it is an “extra”

variable that has entered into the experiment.

It is a confounding variable because the

experimenter cannot sure if the results are due to
the independent variable or to the extraneous
variable or both.
Whether a variable should be considered
extraneous is largely a function of the dependent
variable and will vary from experiment to
experiment.

intelligence may be an extraneous variable for

someone interested in learning but probably is
insignificant in an experiment to determine the
threshold of tones of varying frequency
 Controlling for the the effects of
extraneous variable
Holding all other conditions constant
Involves the use of treatment or control group

This latter technique is frequently used when the

experimental manipulation may contain an
extraneous variable.

Adding treatment or control groups allows the

experimenter to separate, if possible, the effect of
the extraneous variable from those of the
independent variable
Holding Conditions Constant
• ... is essential to good experimental design.
However, even the most competent researchers
may unknowingly violate this principle.
• Remember the experiment of massed and
distributed practice by Lorge (p.22). The only
manipulated independent variable was the
length of time between practice sessons. All
other variables were held constant. (what....???)
EXPERIMENTAL PARADIGMS
A paradigm in experimental psychology is a
model or pattern an investigator uses to organize
research.

Five experimental paradigms:

1. Randomized group-design
2. Matched subject-design
3. Repeat measure design
4. Repeat measure design with sequence
counterbalanced
5. Factorial design
DO EXERCISE PLEASE...!!!

Suppose that experimenters are interested in

how the color of wine influence how much a
person enjoy it.
Develop a device that can change the color of
wine without change its taste.
The dependent variable: the rating of enjoyment
on a scale.
The independent variable: the color of wine.
Model I:
Independent Subject Design or
Between-groups Design

• one group is given the artificially colored wine

(experimental group), while another group is
given the naturally colored wine (the control
group).
• The subjects in one group are independent from
other group.
• The subject: 16 university student between ages of
21 and 30.
• The subjects are randomly assigned to either the
experimental or the control group. (A random
subjects design)
Independent Subject Design

Experimental Group • Control Group

S1 1 S9 5
S2 2 S10 4
S3 3 S11 3
S4 1 S12 5
S5 2 S13 5
S6 1 S14 4
S7 4 S15 4
S8 1 S16 5
 Model 2:
Matched Subject Design or
Matched Pair Design

One may have reason to believe that a subject

variable (such as wine-testing experience) may be
so critical to the result that the subject should be
matched on that variable
Experimental Group

S1A 2 S9A 4
S2B 3 S10B 5
S3C 2 S11C 5
S4D 1 S12D 5
S5E 1 S13E 4
S6F 2 S14F 4
S7G 3 S15G 5
S8H 1 S16H 4
 Other experiment may call for matching other
attributes, such as sex, age, intelligence, or training.

To match people on the basis of wine-testing

experience, for example, with an invalid test for
these characteristics spoil the basic assumption of
this method.
 Model 3:
Repeated Measure Design or
Within-Subject Design

... is characterized by each subject being expose to

two or more experimental condition.

In this case, each subject would taste both kinds of

wine and, as such, would serve as his or her own
control.
• Experimental Group • Control Group

S1 S9 S1 S9
S2 S10 S2 S10
S3 S11 S3 S11
S4 S12 S4 S12
S5 S13 S5 S13
S6 S14 S6 S14
S7 S15 S7 S15
S8 S16 S8 S16
Model 4:
Repeated Measure Design with
sequence counterbalanced

The problem that the previous design can create:

the sequence in which the substances are presented.

Balancing the sequence would be achieve by

having half the subjects taste the colored
wine first, while the other half tasted the
natural wine first.
 Model 5:
Factorial Design

Studying the effects of several independent

variables on a dependent variable.

Suppose that the experimenter choose wine color

and the type of grape used as the two independent
variables.

The design will be ......

 USE OF TREATMENT AND CONTROL
GROUPS

A control group is defined as a group of subjects

similar to an experimental group that is exposed to
all the conditions of an investigation except the
experimental variable (independent variable)
 To Control extraneous variables....
How...?

 It is difficult to formulate specific principles about the

control of extraneous variables.
 An experimenter usually begin with some problem to
be solved or some hypothesis to be tested.
 In designing an experiment, the experimenter must
keep in mind that any extraneous variables that could
explain the result have to be eliminated.
 The best way for the student to learn what extraneous
variables are most common in any specific research
area is TO READ EXPERIMENTS IN THAT AREA
Control Problem
Case Study
An experiment was conducted to determine if
learning could take place during sleep.
• The material to be learned was the English equivalent
of German words, and the subjects were ten college
students who reported that they had no knowledge of
German language. Each subject slept in a comfortable
bed in soundproof,air-conditioned laboratory room.
Each subject retired about midnight, and at
approximately 1:30 A.M. the experimenter entered
the room and asked the subject if he or she was sleep.
If there was no response, the experimenter turned on
a recording that contained German words and their
English equivalents. There were 60 different words
on the recording, which was played continuously until
4:30 A.M.
If the subject awoke during the night, he or she was to
call out to the experimenter, and the recording would
be stopped until the subject was sleep again. To test
for learning, the 60 German words were played to the
subjects in the morning, and after each word the
subject reported what they thought was the English
equivalent of the word. The number of German words
correctly identified was the dependent measure. The
result indicated that the mean number of words
correctly identified was nine (out of possible 60), and
the highest number correctly identified by any subject
was 20. The experimenters interpreted these results
as supporting the hypothesis that learning can occur
during sleep.
The Critics
• The failure to use a control group who had not
been presented the learning material but who
were given the recall test.
• The experimenter's operational definition of
sleep.
• TRY TO DESIGN AN EXPERIMENT TO
CORRECT FOR THE MENTIONED
PROBLEM...!!!
try to design an exper