Exam 2 - Psych M&S

reliability

consistency of a psychological scale

predictive validity

extent to which test scores can be used to make a specific prediction on some other variable

construct validity

extent to which conceptions and operational measures of variables encompass the intended theoretical constructs

open ended question

allows participants to give freeform answers where they can respond in their own words at any length

closed ended question

questions with more direct/limited response such as dichotomous (yes/no), which do you agree with, select all that apply, etc.

social desirability

participants changing their answers to “look good”

projective tests

responses to ambiguous stimuli reflect unconscious process

time lag study

comparative study where measures are repeated at long intervals on an equivalent sample each time

cross-sectional study

comparative study of several subgroups captured for measurement at a single time

longitudinal study

comparative study of one’s individual or group over a relatively long period of time; examines INTRAindividual changes with repeated measures and possible includes a control group

back translation

a system of translating a psychological scale from language A into language B and then back to language A again to ensure equivalence

ethnocentrism

bias of viewing and valuing another’s culture from one’s own perspective

collectivism

system of social norms and beliefs in which the individual’s needs and aspirations are subsidiary to those of the group, often the family. duty and responsibility to others rule over independence and self-seeking goals

individualism

system of social norms and beliefs where individual needs and goals dominate over responsibility to others. the self is paramount and independence from others is a primary value

cohort effect

confounding in cross-sectional study when two different age groups have had quite different experiences

frequency

how often an event occurs

distribution

shape and spread of data sets

frequency distribution

distributions showing how often certain values occur

normal distribution curve

continuous distribution, bell-shaped symmetrical about its mid-point

normal distribution curve characteristics

1. symmetrical about the mid-point of the horizontal axis

2. the point about which it is symmetrical is the point at which the mean, median and mode all fell

3. the tail ends of the perfect curve never quite meet the horizontal axis (no limit to either end)

4. it is know what area under the curve is contained between the central point (mean) and the point where one standard deviation falls

area under the curve

tells us the percentage of scores in the population above or below a particular score

standard deviation

a measure of how dispersed the data is from the mean

z-score

number of standard deviations a particular score is from a sample mean

correlation

a standardized measure of relationship of co-variance between two variables measurement of the extent to which pairs of related values of two variables tend to change together

correlation coefficient

number of signifying strength of correlation between two variables

strength of a coefficient

measure of closeness of the relationship, indicated by a number between 0 and 1 (positive or negative)

positive direction of a coefficient

correlation where, as values of one variable increase, related values of another variable also tend to increase (the more x, the more y)

negative direction of a coefficient

correlation where, as values of one variable increase, related values of another variable tend to decrease (the more x, the less y)

what to do when r=0

make a scatterplot

directionality problem

unclear which variable leads to which

common uses of correlation

non-experimental studies and twin studies

a longitudinal study

studies participants over a rather long time

a cross-sectional study

compares several groups at the same time

a time lag study

investigates equivalent samples taken at long intervals

the system of translating a psychological scale from one language to another and maintaining equivalence is known as

back translation

a system of social norms where individual needs are secondary to the group is known in cross-cultural psychology as

collectivist

another way to describe ___ is that it is a value where 50% of the scores in the distribution are at that value or lower

median

which of the following would be used to visually represent a normal distribution curve?

histogram

____ is a graph or table of a distribution showing the frequency of each score in the distribution

frequency distribution

a positive correlation means that the values on the variables change in ___ direction at the same time

the same

which of the following has the strongest correlation: a.) -.34 b.) .17 c.) -.87 d.) .62

-.87

___is a value between -1.0 and +1.0 that indicates the size and direction of a relationship between two variables

correlation coefficient

the larger the correlation coefficient, the ___ the relationship

stronger

what percentage of the population falls within ± 1 SD under the normal distribution curve?

68%

suppose a psychologist developed a test to measure intelligence, but this test was poorly developed and really only measured how well people perform on standardized tests. in other words, it does not actually measure intelligence. this test would lack

construct validity

over reporting of positive behaviors and underreporting of negative behaviors in survey responses is ___ bias

social desirability

research has found that SAT scores best predict college grade point average. therefore, we would conclude that the SAT has high ___

predictive validity