Starter Play Psychology Lottery…

Key Words Extraneous variables – variables that you need to try and control when conducting an experiment Confounding variables – variables that you have tried to control but failed and they have affected the results of the study Standardisation – to make the same for everyone

Learning Objectives Grade D/C – By the end of the lesson you should be able to correctly explain what standardization means in psychology (for instructions and procedures) Grade B/A – By the end of the lesson you should be able to correctly identify and define the term ‘extraneous variables’.

Standardised Procedures, Instructions to Participants and Controlling Variables To be confident that the IV (the variable we change) caused the DV (the variable we measure), the researcher must try to control all other aspects (or variables) in the experiment e.g.; The environment The Participants If all other aspects are controlled to the best of the researchers ability then they can be confident that the results are due to the IV affecting the DV and nothing else was involved.

Ask yourself this… What would happen if participants were all treated completely differently, with different equipment used, in different rooms, and with different instructions. What would happen to the results?

Standardised Procedures To control variables participants must undergo the same experience, except for the IV (the things that is changed/different for each group in the experiment). To ensure that all participants have the same experience, researchers should ensure that they are all tested; In the same place, with the same equipment and materials placed in the same way. Under the same conditions, so the level of lighting, noise and heat remains the same for all participants At roughly the same time of day, as people may behave differently if tested at 9am compared to 5pm.

Standardised Instructions Participants should be given identical instructions in exactly the same way. This is particularly important if the research requires them to perform a task. Sometimes the instructions are written down and participants have to read them themselves. This takes out the possibility that they may be read differently to each participants if read out by the experimenter. The problem with this is that some may not be able to read or understand the instructions without them being explained to them. Therefore the instructions have to be simple and clear.

Activity… You are the experimenter and are designing an experiment to test memory. You are going to have a group of 10 participants who will each read a list of 20 words for 1 minute. You are going to give then 1 minute to write down as many as they can remember (in any order) on a blank sheet of paper. Write a set of standardized instructions for this experiment.

Mini-Plenary Answer questions using the mini- white boards in teams. (8 minutes)

Controlling Variables If variables are not controlled then they may influence the results and so make them invalid. These variables are called confounding variables because they affect the results. For example; You want to test memory and compare the recall of words that are organised by meaning with the recall of words presented randomly. The ‘organised condition’ saw the words but the ‘random condition’ heard the words as they were read out by the experimenter. What is a confounding variable here? A confounding variable could be that it was the way the words were given to participants that affected the result, not the fact that they were presented either random or organised (the IV)

Ask yourself this… You wanted to test if it is faster to catch a bus home or to ride a bike. What would you have to control to make sure it is the IV affecting the DV and not other confounding variables? What could be confounding variables?

Fitness level of the cyclist The route home may be better for a cyclist or a bus How experienced the driver is on the roads – he may not have a clue! Consider other EV’s and CV’s in other studies. Rank how easy they are to control.

Self-Reflection of Learning Objectives Today we have looked at …………………………………… I have found it ………………………………………………… The keywords that I have used today are……………… One area I need to practice is……………………………… What was the aim of the lesson? What do you need more help with? What did you learn today? Did anyone or anything help you move on to learn something new? What can you do now that you couldn’t do before? What did you find difficult? What are you most pleased with? To do better in this topic I need to ….? Grade D/C – By the end of the lesson you should be able to correctly explain what standardization means in psychology (for instructions and procedures) Grade B/A – By the end of the lesson you should be able to correctly identify and define the term ‘extraneous variables’.

Plenary Play Psychology bingo using the key words and meanings used in this topic so far…