Experiment Project Goal: Design and conduct a true experiment. This is a group project but each student will write a paper completely independently of the group, based on shared data and shared data analysis. Basic Project Plan The class will divide into groups of 4. Each group will perform a "semi-canned" experiment, requiring some development of experimental procedures, data collection, analysis, and writing a project report. The experiments Only field experiments are practical within the short time frame of this project. We will focus on studies of helping behavior. Helping and social interaction: Do people help more if they have established minimal social contact with the person in need of help? Helping and affect: Do people help more if they are in a good mood? Helping and deservingness: Do people help those who "deserve" to be helped? Not used this semester: Helping and similarity: Do people help those who are similar to themselves? Reading A chapter from a social psychology textbook covers all of these topics Procedure: A. Form groups Consider your schedules. Don't join a group with anyone crazier than yourself. B. Group chooses an experiment To save time, you will be given a choice of several pre-packaged experiments. Some variables and most specific procedural details will have to be developed by the group. C. Develop the experiment We will spend some time in class planning your experiments, and you will need to be able to meet outside of class as well. D. Perform the experiment Fast! E. Code the data and analyze All data coding and analysis is performed by the group. The experimental designs are easy and simple analyses using SPSS will be feasible. Contact the TA for assistance. F. APA report Write a report in APA format. The report should include an Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and References. One table and one figure are also required. The Introduction section of the report will be based on references in the chapter I hand out. Normally, the writer may only cite papers he/she has actually read, but in this project you may pretend that you read any paper referenced. |