Chapter 4

Question 1

Measurement

Answer 1

assignment of scores to individuals so that the scores represent some characteristic of the individuals.

Question 2

psychometrics

Answer 2

Measurements in psychology

Question 3

Psychological constructs

Answer 3

Complex psychological measurements that are not as direct to measure and cannot be observed directly.

Such as personality traits, emotional states, and attitudes

they measure tendencies of what we think and feel

Question 4

conceptual definition

Answer 4

a psychological construct that describes the behaviors and internal processes that make up that construct, along with how it relates to other variables.

Such as the factors of the big 5.

dictionary definition often lacks the scientific definitions used in research

Question 5

operational definition

Answer 5

a definition of a variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured. These measures generally fall into one of three broad categories. Self-report measures, Behavioral measures and physiological measures

Question 6

When one describes a variable in terms of the procedures used to measure or manipulate it, this is called establishing the:

A. Independent variable
B. Dependent variable
C. Operational definition
D. Scientific definition

Answer 6

C. Operational definition

Question 7

Which is the best example of a nominal scale of measurement?
A. A score on the latest quiz in English Literature
B. Schools ranking on the latest list of top quality schools
C. The various disciplines taught at a university
D. The temperature at the start of the day

Answer 7

C. The various disciplines taught at a university

Question 8

Self-report measures

Answer 8

are those in which participants report on their own thoughts, feelings, and actions, as with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Question 9

Behavioral measures

Answer 9

are those in which some other aspect of participants’ behavior is observed and recorded..

Usually in a highly monitored environment like a lab. Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment is an example

Question 10

physiological measures

Answer 10

heart rate, hormone levels, electrical activity in the brain, etc.

Question 11

converging operations.

Answer 11

When psychologists use multiple operational definitions of the same construct—either within a study or across studies.

When various operational definitions converge

Question 12

levels of measurement

Answer 12

four types of information that can be communicated by a set of scores, and the statistical procedures that can be used with the information.

Such as nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio

Question 13

Nominal level

Answer 13

used for categorical variables that do not imply any ordering among the responses.

Such as there is no favorite color or food that is ahead of another

Question 14

ordinal level

Answer 14

involves assigning scores so that they represent the rank order of the individuals within a variable.

Such as the seven-point dissatisfied to satisfied

You cannot mix and match scales at his level

Question 15

interval scales

Answer 15

measurement involves assigning scores using numerical scales in which intervals have the same interpretation throughout

however, they have no true 0 point. Fahrenheit and Celsius

IQ tests are also interval because you can’t have 0 intelligence

Question 16

Ratio level

Answer 16

measurement involves assigning scores in such a way that there is a true zero point that represents the complete absence of the quantity.

Like height, weight and Kelvin

Question 17

A race has been run and the finishing places have been posted (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) along the times for each runner. What two scales of measurement are represented by the data described here?

A. Interval and ratio
B. Ordinal and interval
C. Ratio and nominal
D. Ordinal and ratio

Answer 17

D. ordinal and ratio

Question 18

Which phrase is the best description of the concept of reliability of scores on psychological measures of intelligence, personality and attitudes?

A. Consistency of scores
B. Accuracy of scores
C. Number of Scores
D. Generalization of scores

Answer 18

A. Consistency of scores

Question 19

A psychologist administers a test of political orientation to a large class of students. Then the psychologist splits the test right down the middle and correlates two halves. It appears that the psychologist is most interested in establishing evidence for which of the following?

A. Face Validity
B. Criterion Validity
C. Test-retest validity
D. Internal Consistency

Answer 19

D. Internal consistency

Question 20

If Simon decides to try to assess intelligence by measuring a person’s weight with a bathroom scale, what is he likely to conclude about his measure’s reliability and validity?

A. The Measure is likely to be reliable but not valid
B. The measurement is likely to be valid but not reliable
C. The measurement is likely to be neither reliable or valid
D. The measure will have criterion validity but not face validity

Answer 20

A. The Measure is likely to be reliable but not valid

Question 21

Reliability

Answer 21

the consistency of a measure. Psychologists consider three types of consistency: over time (test-retest reliability), across items (internal consistency), and across different researchers (inter-rater reliability).

Question 22

Test-retest reliability

Answer 22

A construct measured across time that are consistent.

they are made by testing a group of people at one time then again at another time and getting consistent scores

Such as IQ scores

Question 23

Internal consistency

Answer 23

the consistency of people’s responses across the items on a multiple-item measure.

in general they reflect the same underlying construct such as self esteem scores

Question 24

split-half correlation

Answer 24

A way in internal consistency to measure data

This involves splitting the items into two sets, such as the first and second halves of the items or the even- and odd-numbered items. Then a score is computed for each set of items, and the relationship between the two sets of scores is examined.

Question 25

Cronbach’s α

Answer 25

A statistic that measures internal consistency among items in a measure.

Question 26

Inter-rater reliability

Answer 26

The extent to which different observers are consistent in their judgments.

Such as two or more observers watching video’s of aggression and coming up with similar judgements.

Question 27

Validity

Answer 27

the extent to which the scores from a measure represent the variable they are intended to..

there are three types of validity: face validity, content validity and criterion validity

Question 28

Face validity

Answer 28

the extent to which a measurement method appears “on its face” to measure the construct of interest.

It’s typically weak and based on intuitions

Question 29

Content Validity

Answer 29

the extent to which a measure “covers” the construct of interest.

Such as a researcher using tests of sympathetic nervous responses and negative thoughts for anxiety

Question 30

Criterion Validity

Answer 30

the extent to which people’s scores on a measure are correlated with other variables (known as criteria) that one would expect them to be correlated with.

Such as using a test on anxiety as a predictor of bad test scores

Question 31

criterion

Answer 31

can be any variable that one has reason to think should be correlated with the construct being measured,

Question 32

concurrent validity;

Answer 32

When the criterion is measured at the same time as the construct,

Question 33

Predictive validity

Answer 33

A form of validity whereby the criterion is measured at some point in the future (after the construct has been measured), to determine that the construct “predicts” the criterion.

Question 34

convergent validity.

Answer 34

A form of criterion validity whereby new measures are correlated with existing established measures of the same construct.

Question 35

Discriminant validity,

Answer 35

The extent to which scores on a measure of a construct are not correlated with measures of other, conceptually distinct, constructs and thus discriminate between them.

Such as self esteem being stable but mood fluctuating

Question 36

Four steps of the measurement process

Answer 36

(a) conceptually defining the construct,

(b) operationally defining the construct,

(c) implementing the measure, and

(d) evaluating the measure.

Question 37

Conceptually Defining the Construct

Answer 37

Having a clear and complete conceptual definition of a construct is a prerequisite for good measurement.

Such as defining more specifically the terms of memory like long or working memory

Question 38

Operationally Defining the Construct

Answer 38

define the terms of how the clearly defined construct will be measured.

You can use existing or create new existing measures

Question 39

Implementing the Measure

Answer 39

to implement any measure in a way that maximizes its reliability and validity.

Question 40

socially desirable responding,

Answer 40

When participants respond in ways that they think are socially acceptable

Question 41

demand characteristics:

Answer 41

Subtle cues that reveal to participants how the researcher expects them to respond in the experiment

Question 42

Ways to minimize reactivity of participants

Answer 42

One is to make the procedure as clear and brief as possible so that participants are not tempted to vent their frustrations on your results.

Another is to guarantee participants’ anonymity and make clear to them that you are doing so.

Question 43

Evaluating the Measure

Answer 43

Evaluating in terms of reliability and validity

Question 44

if students are told that a test will cover 10 concepts but then then test only actually covers 5 of those 10 concepts then the test does not have good _________.

A. Criterion validity
B. Content Validity
C. Face Validity
D. Convergent Validity

Answer 44

B. Content Validity

Question 45

A new measure of Intelligence has the advantage of being shorter than most existing measures. The new IQ test correlates.80 with a well-established test of intelligence. This correlation is good evidence of which of the following?

A. Face validity
B. Content Validity
C. Discriminant Validity
D. Convergent Validity

Answer 45

D. Convergent validity

Question 46

A new test of study skills is being developed and the developers want to make sure that the test is not measuring other characteristics that could be related but are not study skills. Which of the following would support the discriminant validity of the test?

A. A test-retest reliability coefficient of +.85
B. A correlation of 0.05 with a measure of intelligence
C. higher scores for freshmen than seniors
D. A correlation of +0.80 with a measure of responsibility

Answer 46

B. A correlation of 0.05 with a measure of intelligence

Question 47

it is generally a good idea to use an existing measure that has been used successfully in previous research. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of using an existing measure?

A. To save the time and trouble of making your own.
B. There is likely already some evidence that the measure is valid
C. Your results can be more easily compared to previous results
D. There is no way of knowing if the measure you develop yourself is reliable and stable.

Answer 47

D. There is no way of knowing if the measure you develop yourself is reliable and stable.