Chapter 3 Definitions Textbook

Variables

Variables

the core unit of psychological research

levels or values

the things that make up variables

constant

something that could potentially vary, but only has one level in the study in question

measured variable

a variable whose levels are simply observed and recorded

manipulated variable

a variable a researcher controls

constructs/conceptual variables

the abstract names used to discuss theories

operational variables

how a construct is measured or manipulated in an actual study.

conceptual

a theoretical, careful definition of a construct

claim

an argument someone is trying to make

frequency claims

a claim that describes a particular rate or degree of a single variable

association claims

a claim that argues one level of a variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable

to correlate

when one variable changes, the other variable tends to change too

correlational study

a study in which the variables are measured and the relationship between them is tested

positive association

high goes with high and low goes with low in this association

negative association

high goes with low and low goes with high in this association

zero association

no association between the variables is called this

casual claim

arguing that one of the variables is responsible for changing the others

validity

the appropriateness of a conclusion or decision

generalizability

how did the researchers choose the study’s participants, and how do those participants represent the intended population?

external validity

how well the results of a study generalize to or represent people or contexts besides those in the original study