ExperimentsUsing Experiments to study Crime and

Deviance

PRACTICAL ISSUES

ETHICAL ISSUES

REPRESENTATIVENESS

VALIDITY

EXAMPLE

RELIABILITY

THEORETICAL ISSUES (positivist, interpretivist)

EVALUATE

DATA (quantitative, qualitative)

CAM: COMPARE ANOTHER METHOD

Lab ExperimentsLab experiments are a controlled experiment in an artificial

environment. This means the researcher can control different

variables. They do this by taking a set of subjects and dividing

them into two random groups…

The Control Group

The Experimental Group

This allows the researchers to develop cause-and-effect

relationships.

Lab ExperimentsPractical Issues

Hawthorne Effect (the subject will act accordingly because they know they are being researched)

Individuals are complex and not exactly alike

Can only use small samples

Can’t study the past, and they only provide ‘snapshots’ of the present

Expectancy effect (risk of bias on behalf of the researcher)

Keat and Urry note lab experiments aren’t useful because society has countless factors which can’t be identified, let alone controlled. This is because lab experiments operate in an open system.

Ethical Issues

There is the need for informed consent from the subject because

there is a chance of being deceived. Also, the experimental group

may benefit more than the control group so treatment must be

equal.

Theoretical Issues

Positivists see lab experiments as highly reliable because there

are precise steps to be taken, it is a detached method and it yields

quantitative data. This method is also effective in testing a

hypothesis as you can isolate and control variables. However,

there is doubt as to whether it is representative. The small

samples and the high level of control the researcher has means

there isn’t external validity. Also, there isn’t internal validity due to

the artificial environment encouraging the Hawthorne Effect. On

the same hand, interpretivists note how our behaviour isn’t caused

by external forces so can’t explain in terms of cause-and-effect.

Lab Experiment: ExampleBanduro et al conducted an experiment using a Bobo doll. They

found children imitated the aggressive behaviour towards the doll

once they had witnessed adults acting violent towards it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBqwWlJg8U

There was a risk of psychological harm to the children during this

research and also the experiment isn’t very valid. For example,

the Bobo doll is designed to invite violence so this bears little

relation to everyday reality.

Lab Experiments: ExampleZimbardo investigated the effect of prison on the behaviour of the

prisoners and the guards by creating a simulated prison and

randomly allocating 21 volunteers as either a prisoner or a guard.

He found the guards eventually became aggressive so as a result,

the prisoners became submissive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GePFFf5gRKo

Field ExperimentField experiments take place in a natural environment but those

involved don’t know they are subjects. It involves isolating and

manipulating one or more variables to see the effect (you may

remember Rosenthal and Jacobson ‘spurters’ study from AS!)

Ethical Issues

The subject aren’t usually aware they are a subject or given a

choice

Chances of rehabilitation vary

Juveniles are more vulnerable and likely to change, so using

there imprisonment experimentally isn’t an option

Field ExperimentsThe Tougher Regimes Project: In the 1980s, Thatcher introduced

a ‘short, sharp, shock’ regime to deal with juvenile offenders. 2

institutions were selected to undergo this regime of education,

exercise and inspections whilst 4 other institutions were used as a

control group. It was clear this approach has no effect on the

youths re-conviction rates. This would have been a timely and

expensive experiment had the government not funded it.

However, Tilly notes how this wasn’t a reliable experiment. The

Safercities strategy aimed to replicate a project conducted in

Kirkholt which successfully decreased the burglary rate in 3 other

areas. However, the replication produced marked differences,

proving you can’t replicate a real life experiment in a other

locations. Also, it isn’t very valid.

Field Experiment: ExamplePoyner and Webb discovered there was a high rate of theft of

purses from women’s shopping bags in the Bull Ring in

Birmingham. Most of the thefts occurred in the 2 markets where

the stalls were most densely packed. When one of the stalls was

redesigned (stalls set further apart, lighting improved), thefts fell

by nearly 70%.

But, it must be remembered that it is not possible to control all of

the variables and it may have been something else that caused

the reduction. For example, there was also a decline in the

amount of trade at the same time. This decreases the validity of

the experiment.

The Comparative MethodAdvantages Disadvantages

Avoids artificiality Less control over variables so less

valid

You can study past events Less reliable because the study is

conducted in the researchers mind

No harming or deceiving

An example is Durkheim’s study of suicide amongst Protestants and

Catholics. He found Catholics had a lower rate of suicide, which he

believes is due to Protestants not being tightly integrated.