A Level Psychology OCR Practice Exam

What kind of experiment did Barkley-Levenson and Galvan conduct?

1. Field experiment

2. Quasi-experiment

3. Laboratory experiment

4. Longitudinal study

The correct answer is: Quasi-experiment

Barkley-Levenson and Galvan conducted a quasi-experiment, which is characterized by the absence of random assignment to different groups. In their study, they examined the neural correlates of decision-making in adolescents and adults. Participants were not randomly assigned to age groups; instead, existing age cohorts were compared. This design allowed the researchers to explore how age influences decision-making processes while considering the natural variations among participants. Quasi-experimental designs are particularly useful in psychological research when ethical or practical considerations make random assignment unfeasible. In this case, because the researchers were looking at developmental differences, they chose to observe naturally occurring groups rather than manipulating variables in a controlled fashion, which is typical of laboratory experiments. Understanding the differences in decision-making between various age groups without the constraints of lab-based methods highlights the flexibility and applicability of this research design in developmental psychology.