PSY301 Midterm 2

Self-report measure

A method of measuring a variable where participants answer questions about themselves, often used to make frequency claims.

Observational measure

A method of measuring a variable by recording observable behaviors or physical traces of behavior.

Physiological measure

A method of measuring a variable by recording biological data, such as fMRI or facial electromyography.

Nominal scale

A scale that divides a variable into two or more categories without any order or ranking.

Ordinal scale

A scale used for ranking variables where the numerals represent a ranked order.

Interval scale

A scale that represents equal intervals among the variable levels without a true zero point.

Ratio scale

A scale that has equal intervals and a true zero point, allowing for comparison of the absence of the variable.

Test-retest reliability

The consistency of scores when the same test is administered to the same individuals on different occasions.

Inter-rater reliability

The degree to which different raters/observers give consistent estimates of the same phenomenon.

Internal reliability

The consistency of a participant's responses across items on a test or questionnaire.

Cronbach’s alpha

A statistic that measures the internal reliability of a scale, aiming for a coefficient of 0.70 or higher.

Face validity

The extent to which a measure appears to measure what it is supposed to measure based on subjective judgment.

Content validity

The degree to which a measurement captures all parts of the defined construct.

Criterion validity

Assesses whether a measure is associated with a concrete behavioral outcome as expected.

Known-groups paradigm

A method where researchers see whether scores on a measure can differentiate between confirmed groups.

Discriminant validity

The degree to which a measure does not correlate with other measures that are not supposed to be related.

Sampling

The process of selecting individuals from a larger population for research purposes.

Population

The entire set of individuals or items that are of interest in a study.

Sample

A subset of the population selected for the study.

Representative sample

A sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population from which it is drawn.

Convenience sampling

A type of non-random sampling that involves selecting individuals who are readily available.

Correlation coefficient (r)

A statistical measure that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

Effect size

An index that quantifies the strength of the relationship between two variables.

Outliers

Scores that fall far outside the range of the majority of observations, potentially skewing results.

Autocorrelation

In longitudinal studies, the correlation of a variable with itself measured at two different times.

Multiple regression

A statistical technique that allows examination of the relationship between one dependent variable and multiple independent variables.

Mediator

A variable that helps explain the relationship between two other variables.

Moderator

A variable that modifies the strength or direction of the relationship between two variables.