Psychology Research Methods

What is a frequency claim?

What is an association claim?

What is a causal claim?

What is random assignment in research?

What question does covariance address in the context of establishing causality?

What is temporal precedence?

Define internal validity.

How is the covariance rule typically established in an experiment?

According to the temporal precedence rule for establishing causality, the _____ must be manipulated before the _____ is measured.

What are two key elements used to satisfy the internal validity rule in an experiment?

What is systematic variance, and why is it problematic in experiments?

Define unsystematic variance and explain why it typically does not lead to confounds.

What is the term for a variable that is inadvertently missed during experimental control and could potentially affect the outcome?

How does a confound variable relate to the independent variable, and what type of validity does it threaten?

What is a design confound? Provide an example.

Explain what a selection effect is in experimental research.

What is the primary method for correcting design confounds?

What are the two main techniques used to correct for selection effects?

Describe an independent-groups design (also known as a between-subjects design).

Describe a within-groups design (also known as a within-subjects design).

What are concurrent measures in a within-groups design?

What is a repeated measures design?

What are order effects in within-groups designs?

How can researchers correct for order effects in within-groups designs?

What is attrition in research?

How can researchers address the potential problem of attrition?

What are testing effects (also known as practice effects)?

What is an instrumentation threat to internal validity?

How can instrumentation threats be corrected or minimized?

What are demand characteristics?

Explain observer bias.

What is a primary way to correct for observer bias?

What are placebo effects?

How can researchers control for placebo effects?

What are two methods used to check the construct validity of the independent variable (IV)?

What are two ways to check or support the construct validity of the dependent variable (DV)?

A result is typically considered statistically significant in psychology if the p-value is _____.

If a p-value is _____ , the result is typically considered not statistically significant.

What is Cohen's d?

According to Cohen's conventions, a d value of 0.20 represents a _____ effect, 0.50 represents a _____ effect, and 0.80 represents a _____ effect.

What is a one-way experimental design?

What defines a factorial design in experimental research?

What is an interaction effect in a factorial design?

In a factorial design, what is a main effect?

How can you mathematically identify or test for an interaction effect in a factorial design?

What is a quasi-experiment?

Describe a non-equivalent control group design.

What is a non-equivalent control group pretest/posttest design?

What is an interrupted time-series design?

Describe a nonequivalent control group interrupted time-series design.

Selection effects are primarily a threat in _____ designs. One way to assess (though not eliminate) this threat in such designs is to use a _____ measure.

What type of study design is a key solution for preventing observer bias?

How are placebo effects typically controlled for in experimental research?

Briefly define a design confound.

List three key differences between quasi-experiments and true experiments.

How do quasi-experiments differ from correlational studies?

List three potential threats to internal validity that can arise when testing participants multiple times (e.g., pre-test/post-test). What is a general solution to help rule these out?

What is a direct replication in research?

Define conceptual replication.

What is a replication-plus-extension study?

What is a meta-analysis?

Describe the "generalization mode" of research. What types of claims are often associated with it, and what type of validity is prioritized?

Describe the "theory-testing mode" of research. What types of claims are often tested, and what type of validity is typically prioritized?

What type of claim describes the rate or degree of a single variable, often expressed as a percentage?

What type of claim suggests that one variable correlates or is related to another?

What type of claim asserts that one variable is responsible for causing a change in another?

What technique ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any condition within an experiment?

In establishing causality, what criterion refers to the requirement that the proposed causal variable must be related to the proposed outcome variable?

What criterion for causality establishes that the proposed causal variable must occur before the proposed outcome variable in time?

What type of validity refers to the degree to which an experiment can confidently conclude that the independent variable, and not some other factor, caused the change in the dependent variable?

According to the rules for establishing causality, how is covariance typically established in an experiment?

According to the rules for establishing causality, how is temporal precedence typically established in an experiment?

According to the rules for establishing causality, how is internal validity typically established or strengthened in an experiment?

_____ variance occurs when an extraneous variable fluctuates predictably along with the levels of the independent variable, potentially creating a confound.

_____ variance occurs when an extraneous variable fluctuates randomly across all levels of the independent variable, adding noise but not typically creating a confound.

What is the term for an extraneous variable that varies systematically with the independent variable and provides an alternative explanation for the results, thus threatening internal validity?

What specific type of confound occurs when the experiment's design or procedure inadvertently allows another variable to vary systematically along with the independent variable?

What specific type of confound occurs when the characteristics of the participants in different groups vary systematically with the independent variable?

What is the primary method for correcting or minimizing design confounds?

What are the primary methods for correcting or minimizing selection effects?

In what general type of experimental design is each participant assigned to only one level of the independent variable?

In what general type of experimental design does each participant experience all levels of the independent variable?

What specific type of within-groups design involves participants being exposed to all levels of the independent variable at roughly the same time?

What specific type of within-groups design involves participants being measured on a dependent variable more than once, after exposure to each level of the independent variable presented sequentially?

What is the term for the potential confound in within-groups designs where exposure to one condition influences responses to subsequent conditions?

What procedural technique is used specifically to correct for order effects in within-groups designs?

What threat to internal validity occurs when participants systematically drop out of a study over time, especially common in pre-test/post-test designs?

How can researchers assess and potentially mitigate the impact of attrition?

What threat to internal validity describes a change in participant behavior or scores simply due to having taken a test or measurement more than once (e.g., practice or fatigue effects)?

What threat to internal validity occurs due to changes in the measuring instrument or changes in the observers/coders over time?

What are potential corrections or considerations for addressing testing effects and instrumentation threats?

What occurs when participants discern the study's purpose or hypothesis and consciously or unconsciously alter their behavior to align with perceived expectations?

What type of bias happens when a researcher's own expectations or hypotheses unintentionally influence how they observe, interpret, or record participant behavior or data?

What is a primary research design strategy used to correct for both observer bias and demand characteristics?

What is the term for a phenomenon where participants experience a change or improvement simply because they believe they are receiving an effective treatment, even if the treatment is inert?

What research design features are used to control for placebo effects?

What are two methods used to evaluate the construct validity of the independent variable manipulation in an experiment?

What are two considerations used to evaluate the construct validity of the dependent variable measure in an experiment?

In null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), what p-value threshold typically indicates that an observed result is unlikely due to chance alone, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis?

In null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), what p-value range typically indicates that an observed result is reasonably likely to have occurred by chance alone under the null hypothesis, leading to a failure to reject the null hypothesis?

What statistic, often symbolized as 'd', provides a standardized measure of the difference between two group means, expressed in standard deviation units, indicating the magnitude of an effect?

Match Cohen's d values to their conventional effect size descriptions:

What type of experimental design involves manipulating only one independent variable?

Experimental designs that involve two or more independent variables (also called 'factors') are known as _____ designs.

In a factorial design, what type of effect occurs when the effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable depends on the level of another independent variable?

In a factorial design, what is the term for the overall effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable, ignoring or averaging across the levels of the other independent variable(s)?

An interaction effect in a factorial design essentially asks if there is a 'difference in differences' between the effects of one IV at different levels of another IV.

What type of research design involves an independent variable and a dependent variable but lacks full experimental control, most notably the ability to use random assignment?

What specific type of quasi-experimental design compares two or more pre-existing groups after some event or condition has occurred, using only a post-test measure?

What quasi-experimental design attempts to address some limitations of the basic non-equivalent group design by measuring the dependent variable in two or more pre-existing groups both before and after an event or intervention occurs?

What quasi-experimental design involves taking multiple measurements on a single group before and after some intervening event or 'interruption' occurs?

What complex quasi-experimental design combines features of the interrupted time series and non-equivalent control group designs by taking multiple pre- and post-intervention measures on two or more non-equivalent groups?

Selection effects, where participants in different groups systematically differ before the study begins, are primarily a concern for - designs.

In true experiments, _____ _____ is the primary method to control for selection effects. In quasi-experiments where this isn't possible, using a / design can help assess initial group differences.

What research design feature is a key solution to minimize observer bias?

What component is essential in an experimental design to control for placebo effects?

If a potential third variable systematically varies along with the independent variable due to the way the study was set up (e.g., one condition is tested in the morning, the other in the evening), what type of confound is this?

List two key differences between a quasi-experiment and a true experiment.

How does a quasi-experiment typically differ from a correlational study?

Identify three potential threats to internal validity that are particularly relevant when participants are measured multiple times (e.g., in pretest/posttest or within-subjects designs) and no comparison group is used.

What type of replication involves conducting a study using the exact same procedures and operationalizations as an original study?

What type of replication involves testing the same research question (same conceptual variables) as an original study but using different procedures or operationalizations?

What type of study repeats aspects of an original study but also adds new variables or conditions to test additional questions?

What is the term for a statistical technique that mathematically averages the effect sizes from multiple studies investigating the same research question?

Which 'mode' of research primarily aims to make claims about a specific population, often focuses on frequency claims, and prioritizes external validity?

Which 'mode' of research primarily aims to test theoretical predictions rigorously, often focuses on association and causal claims, prioritizes internal validity, and may use controlled, artificial settings?

What type of research claim describes the rate or degree of a single variable, often expressed as a percentage?

What type of research claim suggests that one variable correlates with another?

What type of research claim argues that one variable causes a change in another?

What is the process called where each participant has an equal chance of ending up in each condition of an experiment?

In establishing causation, what criterion asks if variable A relates to variable B?

What criterion for establishing causation ensures that the causal variable (A) occurred before the outcome variable (B)?

What term describes the extent to which an experiment ensures that variable A caused variable B, with no other plausible alternative explanations?

How is the covariance rule typically established in an experiment?

How is the temporal precedence rule typically established in an experiment?

How is the internal validity rule typically upheld in an experimental study?

What type of variance occurs when another variable fluctuates systematically with the levels of the IV, is not controlled for, and potentially contributes to confounds?

What type of variance occurs when another variable fluctuates randomly across all levels of the IV and does not typically lead to confounds?

What is the term for an extraneous variable that varies systematically with the independent variable and provides an alternative explanation for the results?

What occurs when another variable varies systematically with an Independent Variable (IV), threatening internal validity?

What type of confound occurs when the experimental design itself allows another variable to vary systematically with the IV?

What type of confound occurs when participant characteristics vary systematically with the levels of the IV?

How can researchers correct for design confounds?

How can researchers correct for selection effects?

What type of experimental design involves assigning each participant to only one level of the IV?

What type of experimental design involves each participant completing all levels of the IV?

In a within-groups design, what is it called when participants experience all levels of the IV at roughly the same time?

In a within-groups design, what type of measure involves participants being measured on the DV after exposure to each level of the IV, often with the levels presented sequentially?

What is the potential issue in within-groups designs where exposure to one condition changes how participants respond to a later condition?

How can researchers correct for order effects in within-groups designs?

What is the term for participants dropping out of a study before it is completed, especially problematic in designs with multiple measurement points?

How can researchers address the potential impact of attrition?

What threat to internal validity involves a change in participants' scores over time simply because they have taken a test more than once?

What threat to internal validity occurs when the measuring instrument changes over time?

How can researchers address or correct for potential instrumentation effects?

What occurs when participants guess the study's hypothesis and change their behavior to align with (or sometimes against) the perceived expectations?

What type of bias occurs when a researcher's expectations influence their interpretation of the results or their interactions with participants?

How can researchers primarily correct for observer bias?

What phenomenon describes a change in participants' condition due simply to their belief that they are receiving an effective treatment?

How can researchers control for or correct for placebo effects?

What are two ways to check the construct validity of the independent variable (IV) manipulation in an experiment?

What are two ways to check the construct validity of the dependent variable (DV) measure in an experiment?

In inferential statistics, what p-value threshold typically indicates a result is statistically significant?

In inferential statistics, what p-value range typically indicates a result is not statistically significant?

What is Cohen's d?

According to Cohen's conventions for effect size (d), what value represents a medium or moderate effect?

What type of experimental design involves only one independent variable?

What type of experimental design involves two or more independent variables (factors)?

In a factorial design, what is it called when the influence of one independent variable on the dependent variable changes depending on the level of another independent variable?

In a factorial design, what is the overall effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable, averaging across the levels of the other independent variable(s)?

How do researchers typically assess whether there is an interaction effect in a factorial design?

What type of study resembles an experiment but lacks full experimental control, particularly because participants cannot be randomly assigned to conditions?

What type of quasi-experimental design involves comparing two or more non-randomly assigned groups only after the 'independent variable' has occurred (i.e., only a post-test)?

What type of quasi-experimental design involves comparing two or more non-randomly assigned groups both before and after the 'independent variable' occurs?

What type of quasi-experimental design involves measuring a single group repeatedly before, during, and after some event or 'intervention' (the 'IV')?

What type of quasi-experimental design combines features of the interrupted time series and non-equivalent control group designs, following two or more groups over time before, during, and after an event/intervention that affects only one group (or affects groups differently)?

Selection Effects are only a problem for _____ designs. The solution is to use a _____ design.

What is a primary solution to mitigate observer bias?

What is a primary solution to control for placebo effects?

What potential threat to internal validity occurs when a third variable systematically varies along with the independent variable?

What are key differences between a true experiment and a quasi-experiment?

How do quasi-experiments differ from correlational studies?

What are potential problems when testing participants multiple times (e.g., pre-test and post-test), and what is a common solution?

What type of replication involves conducting a study using the same conceptual variables but the exact same operationalizations as the original study?

What type of replication involves conducting a study using the same conceptual variables but different operationalizations from the original study?

What type of replication involves repeating the original study's methods (same conceptual variables) but also adding new variables or conditions?

What research technique involves mathematically averaging the effect sizes from multiple studies on the same topic to determine the overall conclusion supported by the evidence?

Which 'mode' of research prioritizes generalizing findings to a broader population, often focusing on frequency claims where real-world applicability is key and external validity is essential?

Which 'mode' of research prioritizes rigorously testing a theory and isolating variables, often focusing on association and causal claims where internal validity is paramount, even if it requires somewhat artificial situations?