Midterm 1 - Lecture 3 (CH4) Flashcards

1
Q

How do we measure?

A

Operational Definitions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Operational Definitions

A

Operational Definitions: a concrete way to measure an abstract object

  • We are defining the variables that we hope to study
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

In operationalizing, we’re defining variables we hope to study…

Variable

A

Variable: any event, situation, behavior, or characteristic that varies (ie. Isn’t constant)
* Need an operational definition to study something - YOUR PLAN FOR MANIPULATING/MEASURING

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

3 types of Variables:

A
  • Participant
  • Situational
  • Response
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Participant Variable (Types of Variables)

A
  • Characteristics that individuals bring with them
  • Can be measured, not manipulated
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Situational Variable (Types of Variables)

A

Characteristics of the situation or environment

  • Can be measured and/or manipulated (EX: observing vs. instructing)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Response Variable (Types of Variables)

A

2 components:

  • Responses – can be measured only: performance on tasks (e.g. memory, math, perseverance, attention), reaction time, physiology (sweating, HR, BP, pupil dilation), self-report
  • Behaviour – can be measured only: helping others, tipping in restaurants, donating money, smiling
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What negative/impactful variable can also exist?

A

CONFOUNDING VARIABLES: Any variable that we are not interested in, that is intertwined with our variable of interest (its op def’n).

May impact the interpretation of our result

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Types of Studies

Correlational Designs (Types of Studies)

A
  • A type of non-experiment (no manipulation)
  • Draw a sample, then measure 2 or more different variables: See how well they “hang together”, How co- related are the variables?, How strongly is one associated with the other?
    (EX: Facebook use & lonelines)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Correlation

A
  • A statistic that indexes the degree of relationship between two variables.
  • +/- = “direction” of relationship: Positive (both increase), negative (one increases, other decreases), or non-existent (flat line)
  • Number = “strength” of the relationship
  • How closely is one variable associated with the other one?
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Linear relationships can be summarized by a single
“number”:

A
  • r (r is only useful for linear relationships)
  • can range from -1 to +1
  • -1 = perfect negative linear relationship
  • +1 = perfect positive linear relationship
    0 = no relationship
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Correlation DOES NOT equal…

A

Causation; third variables only come out of correlations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Types of Studies

Experimental Designs

A
  • Language: When can we say differences in variable A caused changes in variable B?

a. A must precede (happen before) B
b. When A is present, B must follow
c. When A is absent, B should not follow
d. When A is the only thing changed that might affect B

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Internal Validity (Key Features of Experiments)

A

Internal Validity: the ability to infer that the IV causes changes in the DV

  • Co-variation between two variables
  • Temporal precedence
  • Eliminate plausible alternative explanations
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

How do we work toward achieving internal validity?
(Key Features of Experiments)

A
  1. Experimental Control
  2. Random Assignment of people to condition
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Experimental Control (Ways to Increase Internal Validity)

A

– Only the IV changes across conditions

– No “confounds” (a second kind)

  • Confound (recap):

– A variable that is intertwined with the IV and may impact (co-varies with) the DV

– Could explain all or part of the result

17
Q

Random Assignment (Ways to Increase Internal Validity)

A

A method of assigning subjects to experimental
and control group so that each subject in the experiment has the same chance of being assigned to any of the conditions

  • Allows the researcher to balance out influence of all other (participant/situational) variables except the IV…

– Works “on average”

  • More effective as number of participants increases

Random assignment to condition balances out misc. effects on the DV

18
Q

Designing experiments that allow for casual inferences:

A

Experiments allow for casual inferences in part because they incorporate temporal precedence

  • Also, attempting to eliminate the influence of all other variables except for the one that is being manipulated: Usually achieved by trying to ensure that every other feature of the control and experimental conditions is held constant, except for the IV
  • In non-experimental, both variables measured at the same time - resulting in no info about what comes first
19
Q

IMPORTANT.

3 requirements for casual inference (Experiments)

A
  • Temporal precedence
  • Need for covariation
  • Eliminate plausible alternative explanations - which involve the possibility that some confounding variable could be responsible for the observed relationship
  • Experiments do this through random assignment & different forms of experimental control
20
Q

What’s a crucial part in achieving internal validity?

A

Keeping variables constant

21
Q

Further criteria for claiming cause:

A

To be sufficient, the cause must always produce the effect

22
Q

Non-Experimental Designs

A

Non-experimental designs: relationships are studied by measuring or observing the variables of interest

For any non-experimental method, both variables of interest are measured and none are manipulated

Allows us to detect covariation between variables, another term to denote some non-experiments is the correlational method: in which variables are observed but not manipulated, shouldn’t be confused with the correlation statistic

23
Q

Interpreting the results of non-experimental designs:

A

Cannot directly tell us whether two things are causally related
- EX: discover that two variables are related, but not if one has a casual impact on the other

Also introduces the third-variable problem: possible additional variable for an observed correlation between two variables

24
Q

Third Variable Problem:

A

Two variables aren’t directly related to each other

Since third variables offer an alternative explanation for the observed relationship, correlations alone can never be considered evidence of cause

25
Q

How are third variables different from confounding variables?

A
  • Third variables: cause the apparent relationship between two other variables
  • Confounding variables: intertwined with another variable in your study, so you cannot tell which is at work
26
Q

How can we determine the direction of cause & effect?

A

One key issue to figure out what causes what is…
- Temporal precedence: what comes first in time
- Helps figure out what directions the causal influence flows

27
Q

How do confounding variables come about?

A
  • A lack of precision in our operationalizations
  • To prevent, researchers must forecast possible confounds and measure them as well
28
Q

Mediating variable

A

Mediating variable: psychological process that helps to explain the relationship between two other variables

  • Bridge in-between
  • Allows us to have more knowledge to explore possible interventions to help inattentive children make friends
29
Q

Difference between confounding and mediating variables:

A

A confounder is a third variable that affects variables of interest and makes them seem related when they are not. In contrast, a mediator is the mechanism of a relationship between two variables: it explains the process by which they are related.

30
Q

How can we address concerns of generalizations, in terms of experimental artificiality?

A

Field experiment: the IV is manipulated in a natural setting out in the real world

  • Researcher still controls extraneous variables via random assignment, experimental control
  • Advantage: takes place in a natural context
  • Disadvantage: researcher loses the ability to directly control many aspects of the situation