Chapter 8 Glossary Flashcards
What is attribution?
Loss of participants before or during the research, which may confound the results because the remaining participants may not represent the population.
What are confounding variable hypothesis?
States that a confounding variable may be responsible for the observed changes in the dependent nature.
What is a confounding variable?
Any uncontrolled variable that might affect the outcome.
What is construct validity?
Validity of a theory. Most theories in science make many predictions and construct validity is established by verifying the accuracy of each of those predictions.
What are demand characteristics?
Any aspect of the research situation that suggests to participants what behaviour is expected.
What is diffusion of treatment?
When participants communicate information to participants in other conditions, thus potentially confounding the results of the study.
What is ecological validity?
When studies accurately reproduce real life situations, thus allowing easy generalisation of their findings.
What is experimenter effects?
Behaviour of the researcher that might affect the behaviour of participants or the measurement of dependent variables.
What is external validity?
Extent to which a study’s results generalise to the larger population.
What is generalisation?
External validity
What is history?
Confounding variable that represents any change in the dependent variable that is a function of events other than the manipulation of the independent variable.
What is instrumentation?
Confounding varible involving shifts in the measuring instrument that cause it to give different readings when no change occurred in participants.
When internal validity?
Accuracy of a research study in determining the relationship between independent and dependent variables.
What are the limits of generalisation?
This conditions in which a theory or scientific finding no longer validly applies.
What is maturation?
Potential confounding factor involving changes in participants during the study that results from normal growth processes.
What is placebo effect?
ANy observed improvement due to a sham treatment.
What is regression to a mean?
Cofounding variable that occur whenever participants are selected because they have either high or low extreme scores.
What is a selection?
A potential confounding variable that involves any process that may create groups not equivalent at the beginning of the study.
What are sequence effects?
The confounding effects on performance in later conditions due to having experienced previous conditions.
What are statistical hypothesis?
Synonymous with null hypothesis.
What is staististical validity?
Accuracy of conclusions drawn from a staistical test.
What are subject effects?
Any response by participants that is different from the way that they would normally behave.
What is testing?
Potential confounding variable that represents any change in a participant’s score due to the participant’s score due to the participant having been tested previously.
