Chpt 5: Measurement Concepts (PSY302)

Question 1

Def: reliability

Answer 1

the consistency or stability of a measure.

Question 2

In order for something to be _______, it needs to not _______ from one reading to the next.

Answer 2

reliable, fluctuate

Question 3

Def: true score

Answer 3

the real, or true value on a given variable

Question 4

Def: measurement error

Answer 4

the degree to which a measurement scores deviates from the true score value.
An unreliable measure of intelligence has considerable measurement of error.
To test this, it’s in greater variability by the person to whom the unreliable test was administered.

Question 5

Reliability is most likely to be achieved when researchers use __________ measurements in their procedures.

Answer 5

careful

Question 6

In order to ________ reliability, you must make __________ measures.

Answer 6

increase, multiple

Question 7

Def: Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient

Answer 7

a common method of calculation a correlation coefficient used with ratio & interval scale data.

Question 8

What is the Pearson Product symbol?

Answer 8

r

Question 9

Def: test-retest reliability

Answer 9

assessed by measuring the same ppl at 2pts in time & comparing the results.
A high correlation between test & retest indicates reliability.

Question 10

Def: alternate forms reliability

Answer 10

uses 2 forms of the same test given to the same ppl at 2 points in time.
This avoids issues with participants remembering & repeating earlier responses.

Question 11

If many participants have 2 very similar scores, you can conclude that the measure reflects ________ scores instead of measurement _______.

Answer 11

true, error

Question 12

Def: internal consistency reliability

Answer 12

the assessment of reliability using responses at only 1 pt in time.
Bc all items measure the same variable, they should yield similar or consistent results.

Question 13

Def: split-half reliability

Answer 13

the correlation of the total score on ½ of the test with the total score on the other.
Both halves are created by randomly dividing items into 2 groups.

Question 14

What’s one con to split-half reliability?

Answer 14

One con of this is that this is based on only 1 of many possible ways of dividing the measures into halves.

Question 15

A _______ correlation indicates that the questions on the test are measuring the _______ thing.

Answer 15

high, same

Question 16

Def: item-total correlation

Answer 16

provides info abt each individual value.
A large number of correlation coefficients are produced.
provides info abt each individual value.

Question 17

Def: interrater reliability

Answer 17

the extent to which raters agree in their observations.
A high correlation indicates raters agree in their ratings.
A commonly used indicator is Cohen’s kappa.

Question 18

How to Test-retest Reliability:

Answer 18

A measure is taken 2x. The correlation of a score at time 1 with the score at time 2 represents test-retest reliability.
The correlation between 2 versions of a measure is called the alternative forms reliability.

Question 19

Def: Cronbach’s Alpha

Answer 19

correlation of each item on the measure with every other item on the measure. Also known as the Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient

Question 20

What’s one thing that reliability doesn’t account for?

Answer 20

It doesn’t tell us whether we have a good measure of the variables of interest.

Question 21

Def: face validity

Answer 21

the content of the measure appears to reflect the construct being measured.
The simplest way to argue that a measure is valid is to suggest that the measure appears to assess the intended variable accurately by face validity.

Question 22

Face validity isn’t ___________; it involves only a judgment of whether given the theoretical def of the variable, the content of the measure appears to actually _________ the variable.

Answer 22

sophisticated, measure

Question 23

Def: content validity

Answer 23

the content of the measure is linked to the universe of content that defines the construct.
Ex: depression would have content that links to each of the single symptoms that would be defined in the DSM5.

Question 24

Both face & content validity focuses on ________ whether the content of a measure _________ the meaning of the construct being measured.

Answer 24

assessing, reflects

Question 25

Def: criterion

Answer 25

The behavior when it comes to validity

Question 26

Def: predictive validity

Answer 26

scores on the measure predict behavior on a criterion measured at a future time.
This is important when studying measures that are designed to improve our ability to make predictions.
This is focused on the measure of a future behavior or outcome.

Question 27

Def: Concurrent validity

Answer 27

scores on the measure are related to a criterion measured at the same time.
A common method is to study whether 2(+) groups of ppl differ on the measure in expected ways.
Studies how ppl who score either low or high on the measure behave in diff situations.

Question 28

Def: convergent validity

Answer 28

scores on the ensure are related to other measures of the same or similar constructs.

Question 29

Def: discriminant validity

Answer 29

scores on the measure are not related to other measures that are theoretically diff.
This measure should discriminate between the construct being measured & other unrelated constructs.

Question 30

Def: reactivity

Answer 30

a potential issue when measuring behavior.

Question 31

A measure is said to be _______ if the awareness of being measured ________ an individual’s behavior.

Answer 31

reactive, changes

Question 32

4 kinds of measurement scales

Answer 32

Nominal scales
Ordinal scales
Interval scales
Ratio scales

Question 33

Def: nominal scales

Answer 33

no numerical or quantitative properties; categories or groups simply differ from one another.

Question 34

Def: ordinal scale

Answer 34

llow us to order the levels of the variables under study.
Ex: letter grades, rating (S, A, B, C, D, E, F) scales, and the five star scale.

Question 35

What’s one issue with ordinal scales?

Answer 35

One issue with ordinal scales is that while they provide rank-ordered categories, they don’t provide any info abt the distance between the categories.

Question 36

Def: interval scale

Answer 36

are numerical scales in which the intervals between numbers on the scale are equal in size.
Ex: your household thermostat.

Question 37

Def: ratio scales

Answer 37

have an absolute zero pt that indicates the absence of the variable being measured.
Ex: length, weight, or time.
Used in behavioral sciences when variables that involve physical measures are being studied specifically time measures like ration time, rate of responding, & duration of response