Steps in Designing Experiments. Psychology

 • Experiments

• Tightly controlled manipulations of variables
• Helps determine cause-and-effect relationships

• Independent Variable

• Is deliberately manipulated by the experimenter
• To see if related changes occur in the behavior or responses of the participants and is given to the experimental group.

• Dependent Variable

• Is the measured responses or behavior of the participants.

• Control Group

• Receives either a placebo treatment or nothing

• Random assignment of participants to experimental groups

• helps to control for individual differences both within and between the groups that might otherwise interfere with the experiment's outcome.

• *Quasi-experiment*

• Similar to experiments but don't include the random assignment of participants