Category: experiments
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Two-stage balloon rocket as an introduction to ‘experiments’ in sociology
The two-stage balloon rocket experiment is a useful ‘alternative’ starter to introduce the topic of experiments – a topic which can be both a little dry, and which some students will find challenging, what with all the heavy concepts! Using the experiment outlined below can help by introducing students to the concepts of ‘dependent and…
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Sociological Experiments
This post aims to provide some examples to some of the more unusual and interesting experiments that students can explore and evaluate. I’ve already done a post on ‘seven field experiments‘, that outline seven of the most interesting classic and contemporary experiments which are relevant to various topics within the A-level sociology syllabus, in this…
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Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment
In this famously notorious experiment college students volunteered to take on the role of either prison guards or prisoners and spend time in an artificial prison. The Stanford Prison Experiment was meant to last 14 days, it had to be stopped after just six because the ‘guards’ became abusive and the ‘prisoners’ began to show…
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Sugata Mitra’s Hole in the Wall Experiment
In 1999 Sugata Mitra put a computer connected to the internet in a hole in the wall in a slum in Delhi and just left it there, to see what would happen. The computer attracted a number of illiterate, slum children, who, by the end of the first day had taught themselves to surf the…
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Social Experiments on T.V.
There have been a lot of T.V. productions which have run ‘social experiments’ in recent years. This post simply outlines a few examples of these and some of the strengths and limitations of social experiments run by media companies. Channel 4 seems to be the main outlet for these experiments…. Some (relatively) recent examples of…
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Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) – The Imitative Aggressive Experiment
This classic example of a laboratory experiment suggests that children learn aggressive behaviour through observation – it is relevant to the Crime and Deviance module, and lends support to the idea that exposure to violence at home (or in the media) can increase aggressive and possibly violent behaviour in real life. Bandura, Ross and Ross…
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Experiments in Sociology – Revision Notes
Definitions, key features and the theoretical, practical and ethical strengths and limitations of laboratory and field experiments applied to sociology (and psychology). Also covers key terms related to experiments. post has been written to help students revising for the research methods aspect of their second year A-level exams. Experiments – The Basics: Definitions/ Key Features…
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Experiments in Sociology – An Introduction
Experiments aim to measure the effect which an independent variable (the ’cause’) has on a dependent variable (‘the effect’). The key features of an experiment are control over variables, precise measurement, and establishing cause and effect relationships. In order to establish cause and effect relationships, the independent variable is changed and the dependent variable is measured; all…
