Design a Ridiculous Experiment

[Thrak]

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I don't know about the rest of you, but the application process is stressing me out. Anyone up for a psych-geek kind of tension breaker? The challenge: design an experiment that you couldn't possibly do. Maybe it costs 2 billion dollars to execute. Maybe it's completely unethical. Maybe the results would be completely meaningless. Or maybe the IRB would just faint from reading your proposal. Either way, have some fun with it

Now, off the top of my head, I'd like to combine three famous experiments... Milgram's "Shock" experiment, Bandura's modeling with Bobo dolls, and Zimbardo's prison experiment. Maybe studying the effects of threatening to shock Bobo dolls in prison?

 

[helden]

The experiment would be complete by adding a white rat and a small child.
😉

 

[blindchaos]

How about just an updated version of Milgram's shock experiment? First - there would actually be a person receiving the shock rather than just hearing a convincing recording. And instead of a small, gradually increasing shock, it would be ECT. Every time.

 

[deleted176373]

You really don't want to hear about the erotica asphyxia experiment I designed for my undergraduate research methods class do you??? Ya, I went there and I even managed to present it with a straight face (which is really what blew most people away!) The funniest part was I still pulled an A in the class.

I don't think it's any worse than Schachter and Singer injecting people with Adrenaline and Thorazine though.

Mark

 

[kyril]

do almost any experiment really, only add one more variable - the experimenter is wearing skin tight gold lame' pants. in the write up, no explanation, just simply " finally, we hypothesized that the addition of gold lame' pants to the experimental paradigm would result in an increase in X dependent variable". in the discussion, make sure to consider how gold lame' pants may or may not produce the results found. if the null hyp. was proven re: gold lame' pants, how come? this would work with milgram, bandura, even your honors thesis. don't forget the charts and graphs.

 

[wdd]

do almost any experiment really, only add one more variable - the experimenter is wearing skin tight gold lame' pants. in the write up, no explanation, just simply " finally, we hypothesized that the addition of gold lame' pants to the experimental paradigm would result in an increase in X dependent variable". in the discussion, make sure to consider how gold lame' pants may or may not produce the results found. if the null hyp. was proven re: gold lame' pants, how come? this would work with milgram, bandura, even your honors thesis. don't forget the charts and graphs.

Kyril, I just spit chocolate soy milk all over my keyboard ... seriously, that's a funny image ... especially if the lame' pants in your imagination are as tight as they are in mine ...

Anyway, I would like to propose an experiment where subjects are forced to watch TMZ TV until they admit to global atrocities they could not possibly have committed. I'll present my findings with Crayola-smeared "patisitcs" and refer to my population as "those jerks."

You can send my Nobel prize to ...

 

[Thrak]

do almost any experiment really, only add one more variable - the experimenter is wearing skin tight gold lame' pants.

My Bobo dolls are wearing gold lame' pants.

 

[Cobblestone]

I've always wanted to do a study where we give people conflicting medication to see which one would win out. I think it could be the most fun study ever!

• Ex: Blood Thinner vs. Coagulating Agent.
• Better Example: Stimulants vs. Depressants.
• Best example: Ex-Lax vs. Imodium AD

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I had an on-going discussion with some friends about how many kindergarteners they could take out if they were attacked by a mob of them. We had different conditions such as being able to use items in the room, if they were regular kids, zombie kids, etc. We tried to figure out how fatigue would effect strategy, and what would be the hardest part of the process. I forget the final numbers, but it would definitely be an entertaining experiment to try out!

-t

 

[shock-me-sane]

I would like to design something where all my POI are administered electric shocks any time they try to put down my application or have thoughts of rejecting me.

But if they like me, they are administered a shot of serotonin.

hahaha

 

[layleh]

Mine would involve running a humidifier and dehumidifier at the same time, Ralph Macchio (Daniel-san from the Karate Kid), Polly-O string cheese, swim fins, and a tutu. Somehow, I'd integrate all of these things in all 40 of the studies profiled in Roger Hock's book Forty Studies That Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research. I would subsequently prepare my manuscript (one manuscript for all 40 studies) in APA style...in Spanish pig Latin...and submit it to the journal Psychological Reports. 👍

 

[biogirl215]

A experimental (not correlational) study on wheteher technology-based relationshaps are negatively affecting mental health--not that insane, but I cannot figure out for the life of me how you would an causational study on that!

 

[kyril]

maybe get the background stats of users of a forum, like, oh, this one, some assessments of stress, self efficacy, well being, social support, whatever, and count number of site visits, comments, length of comments, if they are applying to programs, which ones, how many, and which threads participants visit over the course of maybe 6 months - the 3 months before most apps are due, and then the next three til april 15. i'd hyp. that # of visits correlates with increased anxiety, perception of stress, but also with increased social support, and that social support is further increased by posting comments. what we'd need to do, though, is then compare to actual people of comparable stats who apply to programs and do not visit this site.


oh, experimental. hmmm...i will think about that...fun!

okay, back to real-time work.

 

[biogirl215]

I seriously know someone who wants to do this experiment When they mentioned it, my first thought was "how are you going to do that?!" After putting some thought into it for a while, I still have no idea!😕