Unit 2

Question 1

A statement or set of statements about the relationships among variables. A statement or set of statements explaining one or more laws, usually including one indirect concept needed to explain the relationship

Answer 1

Theory

Question 2

A statement assumed to be true for the purpose of testing it’s validity

Answer 2

Hypothesis

Question 3

Scientific concepts must be defined in terms of observable operations.

Answer 3

Operationism

Question 4

A statement of the precise meaning of a procedure or a concept within an experiment. Scientific concepts are defined according to the operations by which they are measured

Answer 4

Operational definition

Question 5

A set of laws, theories, methods, and applications that form a scientific research tradition. A pervasive way of thinking about a branch of science that includes all the assumptions and theories that are accepted as true by a group of scientists

Answer 5

Paradigm

Question 6

Aspect of a testing condition that can change or take on different characteristics with different conditions

Answer 6

Variable

Question 7

A measure of the subjects behavior that reflects the independent variable’s effects. A measure of the behavior of the subject, the response that the person or animal makes

Answer 7

Dependent variable

Question 8

The condition manipulated or selected by the experimenter to determine its effect on behavior. A variable that is believed to cost some change in the value of the dependant variable

Answer 8

Independent variable

Question 9

The different values of an independent variable

Answer 9

Levels

Question 10

Variable whose effect cannot be separated from the supposed independent variable. Varies with the independent variable

Answer 10

Confounding variable

Question 11

This type of variable is one that varies in amount. For example, speed of response and loudness

Answer 11

Quantitative variable

Question 12

This type of variable is one that varies in kind. For example, college major and gender

Answer 12

Categorical variable

Question 13

A variable that falls along a continuum and is not limited to a certain number of values. For example, whole numbers.

Answer 13

Continuous variables

Question 14

Variables that fall into separate bins with no intermediate values possible. For example, the number of marriage is contracted, murders committed, or books written

Answer 14

Discrete variables

Question 15

The process of assigning numbers to events or objects according to rules

Answer 15

Measurement

Question 16

This type of scale is a measure that simply divides objects or events into categories according to their similarities or differences

Answer 16

Nominal scale

Question 17

This type of scale is a measure that both assigns objects or events a name and ranges them in order of their magnitude

Answer 17

Ordinal scale

Question 18

This scale includes a measure in which the differences between numbers are meaningful. Includes both nominal and ordinal information

Answer 18

Interval scale

Question 19

This type of scale includes a measure having a meaningful zero point as well as all of the nominal, ordinal, and interval properties

Answer 19

Ratio scale

Question 20

The property of consistency of a measurement that gives the same result on different occasions

Answer 20

Reliability of a measurement

Question 21

The property of a measurement that tests what it is supposed to test

Answer 21

Validity of a measurement

Question 22

A test that the measurements actually measure the constructs they are designed to measure, but no others

Answer 22

Construct validity of a test

Question 23

Idea that a test should appear superficially to test what is supposed to test

Answer 23

Face validity

Question 24

Idea that a test should sample the range of behavior represented by the theoretical concept of being tested

Answer 24

Content validity

Question 25

Idea that a test should correlate with other measures of the same theoretical construct

Answer 25

Criterion validity

Question 26

A measurement error that is associated with consistent bias

Answer 26

Systematic error

Question 27

The degree to which the same test score would be obtained on other occasions

Answer 27

Test-retest reliability

Question 28

The degree to which the various items on the test are measures of the same thing

Answer 28

Internal consistency

Question 29

A statement that certain events are regularly associated with each other in an orderly way

Answer 29

Law