Chapter 3 and 4 Flashcards
A _______________________ is something that changes or
varies, so it needs to have at least two levels
or values (but can have more).
Variable
A ___________________ does NOT vary (remains the same)
Constant
The following are examples of what?
– Symptoms on a depression scale
– How many items do participants remember on a
memory task (1-3, 4-8, 9+)
– Number of siblings someone has (0, 1, 2+)
– Program of study for undergraduate students
at Western (Psych, Bio, etc.)
Variables
A __________________ variable is observed and
recorded.
– Ex. time to complete task
Measured
A __________________________ variable is controlled.
Manipulated
Some variables can only be measured—not
manipulated. What are some examples?
–Age, IQ, personality, etc.
Some variables can be either manipulated
or measured. What are some examples?
– Education, nutrition, mood, etc.
____________________ are the name of the concept being
studied; they are abstract, theoretical
concepts
Constructs
__________________ are how the construct is measured or
manipulated in an actual study
Operational definitions
_____________________ claims describe a particular level or degree of a
single variable
Examples
– How many dog owners are in London?
– What percentage of people have
depression?
Frequency
The following types of evidence…
– Averages
– Percentages
– Ranges
Are examples of what type of data?
Descriptive data
______________________ claims argue that one level of a variable is likely to
be associated with a particular level of
another variable
Associational
__________________________ means that as one variable changes, the other tends to
change too
Correlational
The stronger the _____________________, the more
accurate the ____________________
Association, prediction
___________________ emphasize the distinction between correlation and causation
Associational claims
_______________________ claims argue that one variable causes changes
in the level of another variable.
Casual
__________________________ is the measured factor
Dependent variable (DV)
________________________________ is manipulated or variable factor with levels
Independent variable (IV)
____________________________ is the method of assigning participants to
levels of the independent variable such
that each group is as similar as possible
Random assignment
___________________ is the appropriateness of a conclusion or
decision
Research validity
_____________________ is how well the variables in a study were
measured or manipulated
Construct validity
______________________ is when in a relationship between one variable (A)
and another (B), the extent to which A,
rather than another variable, is responsible
for changes to B
Internal validity
_________________________ is the extent to which the results of a study
generalize to some larger population, and
other times/situations
External validity
__________________________ is how well the numbers support the claim
Statistical validity
