Using one of the three studies mentioned, explain how evaluating multiple independent variables in a single experiment provides a more comprehensive understanding of a dependent variable compared to investigating them in separate single-variable experiments.
Case context: A student is designing an experiment to study cognitive processes. They read that in single experiments, it is common to study multiple independent variables. To verify this, they look at several actual studies: one examining how intergroup contact and need for closure affect prejudice, one looking at the effects of age and divided attention on spontaneous recognition, and another looking at how temporal delay and orientation affect haptic object recognition.
Question: Using one of the three studies mentioned, explain how evaluating multiple independent variables in a single experiment provides a more comprehensive understanding of a dependent variable compared to investigating them in separate single-variable experiments.
Sample answer: Evaluating multiple independent variables in a single experiment, such as studying both intergroup contact and need for closure on prejudice, allows researchers to examine their joint or combined effects. In a single-variable experiment, a researcher could only look at the individual effect of intergroup contact or need for closure separately. By combining them, the researcher can understand how they work together, showing whether the influence of intergroup contact on prejudice changes depending on an individual's need for closure.
Key points:
- Explains that single experiments with multiple independent variables evaluate joint or combined effects.
- Refers to one of the specific examples from the text (e.g., prejudice, spontaneous recognition, or haptic object recognition).
- Contrasts the multi-variable design with separate single-variable designs, showing that the former captures how the variables work together.
Rubric: The response must explain that multi-variable experiments examine joint, combined, or interactive effects. The student must select one study from the context (prejudice, spontaneous recognition, or haptic object recognition) and explain how the two independent variables combine to influence the single dependent variable, showing a comprehension of how factorial designs capture combined effects that single-variable studies cannot.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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