Conducting Realistic Field Experiments: Understanding When, Where, and How

Speakers: Andrea Morales and On Amir

In this webinar, we will discuss why employing realistic experimental designs and measuring actual behavior is important and beneficial for consumer research. More specifically, we will talk about when, where, and how researchers might go about doing this in order to increase the veracity and believability of their work. We will start by discussing how independent variables (IVs) can vary along the experimental-realism dimension, ranging from artificial to realistic, and then discuss how dependent variables (DVs) can vary along the behavioral-measures dimension, ranging from hypothetical intentions to actual behavior. We will then talk about how various goals of consumer research map onto these two dimensions to highlight when it is most appropriate to enhance the realism and behavioral measures of an experiment. In so doing, we will also discuss the three different types of experiments in which most consumer behavior research falls (field experiments, experiments in the field, and lab experiments), and highlight how experimental realism and behavioral measures can be increased in each design.

Recommended readings:
• Morales, A.C., Amir, O. and Lee, L. (2017), “A Tutorial in Consumer Research: Keeping it Real in Experimental Research – Understanding When, Where, and How to Enhance Realism and Measure Consumer Behavior,” Journal of Consumer Research, 44 (2), 465–476.
• Lieberman, A., Morales, A.C., and Amir, O. (2019) “Beyond the Lab: Using Data from the Field to Increase Research Validity,” in Handbook of Research Methods in Consumer Psychology, Frank R. Kardes, Paul M. Herr, and Nobert Schwarz, Editors, Routledge.