Chapter 7 Flashcards
Relationships between variables can be: (3)
positive, negative, or curvilinear.
_________ variables may be examined
to see if the observed relationship is misleading.
Extraneous, or control,
A _______ relationship is one that no longer exists
when a third variable is controlled.
Spurious (false/fake)
________variables are intervening mechanisms
by which independent variables affect dependent
variables.
Mediating
- Eg.
If we think an intervention reduces recidivism among criminal offenders by first increasing prisoner empathy for crime victims, then level of empathy for crime victims would be our mediating variable. It would come between our independent variable (whether prisoners receive the intervention) and our dependent variable (whether they get re-arrested for another crime)
______variables influence the strength or
direction of relationships between independent and
dependent variables.
Moderating
Eg. There may be a relationship between socioeconomic status and how often women perform self-exams on their breasts. Age is possibly a numerical moderating variable: the relationship for socioeconomic status and breast self-exams might be weaker in younger women and stronger in older women.
_______ are mental images we use as summary
devices for bringing together observations and experiences
that seem to have something in common.
Concepts
______ is the process of specifying the
vague mental imagery of our concepts, sorting out
the kinds of observations and measurements that will
be appropriate for our research.
Conceptualization
In __________, concrete empirical procedures
that will result in measurements of variables
are specified
Operationalization
In determining the range of variation for a variable,
be sure to consider the _______ of the concept.
- Opposite
- Will it be sufficient to measure religiosity from very much to none, or should you go past none to measure Anti-religiosity as well?
This is a definition of ______. “Theoretical abstractions (depression, social adjustment, marital satisfaction, risk of child abuse), as measured by a scale that is created by combining several direct and/or indirect observables.”
Constructs
Intrusive thoughts is an _______ of PTSD.
Indicator
This is an example of which measurement step? “We will measure economic differences by responses to the survey question, “What was your annual income, before taxes, last year?”
Operational definition
“For our study, we will define social class as representing economic differences, specifically income.” This is an example of which measurement step?
Nominal definition
Interviewer asks: “What was your annual income, before taxes, last year?” This is an example of which measurement step?
Measurements in the Real World
