Experimental Design Review

For each example do the following:

1. What is the behavior being studied (focal behavior) & how is it measured (defined operationally)?
2. What is the independent variable?
3. What is the dependent variable?
4. Be able to explain if called on what could be done to make this experiment better.

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The Colorful Boss

• Arlene wanted to increase the productivity of the clerical staff in her plant. She thought painting their cubicles blue (her favorite color) would increase their rate of work completion but that painting the cubicles yellow (a color she thought was harsh) would have no effect or might even slow down the clerical staff’s rate of completion. To test the idea she had the work cubicles in the Sales Dept. painted blue and those in the Public Relations Dept. painted yellow. Then she kept track of how many projects each department completed in the next three months. For the two-month period following the painting, the sales clerical staff dramatically outperformed the public relations clerical staff in the number of projects completed.

The Colorful Boss Answers

1. Focal Behavior (Behavior being studied)
• Productivity
2. Defined Operationally (How it is measured)
• Number of projects completed
3. Independent Variable
• color of cubicle
4. Dependent Variable
• projects completed

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• Is this a good experiment? Why or why not?

The Bad Driver

John is intrigued by the relationship between frustration and aggression. He proposes to study whether socioeconomic status is a factor in how drivers express aggression when they are frustrated. John decides to employ a high-status car (a shiny new Mercedes) and a low-status car (a dented, rusty 1983 Volkswagen) as the stimuli in a “field” experiment on the roads near his home during a sunny April afternoon. He plans to drive the high-status car from 1 to 3 PM and the low-status car from 3 to 5 PM. During these periods, he will linger when he has to stop for red lights and will move forward only when the driver behind him honks. His research assistant, riding on the passenger side, will time how long it takes the driver of the car behind the experimental car to honk. John believes drivers will take longer to honk when they are behind the Mercedes than when they are behind the Volkswagen. He thinks frustrated people will suppress their frustration and aggression when the person causing the frustration is of high socioeconomic status.

The Bad Driver Answers

1. Focal Behavior (Behavior being studied)
• Frustration
2. Defined Operationally (How it is measured)
• How long it takes to Honk
3. Independent Variable
• type of car
4. Dependent Variable
• how long it takes to honk
1. Is this a good experiment? Why or why not?

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Going for the Gold

Rita, a sports psychologist, has applied for a huge grant sponsored by the American Olympiad Organization. She wants to identify variables that will produce more winners in the next international competition. She plans to build a special camp where the athletes can train for two weeks each summer with other athletes. She will fly all the volunteer athletes to the camp and will randomly assign each of them to one of the three conditions. Rita will host only one type of group at a time. In Condition 1, which meets during the first two weeks of the experiment, the athletes get no special treatment beyond the opportunity to train in the specially designed camp. Athletes assigned to Condition 1 are control group members. In Condition 2, during the second two weeks, the athletes will receive a well-regulated diet and low-dose steroids. In Condition 3, during the last two-week period, the athletes will sleep with a self-esteem training tape under their pillows. Rita believes that unconscious sleep preparation will be superior to other forms of training in producing winning athletes. She plans to measure her success by contrasting the number of medals the three groups of athletes win in their next outing.

Going for the Gold Answers

1. Focal Behavior (Behavior being studied)
• Successful Types of Training
2. Defined Operationally (How it is measured)
• Number of medals won
3. Independent Variable
• type of training
4. Dependent Variable
• number of medals won
1. Is this a good experiment? Why or why not?

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