Term
| What three things are needed in an experiment? |
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Definition
| Comparison, Control, Measurement |
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Term
| What does comparison do in an experiment? |
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Definition
| Manipulates the independent variable |
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Term
| What is being measured in an experiment? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Occurs when differences exist between the kinds of individuals in comparison groups - Typically occurs when groups are self-selected |
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Term
| What was wrong with the Pepsi challenge? |
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Definition
| No control. Is the difference due to the product or the letter assigned to it? |
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Term
| What was wrong with the John Snow/Cholera experiment? |
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Definition
| Was the difference due to drinking water or a different variable? |
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Term
| What is internal validity? |
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Definition
| Does it show cause and effect? Primary advantage of experimental research |
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Term
| What are threats to internal validity? |
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Definition
Anything that reduces the unambiguous cause-and-effect relationship (Ex: Co-occurrence of Systematic Changes
Selection Bias, assignment bias, experimenter demand) |
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Term
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Definition
| Occurs when the process used to assign different participants to different treatments produce groups of individuals with noticeably different characteristics |
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Term
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Definition
| Making compared participants as similar as possible |
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Term
| What is random assignment? |
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Definition
| Participants have an equal chance of being in any condition in the experiment |
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Term
| What is experimenter demand? |
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Definition
| Refers to the cues from the context and/or experimenter that guide behavior of participants |
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Term
| How do you control for experimenter demand? |
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Definition
| Placebo Control + Double-Blind Procedure - Both participant & experimenter are unaware of what treatment is being administered |
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Term
| What is a quasi-experiment? |
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Definition
| Involves the comparison of pre-defined groups |
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Term
| What is a non-equivalent group design? |
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Definition
“ex post facto”
A basic between-subjects quasi-experiment - Criteria - Ps are not randomly assigned
A quasi-independent variable (Snow/Cholera Example) |
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Term
| Why are non-equivalent group designs a threat to internal validity? |
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Definition
Selection Bias - Pre-existing differences between comparison groups are present before treatment
Assignment Bias - Occurs whenever the assignment procedure produces groups that have different characteristics |
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Term
| What are pre and post tests for non-equivalent group designs? |
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Definition
| Pre-defined groups are observed before and after treatment - Allows the researcher to address assignment bias/selection bias |
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Term
| Why are Pre-/Post- Tests for Non-Equivalent Groups Design a threat to internal validity? |
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Definition
| Differential History Effects - Groups differ because of a difference in their history |
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Term
| What is a nonequivalent design time series? |
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Definition
| Involves a series of observations before and after treatment for both a treatment and control group |
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Term
| Why is a time series design a threat to internal validity? |
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Definition
| Regression to the Mean - Individuals tend to regress toward mean |
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Term
| How does a quasi-experiment differ from an experiment? |
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Definition
| And experiment has an IV, DV, and Control. Quasi only has two of these |
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Term
| What is a small-n design? |
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Definition
| Systematic examination of behavior in one or a few individuals before and after treatment/intervention |
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Term
| What is a baseline stage? |
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Definition
| Observations made prior to an intervention |
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Term
| What is a treatment stage? |
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Definition
| Observations made following an intervention |
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Term
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Definition
| Involves changes in the administration of intervention |
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Term
| How many points should be in each phase? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| A data pattern where a series of measurements are at the same magnitude |
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Term
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Definition
| A data pattern where series of measurements are in the same direction |
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Term
| How do you interpret data in a small-n design? |
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Definition
Change in Mean
Change in Level
Change in Trend |
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Term
| What is a change in trend? |
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Definition
| Goes from increase to stable or decrease... Or vice versa |
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Term
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Definition
Where treatment and measurement are systematically altered to assess change
A = Baseline Phase
B = Treatment Phase |
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Term
| What is a multiple baseline design? |
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Definition
| Where multiple baselines are established across situation or individual or behavior |
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Term
| What are advantages of small-n research? |
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Definition
Research in applied settings
Flexible |
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Term
| What are disadvantages of small-n research? |
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Definition
External Validity
Absent...statistically |
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Term
| What is the relationship between internal validity and realism? |
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Definition
| As realism goes up, IV (more control) goes down and vice versa... |
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Term
| What are external validity problems with experiments? |
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Definition
Artificial / Manufactured Situations
Representative Sample
College Sophomore Problem
Application |
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Term
| What is external validity? |
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Definition
The extent to which experimental results generalize...
...to the real world
...from sample to the population
...from study to study |
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Term
| How Does one deal with the artificial problem? |
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Definition
Mundane Realism
The extent to which the events occur in the “real world”
Experimental Realism
The extent to which the task is engaging and personally impactful
Psychological Realism
The extent to which the psychological processes are the same as occur under “normal” circumstances |
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Term
| How do you deal with the representative sample problem? |
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Definition
Basic Processes Are Universal
Invalidate vs. Limit
Replication |
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Term
| How do you deal with the application problem? |
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Definition
Problem-Oriented (Applied) Research
The study of a particular phenomenon under normal or ‘real world’ conditions or have direct application
Process-Oriented (Basic) Research
The study of basic, psychological processes/mechanisms with no immediate application |
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Term
| What are the types of questionairres? |
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Definition
Descriptive Questionnaires
Typically asks about factual information that describes a person (e.g., census)
Analytical Questionnaires
Asks about information related to attitudes or opinions (e.g., political polls)
Instruments (a.k.a., Inventories)
Standardized measures of constructs (e.g., personality traits) |
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Term
| What is the Big 5 Personality? |
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Definition
O penness
C onscientiousness
E xtraversion
A greeableness
N euroticism |
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Term
| What is a latent construct? |
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Definition
A construct defined by other constructs
Ex. Conscientiousness by Organized, practical, responsible, self-control |
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Term
| What determines a measures quality? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
The stability or consistency of a measurement
Test-Retest Procedures
Involves administering the same measure to the same people twice |
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Term
| What improves reliability? |
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Definition
More Items/Measures
Consistent Conditions |
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Term
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Definition
| Degree to which the measurement measures a theoretical construct |
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Term
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Definition
| The degree to which it looks valid |
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Term
| What is convergent validity? |
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Definition
| When two instruments measuring the same thing are correlated |
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Term
| What is discriminant validity? |
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Definition
| When two measures of similar constructs are less related than measures of the same construct |
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Term
| What is Criterion-Related Validity? |
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Definition
| When a test is shown to be effective at estimating a performance on some established criteria (outcome) |
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Term
| What is the relationship between reliability and validity? |
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Definition
Reliable, but not valid
Valid… it must be reliable |
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Term
| What is a time series design? |
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Definition
Consistes of a series of observations before and after treatment
Treatment can be manipulated (or “artificial”) or treatment can be a natural treatment |
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Term
| Why is a time series design a threat to internal validity? |
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Definition
Regression to the Mean
Individuals tend to regress toward mean |
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Term
| What is cross sectional research? |
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Definition
Makes observations of individuals at different ages at one time
(Not the same people in each group) |
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Term
| What are strengths of cross sectional research? |
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Definition
Efficient
No Long-term Commitments |
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Term
| What are weaknesses of cross sectional research? |
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Definition
Fails to acknowledge individual changes
Cohort effects |
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Term
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Definition
| Environmental factors that differentiate one age group from another |
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Term
| What is longitudinal research? |
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Definition
| Observations of the same individuals are made over time |
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Term
| What are strengths of longitudinal research? |
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Definition
No Cohort Effects
Examine change in individual |
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Term
| What are weaknesses of longitudinal research? |
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Definition
Inefficient (time & money)
Participant Attrition
Carry-over Effects |
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Term
| What is a successive independent samples design? |
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Definition
| Uses different samples of respondents from the population over a period of time |
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Term
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Definition
Intensive description and analysis of a single individual
a.k.a., “Clinical Tales”
Idiographic Approach
The study of the individual |
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Term
| What are data sources for the case study? |
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Definition
Observation
Interviews
Psychological Tests
Archival Records |
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Term
| What are strengths of the case study? |
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Definition
Rare Phenomenon
New Ideas/Hypotheses
Challenge Theory
Powerful Examples
Vividness Effect |
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Term
| What are disadvantages of the case study? |
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Definition
Internal Validity
Placebo Effect
External Validity
Observer Bias |
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