A control group is usually used in experimental psychology to study the effect of an intervention or treatment. Research in psychology covers a number of topics. Sometimes, in order to verify whether an effect is significant, it is necessary to compare two groups or more. One of these groups will be a control group. A control group will often present the same characteristics as the other groups but will not be exposed to treatment or intervention, contrary to its counterpart(s). For example, group A can receive a newly developed therapy for depression, whereas the control group will not receive this therapy. Later on, both depressed groups will be compared to determine if the therapy had a significant effect, or, in other words, if it worked. Another example pertains to social therapy. A researcher could study the effect of setting short terms realistic goals on attaining long term goals. As such, a group of students would receive help on how to set short term goals, how to reach them, how to deal with obstacles, etc to attain long term goals. The control group, also made of students, would not receive such an intervention and would be told to set up long term goals and try to achieve them. At the end of the research period, both groups would be compared to see whether the intervention in helping setting short term goals and achieving them made a difference in term of goal achievement.
At least two subjects are necessary, an experimental group, for whom the independent variable changes in the prescribed manner, and the control group for whom it does not. The subject of both these groups are chosen that are nearly as possible identical. finally the results of both groups are compared with one another.
The control group remains the same at the beginning and end of an experiment. On the other hand, the experimental group has one or more variable manipulated to see the effects. For example: consider testing the effects of seat belts in cars. The control group would be the one without a seat belt. The experimental group is the one with a seat belt, thus showing the effects of a seat belt.
A control group is used in experimental psychology to study the effect of an intervention or treatment. The control group is composed of participants who do not receive the experimental treatment.
social psychology
comparisn between group and individual testing
the logic behind group matching is to ensure that experimental and control group are equvilant on some criterions( sex, race, height etc). Hopefully during group matching, say group matching for sex, one would first divide the sample into males and females and then randomly assign half of each group to each condition.
Clinical Psychology.
In a controlled experiment, there are two groups. The control group is a group that nothing happens to. The experimental group is the group that you subject to the variable with which you are experimenting. At the end of the experiment, you test the differences between the control group, for whom nothing happened, and the experimental group, which received the variable. The difference (or similarities) between the two groups is how your results are measured.A control group is the group used for comparison in an experiment. One group receives the treatment that is being tested by the experiment; another group (the control group) has the exact same controlled environment, but does not receive this treatment. The effectiveness of the treatment can then be established by comparison with the control group.
social psychology
Psychology as the others are sciences while psychology is an understanding of human nature.
comparisn between group and individual testing
Murray Sidman has written: 'Equivalence relations and behavior' -- subject(s): Behavioral assessment, Behaviorism (Psychology), Equivalence (Linguistics), Experimental Psychology, Research 'Coercion and its fallout' -- subject(s): Avoidance (Psychology), Control (Psychology), Punishment, Reinforcement (Psychology), Social control
Woodworth: “The Psychology deals with the activities of the individual in relation to his environment.” Skinner: “Psychology is the science of behavior and experience.” Munns: “Psychology today concerns with the scientific investigation of behavior.” Crow & Crow: “Psychology is the study of human behavior and human relationships.” John B Watson: "The acquisition of information useful to control of behavior."
The control group in an experiment is the group that nothing is done to. The reason why there is a control group in experiments is to compare it with the group that has been tested.
the logic behind group matching is to ensure that experimental and control group are equvilant on some criterions( sex, race, height etc). Hopefully during group matching, say group matching for sex, one would first divide the sample into males and females and then randomly assign half of each group to each condition.
You use a control group to compare the results of the experimental group to. The control group has the "normal" results. After the experiment, you can tell if and what has changed from the control groups results
the group that does not change in the experiment VIVI :)
The control group is used for exprimenting
You may be thinking of sociology, which could be called the psychology of humans as a very large group.
You need a control group to compare your experimental group to something.