Chapter 1

Question 1

ratio variable

Answer 1

A variable that meets the criteria for interval variables but also has a meaningful zero point

Question 2

levels

Answer 2

a discrete value or condition that a variable can take on

Question 3

independent variable

Answer 3

a variable that we either manipulate or observer to determine its effects on the dependent variable

Question 4

dependent variable

Answer 4

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Question 5

confounding variable

Answer 5

any factor that affects the dependent variable, along with or instead of the independent variable

Question 6

extraneous variable

Answer 6

a randomly distributed influence that detracts from the experimenters efforts to measure what was intended to be measured

Question 7

noise

Answer 7

influences an experiment by making relations between variable less clear than they really are

Question 8

reliability

Answer 8

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.

Question 9

validity

Answer 9

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Question 10

test-retest reliability

Answer 10

An assessment of the degree to which test scores are similar or stable over time versus the degree to which scores change or fluctuate upon repeated testings

Question 11

predictive validity

Answer 11

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

Question 12

hypothesis testing

Answer 12

the process of drawing conclusions about whether a particular relation between variables is supported by the evidence

Question 13

operational definition

Answer 13

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

Question 14

experiment

Answer 14

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Question 15

random assignment

Answer 15

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Question 16

single-blind experiment

Answer 16

an experiment in which the participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment

Question 17

placebo effect

Answer 17

something presented as a drug, but having no actual effect, experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent

Question 18

double-blind experiment

Answer 18

an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment

Question 19

demand characteristics

Answer 19

cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behavior is expected

Question 20

non-experiments

Answer 20

(studies with non-equivalent groups and participants are not randomly assigned to group or condition) Times-series designs, single-case designs, longitudinal design, correlational design

Question 21

correlation

Answer 21

a statistical relation between two or more variables such that systematic changes in the value of one variable are accompanied by systematic changes in the other

Question 22

between-groups research design

Answer 22

participants experience one and only one level of independent variable

Question 23

within-groups research design

Answer 23

the different levels of the independent variable are experienced by all participants in the study; also called a repeated-measure design

Question 24

order effect

Answer 24

refers to how a participant’s behavior changes when the dependent variable is presented a second time

Question 25

counterbalancing

Answer 25

minimizes order effects by varying the order of presentation of different levels of the independent variable from one participants to the next

Question 26

outliers analysis

Answer 26

refers to studies that examine the outliers- those participants in a study who behave very differently or who have extremely different results from the other participant

Question 27

archival studies

Answer 27

examines permanent/ongoing records of society

Question 28

population

Answer 28

(statistics) the entire aggregation of items from which samples can be drawn

Question 29

sample

Answer 29

the small group of participants, out of the total number available, that a researcher studies

Question 30

variable

Answer 30

any observation of a physical, attitudinal, or behavioral characteristic that can take on different value

Question 31

construct

Answer 31

an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances

Question 32

discrete observations

Answer 32

can take on only specific values (whole numbers); no other values can exist between these numbers

Question 33

continuous observations

Answer 33

can take on a full range of values (numbers out to many decimal points); there is an infinite number of potential values

Question 34

descriptive statistics

Answer 34

organize, summarize and communicate a group of numerical observations

Question 35

interval variable

Answer 35

is a variable that has numbers as its values; the distance (or interval) between pairs of consecutive numbers is assumed to be equal

Question 36

nominal variable

Answer 36

Variable is given descriptive names. No order or relationship among variables other than to separate them into groups. Ex: male, female, Republican, Democrat.

Question 37

ordinal variable

Answer 37

Implies order. Variables arranged in order, not necessarily equally spaced. Ex: marathon finishers–1st, 2nd, and 3rd place runners have differing finishing times.