Understanding Experimental Methods in Sociology

What is the primary goal of scientists in fields such as chemistry and physics?

• To explore human emotions

• To discover scientific laws of cause and effect

• To create new technologies

• To study historical events

In a laboratory experiment, what is the role of the control group?

• To keep consistent- not change the variable

• To change the variable

• To manipulate the independent variable

• To observe the dependent variable

According to interpretivist sociologists, why are laboratory experiments not suitable for studying human behaviour?

• Humans lack free will

• Human behaviour is best understood through cause and effect

• Humans have free will, consciousness, and choice

• Laboratory settings are too natural

Which of the following is a practical advantage of laboratory experiments?

• They require specific personal characteristics

• They are easy to replicate

• They are inexpensive

• They require no informed consent

What is a major ethical disadvantage of laboratory experiments?

• They always require illegal activities

• They can cause harm to participants

• They are always expensive

• They never require informed consent

What is the Hawthorne Effect?

• The effect of lighting on plant growth

• The tendency of people to behave differently when they know they are being observed

• The impact of free will on human behaviour

• The effect of temperature on worker productivity

What is a key difference between field experiments and laboratory experiments?

• Field experiments are always more expensive

• Field experiments take place in artificial environments

• Field experiments occur in the subject’s natural surroundings

• Field experiments always require informed consent

Which of the following is a theoretical disadvantage of laboratory experiments?

• They are always valid

• They often lack representativeness

• They are always ethical

• They are always reliable

What was the main finding of Milgram's obedience study?

• Participants refused to administer shocks

• Participants were willing to inflict pain under authority

• Participants were aware of the true nature of the study

• Participants were unaffected by authority

What is an advantage of field experiments over laboratory experiments?

• They are more intrusive

• They are less valid

• They are more natural and realistic

• They require more funding