Chapter 4 Validity in Psychological Research

Question 1

Error Variance

Answer 1

Variance among scores caused by the operation of randomly acting variables

Question 2

Random Error

Answer 2

Any error possible in measuring a variable, excluding error that is systematic

Question 3

Validity

Answer 3

The extent to which an effect demonstrated in research is genuine, not produced by spurious variables and not limited to a specific context

Question 4

Threat to Validity

Answer 4

Any aspect of the design or method of a study the that weakens the likelihood that a real effect has been demonstrated or that might obscure the existence of a real effect

Question 5

Internal Validity

Answer 5

Extent to which an effect found in a study can be taken to be genuinely caused by manipulation of the independent variable

Question 6

Construct Validity

Answer 6

Extent to which conceptions and operational measures of variables encompass the intended theoretical constructs. The constructs can be of persons (samples), treatments (IVs), observations (DV measures) and settings.

Question 7

Participant Expectancy

Answer 7

Effect of participants’ expectancy about what they think is supposed to happen in a study

Question 8

Hawthorne Effect

Answer 8

Effect on human performance caused solely by the knowledge that one is being observe

Question 9

Demand Characteristics

Answer 9

Cues in a study which help the participant to work out what is expected

Question 10

Pleasing the Experimenter

Answer 10

Tendency of participants to act in accordance with they they think the experimenter would like to happen

Question 11

Enlightenment

Answer 11

Tendency for people to be familiar with psychological research findings

Question 12

Social Desirability

Answer 12

Tendency of research participants to want to ‘look good’ and provide socially acceptable answers

Question 13

Evaluation Apprehension

Answer 13

Participants’ concern about being tested, which may affect results

Question 14

Reactive Study/Design

Answer 14

Study in which participants react is some way to the experience of being studied/tested

Question 15

Standardised Procedure

Answer 15

Tightly controlled steps taken by experimenter with each participant and used to avoid experimenter bias or expectancy effects

Question 16

Single Blind

Answer 16

Procedure in an experiment where either participants or data assessors do not know which treatment each participant received

Question 17

Double Blind

Answer 17

Experimental procedure where neither participants not data gatherers/assessors know which treatment participants have received

Question 18

External Validity

Answer 18

Extent to which results of research can be generalised across people, places and times

Question 19

Population Validity

Answer 19

Extent to which research effect can be generalised across people

Question 20

Ecological Validity

Answer 20

Widely overused term which can generally be replaces with ‘representative design’. Also used to refer to the extent to which a research effect generalises across situations. The original meaning comes from cognitive psychology and refers to the degree to which a proximal stimulus predicts the distal stimulus for the observer. Should not be automatically applied to the laboratory/field distinction.

Question 21

Representative Design

Answer 21

Extent to which conditions of an experiment represent those outside the laboratory to which the experimental effect is to be generalised

Question 22

Reproducibility Project

Answer 22

Large study designed to assess the extent to which the findings of 100 psychological studies could be repeated in replications. Surprisingly low reproducibility was found.

Question 23

Meta-analysis

Answer 23

Statistical analysis of results of multiple equivalent studies of the same, or very similar, effects in order to assess validity more thoroughly

Question 24

Secondary Data

Answer 24

Results gathered from other studies

Question 25

Primary Data

Answer 25

Results collected by researchers directly in their studies

Question 26

Experimenter Expectancy

Answer 26

Tendency for experimenter’s knowledge of what is being tested to influence the outcome of research