Week 02: Chapters 2 and 3

Question 1

generalizability

Answer 1

The degree to which a measurement can be found under diverse circumstances, such as time, context, participant population, and so on. In modern psychometrics, this term includes both reliability and validity.

Question 2

case method

Answer 2

Studying a particular phenomenon or individual in depth both to understand the particular case and in hopes of discovering general lessons or scientific laws.

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of I Data (informants’ reports)?

Answer 3

• Limited behavioral information.
• Lack of access to private experience.
• Error.
• Bias.

Question 4

face validity

Answer 4

The degree to which an assessment instrument, such as a questionnaire, on its face appears to measure what it is intended to measure. For example, a face-valid measure of sociability might ask about attendance at parties.

Question 5

Type II error

Answer 5

In research, the mistake of thinking that one variable does not have an effect on or relationship with another, when really it does.

Question 6

Spearman-Brown formula

Answer 6

In psychometrics, a mathematical formula that predicts the degree to which the reliability of a test can be improved by adding more items.

Question 7

objective test

Answer 7

A personality test that consists of a list of questions to be answered by the subject as True or False, Yes or No, or along a numeric scale (e.g., 1 to 7).

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of L Data (life outcomes)?

Answer 8

• Multi-determination.
• Possible lack of psychological relevance.

Question 9

I data

Answer 9

Informants’ data, or judgments made by knowledgeable informants about general attributes of an individual’s personality.

Question 10

correlation coefficient

Answer 10

A number between -1 and +1 that reflects the degree to which one variable, traditionally called y, is a linear function of another, traditionally called x.
A negative correlation means that as x goes up, y goes down; a positive correlation means that as x goes up, so does y; a zero correlation means that x and y are unrelated.

Question 11

expectancy effect

Answer 11

The tendency for someone to become the kind of person others expect him or her to be; also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy and behavioral confirmation.

Question 12

aggregation

Answer 12

The combining together of different measurements, such as by averaging them.

Question 13

What are the disadvantages of B Data (behavioral observations)?

Answer 13

• Difficult and expensive.
• Uncertain interpretation.

Question 14

p-level

Answer 14

In statistical data analysis, the probability that the obtained correlation or difference between experimental conditions would be expected by chance.

Question 15

experimental method

Answer 15

A research technique that establishes the causal relationship between an independent variable (x) and dependent variable (y) by randomly assigning participants to experimental groups characterized by differing levels of x, and measuring the average behavior ( y) that results in each group.

Question 16

research

Answer 16

Exploration of the unknown; finding out something that nobody knew before one discovered it.

Question 17

state

Answer 17

A temporary psychological event, such as an emotion, thought, or perception.

Question 18

judgments

Answer 18

Data that derive, in the final analysis, from someone using his or her common sense and observations to rate personality or behavior.

Question 19

construct

Answer 19

An idea about a psychological attribute that goes beyond what might be assessed through any particular method of assessment.

Question 20

behavioral confirmation

Answer 20

The self-fulfilling prophecy tendency for a person to become the kind of person others expect him or her to be; also called the expectancy effect.

Question 21

measurement error

Answer 21

The variation of a number around its true mean due to uncontrolled, essentially random influences; also called error variance.

Question 22

Funder’s Third Law

Answer 22

Something beats nothing, two times out of three.

Question 23

What are the techniques that improve reliability?

Answer 23

• Care with research procedure.
• Standardized research protocol.
• Measure something important.
• Aggregation.

Question 24

reliability

Answer 24

In measurement, the tendency of an instrument to provide the same comparative information on repeated occasions.

Question 25

effect size

Answer 25

A number that reflects the degree to which one variable affects, or is related to, another variable.

Question 26

B data

Answer 26

Behavioral data, or direct observations of another’s behavior that are translated directly or nearly directly into numerical form. B data can be gathered in natural or contrived (experimental) settings.

Question 27

What are the advantages of B Data (behavioral observations)?

Answer 27

• Wide range of contexts (both real and contrived).
• Appareance of objectivity.

Question 28

What are the advantages of I Data (informants’ reports)?

Answer 28

• Large amount of information.
• Real-world basis.
• Common sense.
• Some data are true by definition (e.g. likeability).
• Causal force.

Question 29

What are the disadvantages of S Data (self-reports)?

Answer 29

• Maybe they can’t tell you.
• Maybe they won’t tell you.
• Too simple and too easy.

Question 30

construct validation

Answer 30

The strategy of establishing the validity of a measure by comparing it with a wide range of other measures.

Question 31

What are the advantages of L Data (life outcomes)?

Answer 31

• Objective and verifiable intrinsic importance.
• Psychological relevance.

Question 32

psychometrics

Answer 32

The technology of psychological measurement.

Question 33

S data

Answer 33

Self-judgments, or ratings that people provide of their own personality attributes or behavior.

Question 34

Type I error

Answer 34

In research, the mistake of thinking that one variable has an effect on, or relationship with, another variable, when really it does not.

Question 35

self-verification

Answer 35

The process by which people try to bring others to treat them in a manner that confirms their self-conceptions.

Question 36

validity

Answer 36

The degree to which a measurement actually reflects what it is intended to measure.

Question 37

Binomial Effect Size Display (BESD)

Answer 37

A method for displaying and understanding more clearly the magnitude of an effect reported as a correlation, by translating the value of r into a 2 ! 2 table comparing pre- dicted with obtained results.

Question 38

L data

Answer 38

Life data, or more-or-less easily verifiable, concrete, real-life outcomes, which are of possible psychological significance.

Question 39

correlational method

Answer 39

A research technique that establishes the relationship (not necessarily causal) between two variables, traditionally denoted x and y, by measuring both variables in a sample of participants.

Question 40

Funder’s Second Law

Answer 40

There are no perfect indicators of personality; there are only clues, and clues are always ambiguous.

Question 41

What are the factors to undermine reliability?

Answer 41

• Low precision.
• State of the participants.
• State of the experimenter.
• Variation in the environment.

Question 42

scatter plot

Answer 42

A diagram that shows the rela- tionship between two variables by displaying points on a two-dimensional plot. Usually the two variables are denoted x and y, each point represents a pair of scores, and the x variable is plotted on the horizontal axis while the y variable is plotted on the vertical axis.

Question 43

What are the advantages of S Data (self-reports)?

Answer 43

• Large amount of information.
• Access to thoughts, feelings, and intentions.
• Some S data are true by definition (e.g. self-esteem)
• Causal force.
• Simple and easy.

Question 44

content validity

Answer 44

The degree to which an as- sessment instrument, such as a questionnaire, includes content obviously relevant to what it is intended to predict.

Question 45

trait

Answer 45

A relatively stable and long-lasting attribute of personality.

Question 46

factor analysis

Answer 46

A statistical technique for finding clusters of related traits, tests, or items.