Abnormal Psychology Chapter 4 (Barlow/Durand)

Hypothesis

An educated guess or statement to be supported by data

Research Design

The plan for testing the hypothesis.

Research Design

Affected by the question addressed, by the hypothesis, and by practical considerations.

Dependent variable

Some aspect of the phenomenon that is measured and is expected to be changed or influenced by the independent variable.

Independent variable

The aspect manipulated or thought to influence the change in the dependent variable.

Internal validity

The extent to which the results of the study can be attributed to the independent variable.

External validity

The extent to which the results of the study can be generalized or applied outside the immediate study

Confounding variable

By factor occurring in a study that makes the results uninterpretable because a variable (people taking/ not taking mdma) other Than the independent variable may also affect the dependent variable (their scored on conflictive tests).

Control group

Group in study who are similar to the experimental subjects in every way but are not exposed to the treatment received by the experimental group.