Exam #1 Flashcards
(44 cards)
Confounds
Something other than the variable of interest that affects the results
e.g. exercise causes happiness but so does family, friends, location, hobbies, etc.
Bushman’s Study
- A study that looks at the effect of catharsis on aggression
- Different types of venting
Empirical journal articles
Original research
e.g. research studies in my lit review
Review journal articles
Analyzing and summarizing other people’s research
e.g. my lit review
Construct
The name of the concept being studied
e.g. depression
Conceptual definition
A careful, theoretical definition of the construct
e.g. a low mood or loss of pleasure or interest in activities for long periods
Operational definition
How the construct is measured or manipulated in an actual study
e.g. 10 point Ladder of Life scale
Diener’s conceptual definition
Subjective well-being, meaning well-being from a person’s perspective
e.g. happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment
Diener’s operational definition
Five 7-point Likert scales (strongly disagree to strongly disagree)
e.g. on a scale of “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”, I am satisfied with my life
Measured variable
Variable that is observed and recorded
e.g. age, gender, race
Manipulated variable
A variable that is controlled
e.g. diet, participation in class, activity after being angered. in Bushman’s study
Frequency claim
- Describes a particular level or degree of a single variable.
- Only one measured variable
e.g. 75% of adults in the U.S. report being generally happy
Association claim
- Argues that one level of a variable is likely to be correlated with a particular level of another variable.
- At least two measured variables
- Correlate or show contingency
e.g. increase of exercise is related to higher levels of happiness
Predictor variables
Hypothesized causes
e.g. baking time, oven temperature
Outcome Variables
Hypothesized effects.
e.g. moisture of the cake, thickness of the cake
Positive association
The predictor variable increases and the outcome variable increases
e.g. an increase in exercise is related to higher levels of happiness
Zero association
There is no reliable relationship between predictor variable and outcome variable
e.g. an increase in exercise is not correlated to higher levels of happiness
Negative association
The predictor variable increases and the outcome variable decreases
e.g. an increase in exercise is related to lower levels of happiness
Covariance
A statistic that looks at how two variables are related to each other
Causal claims
- Argues that one variable causes changes in another variable
- Supported by experiments
- Experiments require at least one independent (manipulated) variable and at least one dependent (measured) variable
e.g. more consistent exercise leads to an increase in happiness
Temporal precedence
A change in the mediator takes place before a change in the outcome
e.g. it shows if participants show greater happiness after exercise
Level
- Receiving one set of stimuli/environment
- e.g. Bushman Experiment: venting
Random assignment
Assigning participants to levels of the IV such that each group is as similar as possible
e.g. cards, dice, numbers
Construct validity
How well the variables are measured and manipulated. Operational variables in a study are a good approximation of the conceptual variables.
