Pre-Mid Assignment

Experimental Psychology

Topic: Terminologies in Experimental Psychology

Participants’ Name:

Sehrish Khan

(F2020381060)

Sec: (A)

Course Code: CP-411

Resource Person

Dr. Nazia Zafar

Submission Date:

April 04, 2024

Department of Clinical Psychology

School of Professional Psychology (SPP)

University of Management & Technology, Lahore

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Terminologies in Experimental Psychology

Experimental Psychology

Experimental psychology is defined as that branch of the science in which the

experimenter controls the variables which govern behavior, thus excluding "most

investigations using correlational methods (APA, 2022).

It can also be defined as ‘’the branch of psychology that studies behavior and mental

processes through controlled experiments’’ (APA, 2020).

For Example: An experimenter is interested in finding the effect of intensity of light

on the attention of students. In a Qausi experiment, he chooses 30 students randomly from a

class and then randomly allocate them in experimental and control group. The experimenter

provides 50 lux of light to the experimental group while the control group with the minimum

intensity. Then the results indicate that group with good intensity of light are more attentive

as compared to the control group.

Terminologies in Experimental Psychology

The Basic Terminologies in Experimental Psychology are:

1. Independent Variable (IV)

The variable manipulated by the experimenter to observe its effect on another

variable (APA, 2020).

For Example, in an experiment the experimenter study the effect of social media use

in body shaming in girls, the IV will be the use of social media.

2. Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable measured by the experimenter to assess the effect of the IV (APA, 2020).
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For Example, in the study of social media use effect on body shaming in girls, the

body shaming will be the DV; in which effect by the IV has been measured.

3. Control Group

A control group, which is used as a standard for comparison, does not undergo IV

manipulation (APA, 2020).

For Example, in the study of social media effects on body shaming; the group of girls

that does not see any kind of ideal body doll or ideal body shape is a control group.

4. Experimental Group

The group which receives the treatment whose effect studied by the researcher compared

to the control group is a treatment or experimental group (Scribbr, 2022).

For Example, in the study of social media use effects on body shaming; the group of

girls who are exposed to the ideal shape dolls are the experimental group; because they have

given the treatment.

5. Absolute Threshold

The minimum level of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus or feel the sensation is

absolute threshold (APA, 2018).

For Example, the lightest colour that a person can see or the faintest sound a person can

hear from a large distance is the absolute threshold.

6. Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference - JND)

The least detectable distinction between two stimuli is known as the Just Noticeable

Distance or Difference Threshold (APA, 2018).

For Example, the smallest difference distance between two points from a far distance

where the person can detect them as two separate objects or points.

7. Illusion
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The sensation error, in which there is a misinterpretation of a present sensory stimuli is

referred as illusion (APA, 2018).

For Example, a girl misinterpreted a coat on the chair as a person sitting on the chair is

visual illusion.

8. Hallucination

A hallucination is a sensory experience that is not brought on by activation of the

relevant sensory organs and the perception of an object or event that is absent (Purse, 2022).

For Example, hearing the voice of a baby which is not present in the room is the

auditory hallucination.

Classical Conditioning

It is a type of learning, in which a learned response is produced by pairing a neutral

stimulus with the natural or unconditioned stimulus (Cherry, 2023).

For Example, the child

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References

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018). https://dictionary.apa.org/absolute-threshold

Scribbr. (2022, April 11). What is the difference between a control group and an

experimental group? https://www.scribbr.com/frequently-asked-questions/difference-

between-control-group-and-experimental-group/

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2020). https://dictionary.apa.org/controlgroup

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018). https://dictionary.apa.org/difference-threshold

Purse, M. (2022, September 10). What are hallucinations? Verywell Mind.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-hallucinations-378819

Cherry. K. (2023b, May 1). What is classical conditioning in psychology? Verywell Mind.

https://www.verywellmind.com/classical-conditioning-2794859