Dr Nasty's Experiment

Research Methodology

An Experiment Not to be Replicated

Dr. Nasty wants to understand how punishment changes student performance on math tests. He tells his psychology class they must be the subjects in his experiment. He assigns 10 students with the best GPA to the PUNISHMENT GROUP and 10 students with the lowest GPA to the WITHOUT PUNISHMENT GROUP. Dr. Nasty is sure that the PUNISHMENT GROUP will perform best. He carries out the experiment himself.
When students make a mistake on a math problem his give them a pinch on the arm. If they make another mistake he gives them two pinches. Nothing happens to the WITHOUT PUNISHMENT Group if they make a mistake though sometimes Dr. Nasty mutters that they are dumb. Both Groups complete the same problems, but the PUNISHMENT GROUP has to complete the experiment at 2 am when Dr. Nasty returns from a heavy night of disco dancing. The WITHOUT PUNISHMENT Group completes the problems at 9am. To Dr. Nasty’s surprise the average score of the WITHOUT PUNISHMENT GROUP is better than the WITH PUNISHMENT GROUP.
1. Identify the DV and the IV. (2)
2. Identify the hypothesis. (2)
3. Identify 3 flaws in the experimental design and explain why they would invalidate the experiment. (6)
4. Make suggestions as to how you would correct these flaws and explain why they would make the experiment more valid. (6)