A yoked control design is a research design used in experiments in which matched research subjects are yoked (joined together) by receiving the same stimuli or conditions. In
operant conditioning
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
the yoked subject receives the same treatment in terms of reinforcement or punishment.
Yoked control designs are used in a variety of scientific disciplines, including
learning sciences
Learning sciences (LS) is an interdisciplinary field that works to further scientific, humanistic, and critical theoretical understanding of learning as well as to engage in the design and implementation of learning innovations, and the improve ...
,
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...
, and
psychophysiology
Psychophysiology (from Greek , ''psȳkhē'', "breath, life, soul"; , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''-logia'') is the branch of psychology that is concerned with the physiological bases of psychological processes. While psychophysiology was ...
.
Example
In his research into the
name-letter effect, Belgian
experimental psychologist
Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
Jozef Nuttin created a yoked control design in which two subjects evaluated the same letters, separately. Some of the letters belonged to one subject’s name, and some of the letters belonged to the other subject’s name, while some were random. Crucially, in the
experimental design
The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...
subjects are not aware that they are choosing letters from their name. In this design any difference in preference between subjects would have to be based on whether the letter occurred in their name. For example, for the fictitious pair Irma Maes and Jef Jacobs the first stimulus was A and U: the last letter in Irma's first name and a letter not in her name. Both subjects had to circle the letter they preferred. The next stimulus was M and D: the penultimate letter from Irma's first name and a letter not part of her name. This was repeated for the remaining letters of her first name, and subsequently the letters of her last name, also in reverse order, and finally the letters of both of Jef's names. Oral instructions were given to feel a preference as fast as possible,
without thinking. If the yoked subjects shared a letter, choosing it did not contribute to the measurement. Nuttin found that people significantly liked name letters more than non-name letters, without realising it.
References
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* {{cite journal, last1=Engel, first1=Bernard T., last2=Chism, first2=Ray A. , title=Operant conditioning of heart rate speeding, year=1967, journal=Psychophysiology, volume=3, issue=4, pages=418–426doi=10.1111/j.1469–8986.1967.tb02728.x, doi=10.1111/j.1469-8986.1967.tb02728.x, pmid=6041674
Design of experiments