Psy 203 Exam 2 (Part 1)

Front 1

Experimental Method

Back 1

explicit (deliberate)manipulation of somevariable (IV); causal

Front 2

Non-Experimental(Descriptive orObservational) Method

Back 2

no explicit manipulation of avariable; correlational notcausal

Front 3

Possible Interpretationsfrom Non-ExperimentalApproach

Back 3

x caused y; y caused x; andz caused both x and y(e.g., TV violence andaggression)

Front 4

Operational Definition

Back 4

define variable or constructin terms of the operation(s)used to measure (orproduce) it

Front 5

Confound / ConfoundingVariables

Back 5

something else besides IVwhich systematically variesacross groups

Front 6

Internal Validity

Back 6

the IV (and nothing else)was responsible fordifferences/changes in theDV; is a studymethodologically sound?

Front 7

Three Features of TrueExperiments

Back 7

manipulation, comparison,and control

Front 8

Manipulation

Back 8

experimenter determineswhat treatment eachindividual participantreceives and when

Front 9

Comparison

Back 9

treatment of interestcompared to “reference”group or condition (e.g.,control group); sometimes aseparate group &sometimes within-subjects

Front 10

Control (Feature of TrueExperiments)

Back 10

unwanted (extraneousvariables) sources ofvariability minimized oreliminated

Front 11

Experimental Method:Favorable Attributes

Back 11

directly manipulatesuspected cause (IV) andeliminate/control for otherextraneous variables

Front 12

Extraneous Variable

Back 12

something you are not reallyinterested in; confound

Front 13

Types of IndependentVariables

Back 13

situational, task, andinstructional

Front 14

Situational IndependentVariable

Back 14

different environmentalconditions (e.g., delayed vs.immediate reinforcers)

Front 15

Task Independent Variable

Back 15

different problems orassigned pieces of work(e.g., easy tasks vs. morecomplex tasks)

Front 16

Instructional IndependentVariable

Back 16

different directions for sametask (e.g., listen to meaningor sound or physical featureof letters in word list)

Front 17

Features of TrueExperiments

Back 17

manipulation, comparison,and control

Front 18

Two Parts of Control(Feature of TrueExperiment)

Back 18

hold extraneous variablesconstant or balance/equatethem across conditions &random assignment ofparticipants to conditions

Front 19

Threats to Internal Validity

Back 19

maturation, history,regression to the mean,selection bias,attrition/mortality, testing,and reactivity

Front 20

Maturation

Back 20

participants get older (inlong-term/longitudinalstudies)

Front 21

History

Back 21

other, extraneous variablesoperating with treatment;only those occurring once IVhas begun and operatingprior to assessment (DV)

Front 22

Regression to the Mean

Back 22

extreme scores on an initialtest become less extremeon a second test

Front 23

Selection Bias

Back 23

AKA selection effects;effects that are found aredue to initial groupdifferences (prior to study)

Front 24

Attrition/Mortality

Back 24

difference because moreparticipants drop out of onegroup than another(e.g., 10 drop out of Group 1but 40 drop out of Group 2)

Front 25

Testing

Back 25

repeated measurement(testing) causes observedchange in performance

Front 26

Reactivity

Back 26

difference due to participantaware of beingmeasured/observed

Front 27

Pre- / Quasi-Experiments

Back 27

post-test only design andpretest-posttest (prepost/before-after)design

Front 28

Post-Test Only Design

Back 28

subjects measured once,after the treatment(e.g., therapy and thenrating test); includesmanipulation

Front 29

Pretest-Posttest(Pre-Post/Before-After)Design

Back 29

subjects measured beforeand after the treatment(e.g., rating test, therapy,and a second rating test);includes manipulation andcomparison

Front 30

Pretest-Posttest withNonequivalent ControlGroup

Back 30

participants not randomlyassigned to groups; Group 2(control) does not get thetreatment/intervention; bothgroups measured beforeGroup 1’s intervention andafter

Front 31

One Type of Simplest “True”Experiment

Back 31

random assignment forparticipants; one group getstreatment but the othergroup does not; DVmeasured for both afterGroup 1’s treatment

Front 32

Other Type of Simplest“True” Experiment

Back 32

random assignment forparticipants; groups getdifferent levels of treatment(e.g., more of a drug vs.less); DV measured for bothafter treatment

Front 33

Factor

Back 33

Independent Variable

Front 34

Experimental Designswithout an IV

Back 34

posttest only and pre-postdesigns

Front 35

In Order to Be an IV

Back 35

there must be at least twolevels; it must vary

Front 36

Minimum Number of FactorsNeeded for a TrueExperiment

Back 36

1

Front 37

Minimum Number of LevelsNeeded for an IV

Back 37

2

Front 38

Validity In Measurement

Back 38

does a particular measureactually measure what it’ssupposed to?

Front 39

Validity In Research

Back 39

does a study provide someunderstanding of behavior?

Front 40

Statistical ConclusionValidity

Back 40

are proper statistics used?are the conclusionsappropriate given the resultsfrom the statisticalanalyses?

Front 41

Construct Validity

Back 41

are the operationaldefinitions adequate?

Front 42

External Validity

Back 42

do data generalize to “realworld”? how well do thefindings generalize beyondthe research environment?

Front 43

Criticisms Related toExternal Validity

Back 43

subjects not representativeof the general population;laboratory conditions“artificial”

Front 44

Subject/ParticipantRepresentativeness

Back 44

subjects not randomlyselected from population

Front 45

Subject/ParticipantRepresentativeness Not aConcern for MostPsychological Research

Back 45

because it testsgeneralizations rather thanmakes them; has adeductive rather than aninductive emphasis

Front 46

Use Non-Human Animals inBehavioral Research

Back 46

limited pre-experimentalhistories that are easilycontrolled; fewer confounds;all aspects duringexperiment easily controlled

Front 47

Setting Representativeness/Ecological Validity

Back 47

how well does the researchsetting reproduce the “realworld”?

Front 48

Issues with SettingRepresentativeness/Ecological Validity

Back 48

mundane realism andgeneralizability

Front 49

Mundane Realism

Back 49

how similar is the lab settingto real-world settings?

Front 50

Generalizability

Back 50

How well research resultsreflect real-worldprocesses?

Front 51

Artificiality

Back 51

deliberate; eliminates “realworld” confounds; and theseso is strength not weakness

Front 52

Single-Factor Designs

Back 52

both between-subjects andwithin-subjects designs

Front 53

Between-Subjects Design

Back 53

each subject receives onlyone level of IV; comparegroups of subjects

Front 54

Within-Subjects Design

Back 54

each subject receives everylevel of IV (at differenttimes); compare eachsubject to oneself

Front 55

Use a Between-SubjectsDesign if

Back 55

one level of the IV haspermanent (irreversible)effect on the DV

Front 56

Drawbacks of BetweenSubjectsDesigns

Back 56

can require a lot of subjectsand can’t be certain of“equal” groups

Front 57

Matched-Group Design

Back 57

special type of betweensubjectsdesign in whichsubjects equated(“matched”) on relevantvariable prior to randomassignment

Front 58

Advantages of WithinSubjectsDesigns

Back 58

minimizes total number ofsubjects needed andequates all subject variablesacross conditions

Front 59

Level

Back 59

condition in an experiment

Front 60

Sequence (Order) Effects

Back 60

experiencing one conditionin a study affectsperformance in asubsequent condition;occurs in within-subjectsdesigns

Front 61

Two Types of Sequence(Order) Effects

Back 61

progressive and carryover