Validity And Variables

Question 1

What is internal validity

Answer 1

Are we measuring what we set out to measure?

Is affected if there are extraneous variables or confounding variables because we are no longer testing effect of IV

Question 2

What is an extraneous variable

Answer 2

Nuisance variables, they interfere with the research

May not affect everyone in the same way, but they muddy the research

Question 3

What is a confounding variable

Answer 3

They damage the DV as they vary systematically (affects everyone in the same way)
E.g. all participants in condition 1 were more intelligent than those in condition 2

Question 4

What is external validity

Answer 4

Can we accurately generalise it?
Ecological - is the environment accurate to real life?
Population - is our sample representative?
Temporal - is it accurate to today’s society?

Question 5

What are Demand characteristics

Answer 5

Type of extraneous variable
Difficult to control
Participants may guess aims and act in the way the think is expected

Question 6

What are investigator effects

Answer 6

Biases the come from the researcher, may be unconscious behaviour