Current directions in laboratory experiments in the social sciences

Social scientific disciplines such as psychology, sociology, political science, and economics have been rampantly utilizing experimental designs in the last decades. However, the pace of adoption of experimental methods followed historically different trends in these disciplines. This chapter discusses the strength of experimentation in social sciences in drawing cause and effect relationships between studied phenomena and highlights ethical issues that deserve detailed consideration while getting ready for experimental studies. The chapter particularly focuses on laboratory experiments and discusses recent examples of laboratory experiments in these disciplines.