A within-subject design is a type of experimental design in which all participants are exposed to every
treatment or condition. It is also known as a repeated measures design.
The term “treatment” is used to describe the different levels of the independent variable, the variable
that’s controlled by the experimenter. In other words, all of the subjects in the study are treated with
the critical variable in question.1
This article discusses what a within-subjects design is, how this type of experimental design works, and
how it compares to a between-subjects design.
Within-Subjects Design vs. Between Subjects
Let’s imagine that you are doing an experiment on exercise and memory. For your independent variable,
you decide to try two different types of exercise: yoga and jogging.
Instead of breaking participants up into two groups, you have all the participants try yoga before taking
a memory test. Then, you have all the participants try jogging before taking a memory test. Next, you
compare the test scores to determine which type of exercise had the greatest effect on performance on
the memory tests.
This within-subjects design can be compared to what is known as a between-subjects design. In a
between-subjects design, people are only assigned to a single treatment.2 So one group of participants
would receive one treatment, while another group would receive a different treatment. The differences
between the two groups would then be compared.
Consider the earlier example of the experiment looking at exercise and memory. In a between-subjects
design, one group of participants would do yoga and then take a memory test. A different group of
participants would jog and then take the memory test. Afterward, the results of the memory tests would
be compared to see how the type of exercise influenced memory.
Recap
In a within-subjects design, all participants receive every treatment. In a between-subjects design,
participants only receive one treatment.
Advantages of Within-Subjects Design
Why exactly would researchers want to use a within-subject design? One of the most significant benefits
of this type of experimental design is that it does not require a large pool of participants.
A similar experiment in a between-subject design, which is when two or more groups of participants are
tested with different factors, would require twice as many participants as a within-subject design.
A within-subject design can also help reduce errors associated with individual differences. In a between-
subject design where individuals are randomly assigned to the independent variable or treatment, there
is still a possibility that there may be fundamental differences between the groups that could impact the
experiment’s results.
In a within-subject design, individuals are exposed to all levels of a treatment, so individual differences
will not distort the results. Each participant serves as their own baseline.
Disadvantages of Within-Subjects Design
This type of experimental design can be advantageous in some cases, but there are some potential
drawbacks to consider. A major drawback of using a within-subject design is that the sheer act of having
participants take part in one condition can impact the performance or behavior on all other conditions, a
problem known as a carryover effect.
So for instance in our earlier example, having participants take part in yoga might have an impact on
their later performance in jogging and may even affect their performance on later memory tests.
Fatigue is another potential drawback of using a within-subject design. Participants may become
exhausted, bored, or less motivated after taking part in multiple treatments or tests.
Finally, performance on subsequent tests can also be affected by practice effects. Taking part in different
levels of the treatment or taking the measurement tests several times might help the participants
become more skilled.
This means they may be able to figure out how to game the results in order to do better on the
experiment. This can skew the results and make it difficult to determine if any effect is due to the
different levels of the treatment or simply a result of practice.3
Types of within Subjects results
What is a 2x2 within subjects design?
In a 2x2 design, researchers examine how two independent variables with two different levels impact a
single dependent variable. For example, imagine a study where researchers wanted to see how the type
and duration of therapy influence treatment outcomes. In a 2x2 design, they would examine two types
of therapy (cognitive and psychoanalytic) as well as two levels of each treatment (short- and long-term).
When would you use a within-subjects design?
A within-subjects design can be a good option if participants or resources are limited. It can also be a
good way to examine situations in real-world settings, such as to assess the effectiveness of educational
programs.
When should a within-subjects design not be used?
If researchers are concerned about the potential interferences of practice effects, they may want to use
a between-subjects design instead. Within-subjects designs can also take more time to administer in
some cases, so it may be helpful to use a between-sessions design if many participants are available to
quickly conduct data collection sessions.
