Final-3 Flashcards
(28 cards)
Confounding variable
An outside factor that affects both the independent and dependent variables, making it hard to determine the true cause of the observed effect.
Posttest-only design
An experimental design where groups are only tested after treatment
Pretest-posttest design
An experimental design where groups are tested before and after treatment
Independent groups design
is when different people are placed in different groups, and each group get
Repeated measures design
when the same people take part in all conditions of an experiment, so each person is tested more than once.
order effects
happen when the order in which people experience conditions affects their behavior or responses, such as getting better with practice or worse from fatigue.
Counterbalancing
a method used to reduce order effects by changing the order of conditions for different participants in a repeated measures design.
Matched pairs design
When participants are paired based on similar characteristics, and each member of a pair is assigned to a different condition in an experiment.
Developmental designs
research methods used to study how people change or develop over time, often by comparing different age groups or following the same group over a period
(cross-sectional, longitudinal)
straightforward manipulations
These are simple changes made by researchers in an experiment, such as altering the instructions, materials, or environment, to see how they affect participants’ behavior.
staged manipulations
re deliberate setups or events created by researchers to simulate real-life situations or to make a specific condition more convincing in an experiment.
ceiling effects
The test is too easy; everyone passes
floor effects
The test is too hard; no one passes
demand characteristics
cues or clues in an experiment that reveal the purpose or expected behavior, which may influence participants to act in ways that align with what they think the researcher wants.
placebo groups
control groups in experiments where participants receive an inactive treatment, such as a sugar pill, to compare the effects of the actual treatment.
experimenter bias (expectancy effects)
occurs when a researcher’s expectations or beliefs about the outcome of an experiment influence their behavior or the interpretation of results, often unintentionally.
manipulation check
a test used in experiments to ensure that the independent variable was successfully manipulated and had the intended effect on participants.
Factorial designs
an experimental setup that studies the effects of two or more independent variables simultaneously, including their interactions.
main effects
Refer to the overall impact of a single independent variable on the dependent variable, ignoring the influence of other variables in the study.
interactions
When the effects of one variable depend on the level of another variable
When the effects of one variable are different for different levels of another variable
Quasi-experimental designs
It lacks some features of true experiments, involves manipulation of an IV or treatment, and often lacks random assignment.
nonequivalent control group
Uses an experimental group and control group, but they are not equivalent (e.g., natural groups)
One lab does exercises, other lab doe not
Groups are “Self-Selecting”
Threats to internal validity:
History,
maturation,
testing,
instrument decay,
regression toward the mean,
subject attrition,
selection
Interrupted time series design
Examine a series of observations before and after a treatment and look for a
change in behavior
