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Experimentation Method

Definition

The experimentation method is a research method in psychology where the researcher manipulates one variable to measure its effect on another variable. This allows for cause-and-effect relationships to be established.

Analogy

Think of the experimentation method like baking a cake. You're trying to find out what happens when you change one ingredient (like using almond milk instead of regular milk). You keep everything else constant (the oven temperature, the other ingredients, etc.) and then observe how this one change affects the outcome (the taste or texture of the cake).

Related terms

Independent Variable: This is the variable that researchers manipulate in an experiment. In our cake analogy, it's like changing from regular milk to almond milk.

Dependent Variable: This is the variable that researchers measure in an experiment. It's dependent on changes made to the independent variable. In our analogy, it's like observing changes in taste or texture of your cake.

Control Group: This is a group in an experiment that does not receive any treatment and serves as a benchmark against which other test results are measured. It's like making another cake with regular milk while you make one with almond milk so you can compare them.