PSY 718 Test 2 Vocab

Analysis of covariance

A statistical procedure that compares group means while adjusting for pretest differences.

Factorial design

A design that studies the separate and joint effects of two or more independent variables on the dependent variable.

Between-subjects independent variable

A type of independent variable where different participants receive different levels of the independent variable.

Cell

A combination of levels of two or more independent variables.

Cell mean

The average score of participants in a single cell.

Marginal mean

The average score of all participants receiving one level of an independent variable.

Main effect

The influence of one independent variable on the dependent variable.

Interaction effect

When the effect of two or more independent variables on the dependent variable is more complex than indicated by the main effects.

Two-way interaction

The effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable varies with the different levels of the other independent variable.

Within-subjects independent variable

A type of independent variable where all participants receive all levels of the independent variable.

Factorial design based on a mixed model

A factorial design that uses a combination of within-participants and between-participants independent variables.

Three-way interaction

A two-way interaction that changes at different levels of the third independent variable.

Single-case research designs

Research designs that investigate the influence of a treatment condition on a single participant or group.

ABA design

A single-case design that compares the response to a treatment condition to baseline responses recorded before and after treatment.

Baseline

The target behavior of a participant in its naturally occurring state or prior to the presentation of the treatment condition.

Reversal

The change of behavior back to the baseline level after the withdrawal of treatment.

ABAB design

An extension of the ABA design that includes the reintroduction of the treatment condition.

Withdrawal

The removal of the treatment condition.

Reversal design

A design in which the treatment condition is applied to an alternative but incompatible behavior, producing a reversal in behavior.

Interaction design

A single-case design used to identify interaction effects.

Interaction effect in single-case research

The combined influence of two or more independent variables in single-case research.

Multiple-baseline design

A single-case design in which the treatment condition is successively administered to several target participants, outcomes, or settings.

Interdependence

A violation of design assumption in which changing one target (participant, outcome, or setting) produces changes in the remaining targets.

Changing-criterion design

A single-case design in which a participant's behavior is gradually shaped by changing the criterion for success during successive treatment periods.

Stable baseline

A set of responses characterized by the absence of trend and little variability.

Experimental criterion

In single-case research, the repeated demonstration that a behavioral change occurs when the treatment is introduced.

Therapeutic criterion

The demonstration that the treatment condition has eliminated a disorder or improved everyday functioning.

Social validation

The determination by others that the treatment condition has significantly changed the participant's functioning.

Social comparison method

A social validation method in which the participant is compared with nondeviant peers.

Subjective evaluation method

A social validation method in which others are asked if they perceive a change in the participant's behavior.

Quasi-experimental design

A research design in which an experimental procedure is applied, but all extraneous variables are not controlled.

Design components

Structures and procedures used in constructing research designs.

Nonequivalent comparison group design

A quasi-experimental design that compares results obtained from nonequivalent experimental and control groups.

Increasing control and experimental groups effect

An outcome in which the experimental and control groups differ at pretesting and both increase from pre- to posttesting, but the experimental group increases at a faster rate.

Selection-maturation effect

Participants in one group experience a different rate of maturation than participants in another group.

Selection-history effect

An extraneous event occurring between pretest and posttest that influences participants in one group differently than participants in another group.

Selection-instrumentation effect

Participants' scores in one group are affected by the process of measurement differently than participants in another group.

Selection-attrition effect

Participants that drop out of one group are dissimilar to those in another group.

Selection-regression effect

Participants in one group display a different rate of regression to the mean than participants in another group.

Experimental-Group-Higher-than-Control-Group-at-Pretest Effect

An outcome in which the experimental group performs better than the control group at pretesting, and only the experimental group's scores change from pre- to posttesting.

Experimental-Group-Lower-than-Control-Group-at-Pretest Effect

An outcome in which the control group performs better than the experimental group at pretesting, but only the experimental group improves from pre- to posttesting.

Crossover effect

An outcome in which the control group performs better at pretesting, but the experimental group performs better at posttesting.

Interrupted time-series design

A quasi-experimental design that assesses a treatment effect by comparing the pattern of pre- and posttest scores for a single group of research participants.

Regression discontinuity design

A design that assigns participants to groups based on their scores on an assignment variable and assesses the effect of a treatment by looking for a discontinuity in the groups' regression lines.

Assignment measure

A measure used to assign participants to experimental and control groups based on a cutoff score.

Threats to internal validity and external validity

Factors that can affect the validity of research findings.

Research validity

The truthfulness of inferences made from a research study.

Statistical conclusion validity

The validity of the inference made about whether the independent and dependent variables covary.

Construct validity

The validity of the inference about higher-order constructs from the operations used to represent them.

Internal validity

The validity of the inference that the independent and dependent variables are causally related.

External validity

The validity of the inference about whether the causal relationship holds over people, settings, treatment variables, measurement variables, and time.

Participant reactivity to the experimental situation

Research participants' motives and tendencies that affect their perceptions of the situation and their responses on the dependent variable.

Demand characteristics

Cues available in an experiment that influence the responses of participants.

Experimenter effects

Actions and characteristics of researchers that influence the responses of participants.

Experimenter expectancies

Biasing experimenter effects attributable to the researcher's expectations about the outcome of the experiment.

Experimenter attributes

Biasing experimenter effects attributable to the physical and psychological characteristics of the researcher.

Confounding

Occurs when an extraneous variable co-occurs with the independent variable and affects the dependent variable.

Confounding extraneous variable

An extraneous variable that co-occurs with the independent variable and affects the dependent variable.

Constancy

The influence of an extraneous variable is the same on all of the independent variable groups.

Equating the groups

Using control strategies to make the influence of extraneous variables constant across the independent variable groups so that the only systematic difference between the groups is due to the influence of the independent variable

History

Any event that can produce the outcome, other than the treatment condition, that occurs during the study before posttest measurement

Differential history

The groups in a multigroup design experience different history events that result in differences on the dependent variable

Maturation

Any physical or mental change that occurs with the passage of time and affects dependent variable scores

Instrumentation

Changes from pretest to posttest in the assessment or measurement of the dependent variable

Testing effect

Changes in a person’s score on the second administration of a test resulting from having previously taken the test

Regression artifacts

Effects that appear to be due to the treatment but are due to regression to the mean

Regression toward the mean

A synonym for regression artifacts

Attrition

Loss of participants because they don’t show up or they drop out of the research study

Differential attrition

In a multigroup design, groups become different on an extraneous variable because of differences in the loss of participants across the groups

Selection

Production of nonequivalent groups because a different selection procedure operates across the groups

Additive and interactive effects

Differences between groups is produced because of the combined effect of two or more threats to internal validity

Selection-history

The groups are exposed to the same history event, but they react differently because they were not equated

Selection-maturation

The groups undergo different rates of maturation because they were not equated

Selection-instrumentation

The groups react to changes in instrumentation differently because they were not equated

Selection-testing

The groups react to the pretest differently, because they were not equated

Selection-regression artifact

The groups show different amounts of regression to the mean, because they were not equated

Population validity

Degree to which the study results can be generalized to and across the people in the target population

Target population

The large population to which the researcher would like to generalize the study results

Accessible population

The population of research participants that is practically available to the investigator

Ecological validity

The degree to which the results of a study can be generalized across settings or environmental conditions

Temporal validity

The degree to which the results can be generalized across time

Seasonal variation

Values on the dependent variable vary by season

Cyclical variation

Any type of systematic up-and-down movement on the dependent variable over time

Treatment variation validity

The degree to which the results of a study can be generalized across variations in the treatment

Outcome validity

The degree to which the results of a study can be generalized across different but related dependent variables

weak experimental designs

Designs that do not control for many extraneous variables and provide weak evidence of cause and effect

one-group pretest-posttest design

Design in which a treatment condition is interjected between a pretest and posttest of the dependent variable

Posttest-only design with nonequivalent groups

Design in which the performance of an experimental group is compared with that of a nonequivalent control group at the

Posttest

Posttest-only control-group design

Administration of a posttest to two or more randomly assigned groups of participants that receive the different levels of the independent variable