Chapter 6 Flashcards
operational definitions
operational definitions define variables in terms of the specific operations needed to produce them
allows others to replicate research
all IV/DV must be operationally defined
four different types of independent variables
physiological
experiential
environmental/stimulus
participant
Physiological IV
change the physical state of the participant (drug, hormone, food depriv.)
Experiential IV
alter amount/type of training, learning, experience
Environmental/Stimulus IV
external difference in some aspectof the environment
Participant IV
characteristic of the participant; classification that cannot be manipulated
What are the four ways that you are measuring your DV?
Correctness
rate/frequency
degree/amount
latency/duration
DV must be VALID and RELIABLE
correctness
number of items correct
rate/frequency
how often behavior occurs
degree/amount
rating scale
latency/duration
reaction time, time to complete task
Extraneous variables
uncontrolled variables that can cause unintended changes beween groups
confounding
a situation in which the results of an experiment can be attributed to either the operation of an IV or an extraneous variable
(moves the location of the humps either close or farther apart)
nuisance variables
unwanted variables that can cause the variability of scores within groups to increase
nuisance variables increase the spread of scores within a distribution; they do not cause a distribution to change its location
(makes the curves shorter and fatter or skinnier and taller)
Do we want nuisance or confounding variables?
HECK NO.
EXPERIMENTER NEED TO MAKE SURE NO EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES AND MINIMAL INFLUENCE OF NUISANCE VARIABLES SO THE RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENT CAN BE MEANINGFUL
what are randomization/counterbalancing used for?
they’re used to eliminate EVs
what is the goal of randomization?
it eliminates any unique characteristics associate with the participants
makes sure they’re equally distributed across all groups that are formed and that every participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group in an experiment
what are five basic control techniques for extraneous variables
randomization elimination constancy balancing counterbalancing
counterbalancing
eliminate changes due to order
procedure for controlling order effects by presenting different treatment sequences
within/subject v group
within subject v group counterbalancing
Subject-
ex. pop taste
each subject tastes in different order ABBA
group-
half of participants go AB
the other half goes BA
elimination
removes extraneous variabes from experiment
you maintain constant conditions by removing them
constancy
create a uniform/constant condition experienced by all participants
difference between eliminated and assuming a constant value
ex same temp, lighting, time of day
balancing
when all groups experience all unwanted variables or levels of unwatned variables in the same manner/degree
ex. same exp. group A has alcohol, group B doesn’t
assign an identifiable trait to equalize groups
sequence or order effects
sequence or order effects ar eproduced by the participant’s being exposed to the sequential presentation of the treatments
performance depends on when participant is evaluated in the sequence or order (3 therapies, total time more important than type)
carryover effects
the effects of one treatment persist or carry over and influence responses to the next treatment (3 diff. therapies used, some carryover)
differential carryover
the response to one treatment depends on which treatment was administered previously (repetition to visualization v visualization to repetition)
complete counterbalancing
all possible treatment sequences are presented
you can calculate the number of sequences by using the formula n! (n factorial)
incomplete counterbalancing
only a portion of all possible sequences are presented
latin square design
