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Psychology vocabulary · Research Methods and Statistics

Experiment

Meaning in psychology, with examples

/ɪkˈsperɪmənt/nounCore term

In psychology, experiment means: A study in which the researcher deliberately changes one factor and measures the effect on another, while keeping other conditions as constant as possible.

In Turkish: deney

How it is used

Unlike correlational studies, experiments allow conclusions about cause and effect. You design, run, conduct or replicate an experiment; 'experimental condition' and 'experimental group' are standard terms in method sections.

Example sentences

  1. In the first experiment, participants watched either a sad or a neutral film clip.

  2. We ran the experiment online to reach a larger sample.

Common collocations

  • conduct an experiment
  • run an experiment
  • experimental group
  • lab experiment
  • field experiment
  • independent variableThe factor that a researcher deliberately changes or compares in a study to see whether it causes changes in another variable.
  • control groupThe group in a study that does not receive the treatment or manipulation being tested, so that its results can be compared with those of the group that does.
  • random assignmentPlacing participants into the groups of a study by chance, so that each person has an equal chance of being in any group and the groups are similar at the start.
  • hypothesisA clear, testable prediction about the relationship between variables, usually based on a theory or earlier findings, that a study is designed to check.

More terms: Research Methods and Statistics

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