Introduction Methods (class notes)

Question 1

“Personality” is a Construct, what is a construct?

Answer 1

Its an idea about a psychological attribute that goes beyond what might be assessed through any particular method od assessment
examples: intelligence, motivation, anxiety, fear

Question 2

What is the difference between a Conceptual definition, and an Operational definition

Answer 2

A conceptual definition is a description of something in terms of what it means and an operational definition is a description of something in terms of the operations it can be measured by
Conceptual: self esteem is the overal evaluation of oneself
operational: a self esteem scale

Question 3

What is a Behavioroid?

Answer 3

A type of data where participants report what they think they would do under various circumstances

Question 4

What is reliability

Answer 4

The tendancy of an instrument to privide the same comapratrive imformation on repeated occasions

Question 5

What is Measurement Error?

Answer 5

the variation of a number around its true mean due to uncontrolled random infleunces (there will always be some error)

Question 6

How do you improve reliability? (4 things)

Answer 6

1) Care
2) Standardize research protocal
3) Measure something thats important to the particiapnt
4) Aggregating (multiple measurements is more reliable than one)

Question 7

What is the “Spearman-Brown formula”

Answer 7

A mathematical formula that predicts the degree to which the reliability of a test can be improved by adding more items (helps reduce error)

Question 8

What is Validity?

Answer 8

The degree to which a measure actually measures what its intended to measure

Question 9

What is Construct Validity?

Answer 9

Does the measure reflect the intended construct?

Question 10

What is Criterion Validity?

Answer 10

How acurately a test measures the outcome it was designed to measure (predicting manifestations)

Question 11

What is Convergent Validity?

Answer 11

Does the measure relate to similar constructs? (does it match with other tests that measures same/simialr things)

Question 12

What is Discriminant Validity

Answer 12

Does the measure not predict different constructs??

Question 13

What is Face Validity?

Answer 13

Does the measure appear to refelct the intended construct?

Question 14

What are some Considerations for Validity?

Answer 14

1) the same measure that has been validated in one culture might not be valid for another, they may vary in meaning

2) response sets (someone responding ina. way that paints a picture of someone they wish to be and not who they really are) destroy validity

Question 15

What is the difference between reliability and validiity?

Answer 15

Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure (whether the results can be reproduced under the same conditions). Validity refers to the accuracy of a measure (whether the results really do represent what they are supposed to measure).

Question 16

What is Generalizabiltiy

Answer 16

The degree to which a measurement can be found under diverse circumstances, such as time, context, participant population, etc.

Question 17

What is a Cohort effect?

Answer 17

The tendancy of a group of people living at a particular time to be different in some way from those who live earlier or later

Question 18

What are some threats to Generalizability?

Answer 18

Undergraduate samples
Lack of ethnic/cultural diversity
Cohort effects
Shows vs No-shows and response rates

Question 19

What is a Projective technique/test?

Answer 19

An assessment in which you project from the unconscious onto ambiguous stimuli

Question 20

What is the “Projective Hypothesis?”

Answer 20

the idea that an individual supplies structure to unstructured stimuli in a manner consistent with the individuals own unique pattern of conscious and unconscious needs, fears, desires, impulses, etc

Question 21

What type of data are projective tests?

Answer 21

B-data

Question 22

What is the diffference between ‘Single-trait’ and omnibus personality assessment

Answer 22

Single trait: interested in a particular trait eg.neuroticism

omnibus: interested in many or all types of personality

Question 23

What is the difference between Statistical significance and Practical significance

Answer 23

While statistical significance shows that an effect exists in a study, practical significance shows that the effect is large enough to be meaningful in the real world.

Question 24

What is Correlational research?

Answer 24

A form of research that establishes the relationship between two or more variables. Variables are measured, not manipulated (nothing can be manipulated)

Question 25

What are the two variables used in Correlational research?

Answer 25

Predictor Variable (x) = the variable one is using to predict the other

Criterion Variable (y) = the variable being predicted by another in a correltion

Question 26

What are Correlation coefficients?

Answer 26

They express the strangth and direction of the relationship (between -1 and +1, and depicted by r)

Question 27

What are some advantages of correlational research?

Answer 27

It establishes a relationship and can make predictions

Can be quick and easy

May be the only way to study a relationship in the real world

Question 28

What is a disadvantage of correlational research?

Answer 28

We cant determine causation from correlational data

Question 29

What is Experimental Research?

Answer 29

Where one variable (or more) is manipulated to test for casual influence on another variable, variables are independant or dependant

Question 30

Whats the difference between independant and dependant variables?

Answer 30

Independant variable: the cause, manipulated, comes before the dv

Dependant variable: the effect, measured, comes after the iv

Question 31

Experiments can make casual claims, what are the 3 criteria for casuality?

Answer 31

1) Covariation
2) Temporal precedence
3) Internal validity

Question 32

What are some advantages of experimental research?

Answer 32

controls for extraneous factors and can make casual claims

Question 33

What are some disadvantages of experimental research?

Answer 33

Confounding variables
May not generalize to real life
Placaboo effects
Experimenter/observer expectancies may bias results

Question 34

What are Multifactor Studies?

Answer 34

A study with two or more predictor/independant variables. it helps examine the complexity of life

Question 35

What does Experimental personality research examine?

Answer 35

It examines the relationship between a personality factor and an experimental manipulation on a dependant variable

Question 36

What is a “main effects” finding?

Answer 36

A finding where the effect of one predictor variable has an effect on the dependant variable, independant variable, or other variables

Question 37

What is an “interactions” finding?

Answer 37

A finding where the effect of one predictor variable differs depending on the level of another predictor variable