Final Exam Prep: Chapters 10-14 Flashcards
The researchers manipulated at least one variable and measured another
experiment
a variable that is controlled, such as when the researcher assigns participants to a particular level (value) of the variable
manipulated variable
_________ take the form of records of behaviour or attitudes, such as self-reports, behavioural observations, or physiological measures
measured variable
the manipulated (causal) variable
independent variable
the levels of the independent variable is also referred to as it’s ________
condition
the measured variable, or the outcome variable
dependent variable
any variable that an experimenter holds constant on purpose
control variable
A level of an independent variable that is intended to represent “no treatment” or a neutral condition. Also called control condition.
control group
A group in an experiment whose levels on the independent variable differ from those of the treatment group in some intended and meaningful way. Also called comparison condition
comparison group
In an experiment, a description of when the levels of a variable fluctuate independently of experimental group membership, contributing to variability within groups.
unsystematic variability
A control group in an experiment that is exposed to an inert treatment, such as a sugar pill. Also called a placebo control group.
placebo group
A general term for a potential alternative explanation for a research finding; a threat to internal validity
confound
An experiment using an independent-groups design in which participants are tested on the key dependent variable twice: once before and once after exposure to the independent variable
pretest/posttest design
A threat to internal validity in an experiment in which a second variable happens to vary systematically along with the independent variable and therefore is an alternative explanation for the results
design confound
In an experiment, a description of when the levels of a variable coincide in some predictable way with experimental group membership, creating a potential confound.
systematic variability
An experimental design technique in which participants who are similar on some measured variable are grouped into sets; the members of each matched set are then randomly assigned to different experimental conditions.
matched groups
A threat to internal validity that occurs in an independent-groups design when the kinds of participants at one level of the independent variable are systematically different from those at the other level.
selection effect
An experiment using an independent-groups design in which participants are tested on the dependent variable only once
posttest-only design
The use of a random method (e.g. flipping a coin) to assign participants into different experimental groups.
random assignment
An experimental design in which different groups of participants are exposed to different levels of the independent variable, such that each participant experiences only one level of the independent variable
independent-groups design
An experimental design in which each participant is presented with all levels of the independent variable
within-groups design
An experiment using a within-groups design in which participants are exposed to all the levels of an independent variable at roughly the same time, and a single attitudinal or behavioral preference is the dependent variable
concurrent-measures design
An experiment using a within-groups design in which participants respond to a dependent variable more than once, after exposure to each level of the independent variable
repeated-measures design
In a within-groups design, a threat to internal validity in which exposure to one condition changes participant responses to a later condition
order effect
A type of order effect in which participants’ performance improves over time because they become practiced at the dependent measure (not because of the manipulation or treatment).
practice effect
In a repeated-measures experiment, presenting the levels of the independent variable to participants in different sequences to control for order effects
counterbalancing
A type of order effect, in which some form of contamination carries over from one condition to the next.
carryover effect
A method of counterbalancing in which all possible condition orders are represented.
full counterbalancing
A formal system of partial counterbalancing to ensure that every condition in a within-groups design appears in each position at least once
Latin square
A threat to internal validity in which a historical or seasonal event systematically affects only the participants in the treatment group or only those in the comparison group, not both
selection-history threat
In an experiment, an extra dependent variable researchers can include to determine how well a manipulation worked
manipulation check
A method of counterbalancing in which some, but not all, of the possible condition orders are represented.
partial counterbalancing
A cue that leads participants to guess a study’s hypotheses or goals; a threat to internal validity.
demand characteristic
A study completed before (or sometimes after) the study of primary interest, usually to test the effectiveness or characteristics of the manipulations
pilot study
The participants in an experiment who are exposed to the level of the independent variable that involves a medication, therapy, or intervention
treatment group
An experiment in which a researcher recruits one group of participants; measures them on a pretest; exposes them to a treatment, intervention, or change; and then measures them on a posttest
one group, pretest/posttest design
A threat to internal validity that occurs when it is unclear whether a change in the treatment group is caused by the treatment itself or by an external or historical factor that affects most members of the group
history threat
A threat to internal validity that occurs when an observed change in an experimental group could have emerged more or less spontaneously over time
maturation threat
A threat to internal validity related to regression to the mean, a phenomenon in which any extreme finding is likely to be closer to its own typical, or mean, level the next time it is measured (with or without the experimental treatment or intervention).
regression threat
In a pretest/posttest, repeated-measures, or quasi-experimental study, a threat to internal validity that occurs when a systematic type of participant drops out of the study before it ends
attrition threat
In a repeated-measures experiment or quasi-experiment, a kind of order effect in which scores change over time just because participants have taken the test more than once; includes practice effects
testing threat
A threat to internal validity that occurs when a measuring instrument changes over time.
instrumentation threat
A bias that occurs when observer expectations influence the interpretation of participant behaviors or the outcome of the study.
observer bias
A threat to internal validity in which participants are likely to drop out of either the treatment group or the comparison group, not both.
selection-attrition threat
A study design in which the observers are unaware of the experimental conditions to which participants have been assigned.
masked design
A response or effect that occurs when people receiving an experimental treatment experience a change only because they believe they are receiving a valid treatment.
placebo effect
A study in which neither the participants nor the researchers who evaluate them know who is in the treatment group and who is in the comparison group.
double-blind study
In an experiment, an extra dependent variable researchers can include to determine how well a manipulation worked
manipulation check
Unsystematic variability among the members of a group in an experiment, which might be caused by situation noise, individual differences, or measurement error
noise
A cue that leads participants to guess a study’s hypotheses or goals; a threat to internal validity
demand characteristic
A study that uses a treatment group and a placebo group and in which neither the researchers nor the participants know who is in which group
double-blind placebo control study
A finding that an independent variable did not make a difference in the dependent variable; there is no significant covariance between the two.
null effect
An experimental design problem in which independent variable groups score almost the same on a dependent variable, such that all scores fall at the high end of their possible distribution
ceiling effect
An experimental design problem in which independent variable groups score almost the same on a dependent variable, such that all scores fall at the low end of their possible distribution
floor effect
A result from a factorial design, in which the difference in the levels of one independent variable changes, depending on the level of the other independent variable; a difference in differences
interaction effect
A phenomenon in which an extreme finding is likely to be closer to its own typical, or mean, level the next time it is measured, because the same combination of chance factors that made the finding extreme are not present the second time
regression to the mean
The degree to which the recorded measure for a participant on some variable differs from the true value of the variable for that participant. Measurement errors may be random, such that scores that are too high and too low cancel each other out; or they may be systematic, such that most scores are biased too high or too low
measurement error
Unrelated events or distractions in the external environment that create unsystematic variability within groups in an experiment
situation noise
The likelihood that a study will show a statistically significant result when an independent variable truly has an effect in the population; the probability of not making a Type II error
power
A condition in an experiment; in a simple experiment, a cell can represent the level of one independent variable; in a factorial design, a cell represents one of the possible combinations of two independent variables
cell
A variable such as age, gender, or ethnicity whose levels are selected (i.e., measured), not manipulated
participant variable
In a factorial design, the overall effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable, averaging over the levels of the other independent variable.
main effect
A study similar to an experiment except that the researchers do not have full experimental control (e.g., they may not be able to randomly assign participants to the independent variable conditions)
quasi-experiment
A study in which there are two or more independent variables, or factors
factorial design
In a factorial design, the arithmetic means for each level of an independent variable, averaging over the levels of another independent variable
marginal means
A study in which researchers gather information from just a few cases
small-N design
A variable that resembles an independent variable, but the researcher does not have true control over it (e.g., cannot randomly assign participants to its levels or cannot control its timing).
quasi-independent variable
A small-N design in which a researcher observes behavior for an extended baseline period before beginning a treatment or other intervention, and continues observing behavior after the intervention
stable-baseline design
A quasi-experiment that has at least one treatment group and one comparison group, in which participants have not been randomly assigned to the two groups, and in which at least one pretest and one posttest are administered.
nonequivalent control group pretest/posttest design
A quasi-experiment that has at least one treatment group and one comparison group, in which participants have not been randomly assigned to the two groups, and in which at least one posttest are administered.
nonequivalent control group posttest-only design
An experimental design for studying a therapeutic treatment, in which researchers randomly assign some participants to receive the therapy under investigation immediately, and others to receive it after a time delay
wait-list design
A quasi-experiment in which participants are measured repeatedly on a dependent variable before, during, and after the “interruption” caused by some event
interrupted time-series design
A quasi-experiment with two or more groups in which participants have not been randomly assigned to groups; participants are measured repeatedly on a dependent variable before, during, and after the “interruption” caused by some event, and the presence or timing of the interrupting event differs among the groups
nonequivalent control group interrupted time-series design
A study in which researchers gather information from only one animal or one person.
single-N design
A small-N design in which researchers stagger their introduction of an intervention across a variety of contexts, times, or situations
multiple-baseline design
A small-N design in which a researcher observes a problem behavior both before and during treatment, and then discontinues the treatment for a while to see if the problem behavior returns
reversal design
Describing a study whose results have been reproduced when the study was repeated, or replicated
replicable
A replication study in which researchers repeat the original study as closely as possible to see whether the original effect shows up in the newly collected data
direct replication
A replication study in which researchers examine the same research question (the same conceptual variables) but use different procedures for operationalizing the variables.
conceptual replication
A replication study in which researchers replicate their original study but add variables or conditions that test additional questions
replication-plus-extension
A series of related studies, conducted by various researchers, that have tested similar variables.
scientific literature
A way of mathematically averaging the effect sizes of all the studies that have tested the same variables to see what conclusion that whole body of evidence supports
meta-analysis
A problem relating to literature reviews and meta-analyses based only on published literature, which might overestimate the support for a theory because studies finding null effects are less likely to be published than studies finding significant results, and are thus less likely to be included in such reviews
file drawer problem
A questionable research practice in which researchers create an after-the-fact hypothesis about an unexpected research result, making it appear as if they predicted it all along
HARKing
A family of questionable data analysis techniques, such as adding participants after the results are initially analyzed, looking for outliers, or trying new analyses in order to obtain a p value of just under .05, which can lead to nonreplicable results
p-hacking
The practice of sharing one’s data, hypotheses, and materials freely so others can collaborate, use, and verify the results
open science
When psychologists provide their full data set on the Internet so other researchers can reproduce the statistical results or even conduct new analyses on it
open data
When psychologists provide their study’s full set of measures and manipulations on the Internet so others can see the full design or conduct replication studies
open materials
A term referring to a study in which, before collecting any data, the researcher has stated publicly what the study’s outcome is expected to be.
preregistration
The extent to which the tasks and manipulations of a study are similar to real-world contexts; an aspect of external validity. Also called mundane realism
ecological validity
A researcher’s intent for a study, testing association claims or causal claims to investigate support for a theory. See also generalization mode
theory-testing mode
The intent of researchers to generalize the findings from the samples and procedures in their study to other populations or contexts. See also theory-testing mode
generalization mode
A subdiscipline of psychology concerned with how cultural settings shape a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and how these in turn shape cultural settings
cultural psychology
A real-world setting for a research study
field setting
The extent to which a laboratory experiment is designed so that participants experience authentic emotions, motivations, and behaviors
experimental realism
