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Group Design

Group Design

The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between...

Blind Procedures

Blind Procedures

Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which...

Controls in Experiments

Controls in Experiments

When conducting an experiment, it is crucial to have control to reduce bias and accurately measure the dependent variables. It also marks the results more reliable. Controls are elements in an experiment that have the same characteristics as the treatment groups but are not affected by the independent variable. By sorting these data into control and experimental conditions, the relationship between the dependent and independent variables can be drawn. A randomized experiment always includes a...

Randomized Experiments

Randomized Experiments

The randomization process involves assigning study participants randomly to experimental or control groups based on their probability of being equally assigned. Randomization is meant to eliminate selection bias and balance known and unknown confounding factors so that the control group is similar to the treatment group as much as possible. A computer program and a random number generator can be used to assign participants to groups in a way that minimizes bias.
Simple randomization
Simple...

Crossover Experiments

Crossover Experiments

Crossover experiments, also called the repeated-measurements design, is a study design in which all experimental units are exposed to all treatments in different periods. Crossover experiments are generally used in psychology, the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, and medicine.
Crossover designs are performed even with smaller sample sizes since the samples can act as their controls. These are better than simple randomized trials since patients are exposed to all the treatments.

Blinding

Blinding

Blinding is a commonly used method of not telling participants which treatment a subject is receiving. Blinding is a critical part of a randomized control trial or RCT. It reduces the bias that affects the results. In an RCT, blinding is used in the form of a placebo. A placebo effect occurs when untreated subjects falsely believe they have received the treatment and report improved symptoms. A placebo or a dummy treatment is administered to subjects to negate the bias caused by such an effect.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 5, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

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Published on: June 12, 2020

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Autism Mentorship Program.

Rebekah L Hudock¹, Meredith Gunlicks-Stoessel², Jinyi Zhang³

¹Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA. kale0040@umn.edu.

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

|March 3, 2026

Summary

The Autism Mentorship Program (AMP) shows promise for autistic youth, improving self-esteem and social support. This identity-affirming program is acceptable and potentially effective for mental health.

Keywords:

Autism Mentorship Randomized controlled trial Virtual mentoring

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Area of Science:

Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Psychology
Social Sciences

Background:

Mentoring programs offer social-emotional benefits for youth.
Autistic youth often seek social and mental health support.
Benefits of mentoring for autistic youth require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

Examine the acceptability of the Autism Mentorship Program (AMP).
Assess the preliminary effectiveness of AMP in enhancing well-being and reducing mental health symptoms in autistic adolescents.

Main Methods:

Pilot randomized clinical trial with 24 autistic youth (ages 14-18) and 24 caregivers.
Youth randomized to AMP (n=13) or services-as-usual (SAU).
AMP involved 23 weekly online 1-to-1 mentoring sessions between autistic adolescents and autistic mentors.

Main Results:

High program satisfaction and strong mentoring relationships reported by AMP participants.
AMP youth demonstrated improvements in self-esteem, satisfaction with self, perceived social support, and engagement compared to SAU.
Mentees in AMP showed trends toward reduced anxiety and depression.

Conclusions:

The Autism Mentorship Program (AMP) is a feasible and acceptable identity-affirming intervention for autistic adolescents.
AMP shows potential as a community-based mental health support for autistic youth.
Further research in larger trials is warranted to confirm AMP's utility.