Purchase Solution

Experiments in Natural vs. Controlled Settings

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

Do you have any opinion about the answer from my classmate below? Please post your opinion for your response.

"Why would it be important for an experiment to be conducted in a natural setting as opposed to a controlled setting? What obstacles do researchers face in conducting experiments in a natural setting? How can they overcome these obstacles?

It would be important for an experiment to be conducted in a natural setting opposed to a controlled setting as there are controlled variables which can highly influence the overall experiment which the researchers may not even be aware of. There can be influences caused by bias opinions which will affect the experiment. Researchers may not be aware of their opinions influencing the overall experiment but even the smallest thoughts and ideas brought into a study can affect the outcome. Researchers also have to keep in mind that their specific chosen components of the controlled experiment aren't always accurately reflecting the best option for the experiment. Sometimes the experiments need to be in their natural settings to enable an accurate and realistic outcome. Those who are interested in discovering practical goals in the world of psychology will be best fit in researching and implementing their experiment in a natural setting, as the forced data collection and controlled variable of a laboratory attempts to answer one basic question with basic information collected. "

Purchase this Solution

Solution Summary

This solution discusses experiments in natural vs. controlled settings. The text contains 377 words, examples and references.

Solution Preview

The biases of researchers can play a role regardless of whether the study setting is natural or controlled, so I don't think that part of the response above is really relevant to this question. Furthermore, variables that influence the outcome can occur in a natural or controlled setting (and are at the very least more likely to occur in a natural setting, so this point again is not relevant to the issue).

The main advantages of naturalistic observation approaches are that they allow us to see everyday behavior. When we bring people into a lab, they know they are being observed and may act differently (Google the Hawthorne ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
Theories of Work Motivation

This quiz tests the student's understanding of the major theories of work motivation from an organizational behavior perspective.

Health Psychology

This quiz speaks to the general concepts, themes, and terminology associated with the field of health psychology.

The Psychology of Sleep

This quiz is to check your understanding of the sleep-related part of psychology.

Anxiety Disorders

This quiz is designed to help students gain a better understanding of various types of anxiety disorders.

Positive Psychology

A quiz related to the introductory concepts of positive psychology.