Chapter 6

threat to internal validity

Any factor that allows an alternative explanation for the results

Extraneaous Variable

Any variables in a research study other than the specific variables being studied

The experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental research strategies

Compares two or more groups of scores

Cues given to participants about how they are expected to behave define which of the following terms?

Demand characteristics

Which of the following describes a variable that exists in a study but is not being directly examined?

Extraneous

Environmental variables

General threats for all designs

Participant variables

Individual difference

Correlational research strategy

Measures 2 variables for each individual and produces a kind of data

A research study attempts to describe the relationship between self-esteem and birth order position by measuring self-esteem for each individual in a group of first-born boys, and then comparing the results with self-esteem scores for a group of later-born boys. Which research strategy is being used?

Nonexperimental

Sentaization

Occasionally, the process of measurement, often called the assessment procedure, can alter participants so that they react differently to treatment.

descriptive

Produce a description of individual variables as they exist within a specific group

Correlational

Produce a description of the relationship between two variables but do not attempt to explain the relationship.

internal validity

Produces a single, unambiguous explanation for the relationship between two variables

How can sensitization threaten external validity of a study?

The results may be limited to individuals who have experienced a pretest.

Time-related variables

Threats for designs that compare one group over time

Which of the following questions can be addressed with the descriptive strategy?

What is the average number of text messages that a typical adolescent sends in a month?

Which of the following is a general plan for implementing a research strategy?

a research design

Quasi-experimental research strategy

an experiment that can never produce an unambiguous explanation that doesn't give an absolute cause and effect answer

threat to external validity

any characteristic of a study that limits the ability to generalize the results from a research study

multiple treatment interference

any factor that limits the ability to generalize results is a threat to external validity like fatigue and practice

Exaggerated variables

cautious about generalizing the result of a study with exaggerated variables.

A study examining the relationship between humor and memory compares memory performance scores for one group presented with humorous sentences and a second group presented with nonhumorous sentences. The participants in one group are primarily 8-year-old students and those in the second group are primarily 10-year-old students. In this study, age is potentially a(n) ________ variable.

confounding

Descriptive Research Strategy

description of variables of specific characteristics of a specific group of individuals

The degree to which your research results generalize beyond the specific characteristics of your study refers to

external validity

novelty effect

individuals may perceive and respond differently than they would in the normal, real world

External validity

refers to generalizing the results of a research study to people, settings, times, measures, and characteristics other than those used in that study

selection bias

sampling procedure favors the selection of some individuals over others

A journal article reports that a new teaching strategy is very effective for first-grade students. A teacher wonders if the same strategy would be effective for a class of third-grade students. What is the teacher questioning?

the external validity of a report

Research Strategy

a general approach to research determined by the kind of question that the researcher hopes to answer

Artifact

an external factor that may influence or distort measurements

Results from a research study suggest that a stop-smoking program is very successful. However, the participants who volunteered for the study were all highly motivated to quit smoking and the researcher is concerned that the same results may not be obtained for smokers who are not as motivated. What kind of validity is being questioned?

external validity

Experimental research studies tend to have very _______ internal validity but often have relatively _______ external validity.

high; low

A researcher measures mood for a group of participants who have listened to happy music for 20 minutes and for a second group who have listened to sad music for 20 minutes. If different mood scores are obtained for the two groups, the researcher would like to conclude that music influences mood. However, the happy music group was tested in a room painted yellow and the sad music group was in a room painted dark brown and the researcher is concerned that the room color and not the music may influence mood scores. What kind of validity is being questioned?

internal validity

What aspect of a study is threatened if the participants are tested in one treatment condition at one time and then tested in a second treatment condition at a different time?

internal validity

The experimental research strategy

is intended to answer cause-and-effect questions about the relationship between two variables.

non-experimental research

is intended to demonstrate a relationship between variables, but it does not attempt to explain the relationship