1. BHS 204-01 Methods in Behavioral Sciences I May 23, 2003 Chapter 10 (Ray) The Ecology of the Experiment

2. Subject Factors  Subject factors – when subjects do not behave the way we expect them to.  Research participants are human, with their own goals, motivations and understandings of what is going on in an experiment. Quality of subjects differs at the end of a term.  Experimenter must anticipate the subject’s experience to avoid biasing the experiment.

3. Hawthorne Effect  Any manipulation you do may produce an effect on behavior. People benefit from attention of any kind.  Control groups must have a closely similar manipulation (without the effective ingredient) to control for Hawthorne effect.

4. Placebo Effects  Expectation can produce an effect.  To control for this, present a placebo to the control group or a known ineffective treatment.  Double-blind experiment.

5. Demand Characteristics  Subjects behave in accordance with what they think the experimenter expects. Subjects conform to social norms.  Hypnosis as a demand phenomenon. Orne’s studies