EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

STUDENT ACTIVITY SHEET BS PSYCHOLOGY / THIRD YEAR

Session # 4

Materials:
LESSON TITLE: BASIC EXPERIMENTATION PART 1
Textbook, pen and notebook, index card/class list
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
References:
Upon successful completion of this lesson, the psychology
student can: Myers & Hansen (2011). Experimental
Psychology (7th Ed. Wadsworth Cengage
1. Explain the different types of variables that are the Learning) )
focus of an experiment
2. Explain how variables are defined in an experiment Kantowitz, Roediger III & Elmes (2009).
3. Identify the importance of reliability and validity Experimental Psychology (9th Ed. Wadsworth
4. List the problems caused by extraneous variables and Cengage Learning)
confounding

LESSON REVIEW (5 minutes)

As a review of the previous discussion, the instructor will ask the students the following:

1. What is the difference of null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis?

2. Compare one-tailed test to a two-tailed test.
3. Briefly define type 1 error and type error?

MAIN LESSON (50 minutes)

An experiment is a controlled procedure for investigating the effects of one or more independent variables on one or more
dependent variables. The independent variable is manipulated by the experimenter, whereas the dependent variable is
observed and recorded. Experiments offer the investigator the best chance of eliminating or minimizing extraneous
variation. Experiments are performed to test theories, to replicate and expand previous findings, or to show that prior
research cannot be confirmed. Only rarely are experiments performed just to see what might happen.

Variables are the gears and cogs that make experiments run. Effective selection and manipulation of variables make the
difference between a good experiment and a poor one. This section covers the three kinds of variables that must be
carefully considered before starting an experiment: independent, dependent, and control variables. We conclude by
discussing experiments that have more than one independent or dependent variable.

 Control variable is a potential independent variable that is held constant during an experiment because it is
controlled by the experimenter. For any one experiment, the list of relevant control variables is quite large, far
larger than can ever be accomplished in practice. In even a relatively simple experiment—for example, requiring
people to memorize three-letter syllables—many variables should be controlled. Time of day changes your
efficiency; ideally, this should be controlled.

Independent and Dependent Variables

The independent variable is the variable the experimenter manipulates or changes, and is assumed to have a direct effect
on the dependent variable. For example, allocating participants to either drug or placebo conditions (independent variable)
in order to measure any changes in the intensity of their anxiety (dependent variable).

The dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured in an experiment, and is 'dependent' on the
independent variable. An example of a dependent variable is depression symptoms, which depends on the independent
variable (type of therapy)

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  Independent Variables (IV) is a manipulation of the environment controlled by the experimenter:
 Levels of the independent variables. The two or more values of the independent variable manipulated by the
experimenter.
 Dependent Variables (DV) is the response measure of an experiment that is dependent on the subject.

Examples of Independent and Dependent Variables in Experimental Research

Independent Variables (IV) Dependent Variable (DV)
Type of Treatment: Different types of Drug Behavioral variables: measures of adjustment, activity
Treatments of psychological treatments levels, eating behavior. Smoking behavior
Treatment factor: brief vs. long-term Physiological variables: measures of physiological
Treatment, inpatient vs. outpatient responses such as heart rate, blood pressure
Treatment and brain wave activity
Experimental manipulations: types Self-report variables: measures of anxiety,
Of beverage consumed (alcohol vs. non-alcoholic mood, or marital or life satisfaction

Operational Definition is the statement of procedures the researcher is going to use in order to measure a specific
variable.
 We need operational definitions in psychology so that we know exactly what researchers are talking about when
they refer to something. There might be different definitions of words depending on the context in which the word
is used. Think about how words mean something different to people from different cultures. To avoid any
confusion about definitions, in research we explain clearly what we mean when we use a certain term.

 Experimental Operational Definitions. The explanation of the meaning of independent variable; defines exactly
what was done to create the various treatment conditions of the experiment.

Defining the Dependent Variable: Measured Operational Definitions
 Measured Operational Definitions. The description of exactly how a variable in an experiement is measured
 Hypothetical Construct. Concepts used to explain unseen processed, such as hunger, intelligence, or learning
that the experimenter intentionally manipulates.
Levels of Measurement
Categorical measures

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When we are talking about attributes, we can put each individual in a category. It is an activity that we do in our daily lives.
We might categorize a person as mean or funny or male or a 4 × 4 owner. When we see a bird we probably categorize it.
Some people, such as the authors, they will put the bird, into one of four or five simple categories (for example, small
brown bird, seagull, pigeon, and large bird). Bird spotters, however, will categorize a bird in one of a thousand categories
(‘oh look, there goes a lesser spotted split-toed tufted great bustard’).
These data are also called categorical, qualitative or classification variables. They come in three different kinds:

 Nominal
Nominal Scale, also called the categorical variable scale, is defined as a scale used for labeling variables into
distinct classifications and doesn’t involve a quantitative value or order.

o Where there are three or more possible categories, but there is no natural order to the categories. For
example, if people are asked where they were born, they can be classified as ‘England’, ‘Scotland’,
‘Wales’, ‘N. Ireland’, or ‘elsewhere’. Even though, for convenience, we may use numbers to refer to these
categories, the order does not mean anything. Telephone numbers are another example of nominal
categories: just because my phone number is larger than your phone number doesn’t make my phone
any better than yours, and if you dial my phone number with one digit wrong, you won’t find someone
similar to me answering the phone

 Ordinal, when the categories have an order. If people are asked to rate their health as ‘good’, ‘fairly good’ or
‘poor’, they fall into one of three categories, but the categories are in an order.

o Ordinal Scale is defined as a variable measurement scale used to simply depict the order of variables and
not the difference between each of the variables.

 Binary, where there are two possible categories (e.g. female/male, smoker/non-smoker).

Continuous measures
Continuous measures give you a score for each individual person. They can be classified in two ways: interval or ratio,
and continuous or discrete.

 Interval
Interval Scale is defined as a numerical scale where the order of the variables is known as well as the difference
between these variables.

o Measures have the same interval between each score. In other words the difference between 6 and 7 is
the same as the difference between 8 and 9 – one unit. So 7 seconds comes 1 second after 6, and 9
seconds comes 1 second after 8. Blindingly obvious, you say, but this does not happen with ordinal
measures even when they are presented as numbers. If we imagine the final list of people who completed
a marathon, it might be that the people who came 6th and 7th crossed the line almost together and so
were only half a second apart, but the people who came 8th and 9th were miles away from each other so
crossed the line several minutes apart. On the final order, however, they appear as next to each and the
same distance apart as the 6th and 7th runner

 Ratio
Ratio Scale is defined as a variable measurement scale that not only produces the order of variables but also
makes the difference between variables known along with information on the value of true zero.

o Measures are a special type of interval measure. They are a true, and meaningful, zero point, whereas
interval measures do not. Temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius is an interval measure, because 0
degrees is an arbitrary point – we could have made anywhere at all zero (in fact, when Celsius devised
his original scale, he made the freezing point of water 100 degrees, and boiling point 0 degrees). Zero
degrees Celsius does not mean no heat, it just refers to the point we chose to start counting from. On the
other hand, temperature on the kelvin scale is a ratio measure, because 0 k is the lowest possible
temperature (equivalent to – 273°c, in case you were wondering). However, it is not commonly used.) In
psychology, ratio data are relatively rare, and we don’t care very often about whether data are interval or
ratio.

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CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING (20 minutes)
You will answer and rationalize this by yourself. This will be recorded as your quiz. One (1) point will be given to correct
answer and another one (1) point for the correct rationalization. Superimpositions or erasures in you
answer/rationalization is not allowed. You are given 20 minutes for this activity.

1. It is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or any other type of category you are trying to measure. There are
two types of variables-independent and dependent.
a. Categorical measure
b. Variable
c. Operational Definition
d. Control Variable

ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. It is a variable that stands alone and isn't changed by the other variables you are trying to measure.
a. Dependent Variable
b. Independent Variable
c. Interval
d. Nominal

ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. It is something that depends on other factors. For example, a test score could be a dependent variable because it
could change depending on several factors such as how much you studied, how much sleep you got the night
before you took the test, or even how hungry you were when you took it.
a. Dependent Variable
b. Independent Variable
c. Interval
d. Nominal

ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. It is a potential independent variable that is held constant during an experiment because it is controlled by the
experimenter.
a. Categorical measure
b. Variable
c. Operational Definition
d. Control Variable

ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. It is the statement of procedures the researcher is going to use in order to measure a specific variable.
a. Categorical measure
b. Variable

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 c. Operational Definition
d. Control Variable

ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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6. It is defined as a scale used for labeling variables into distinct classifications and doesn’t involve a quantitative
value or order.
a. Nominal
b. Interval
c. Ratio
d. Ordinal
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. “Our family income ranges from P20,000 – P40,000”. This is an example of.
a. Nominal
b. Interval
c. Ratio
d. Ordinal
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Concepts used to explain unseen processed, such as hunger, intelligence, or learning that the experimenter
intentionally manipulates
a. Measured Operational Definitions
b. Hypothetical construct
c. Categorical Measure
d. Operational definition
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. “Do tomatoes grow fastest under fluorescent, incandescent, or natural light?” In this question, what is the
independent variable?
a. Type of Light
b. Rate of growth of tomato
c. Soil and rocks
d. Water and Air
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. “Do tomatoes grow fastest under fluorescent, incandescent, or natural light?” In this question, what is the
independent variable?
a. Type of Light
b. Rate of growth of tomato
c. Soil and rocks
d. Water and Air
e.
ANSWER: ________

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RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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RATIONALIZATION ACTIVITY (THIS WILL BE DONE DURING THE FACE TO FACE INTERACTION)
The instructor will now rationalize the answers to the students. You can now ask questions and debate among yourselves.
Write the correct answer and correct/additional ratio in the space provided.
1. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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6. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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7. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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8. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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9. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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10. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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LESSON WRAP-UP (10 minutes)

You will now mark (encircle) the session you have finished today in the tracker below. This is simply a visual to help you
track how much work you have accomplished and how much work there is left to do.

You are done with the session! Let’s track your progress.

AL Strategy: CAT: 3-2-1

To better gauge your understanding in this discussion, kindly answer the following questions with honesty:

A. Describe the 3 terminologies that you have learned.

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B. Give at least 2 examples of independent variable and dependent variable.

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C. Give one topic you find confusing.

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