Chapter 8 Key terms

Attitudinal measure

A self-reported response of a participant to their individual attitudes, opinions, emotions, or beliefs

Audit study

An experimental study used to asses whether characteristics such as gender, race, and sexual orientation lead to discrimination in real labor and housing markets

Behavioral measure

A measure collected by observing the overt and observable actions of participants

Between-subject design

A study design in which participants are randomly assigned to different levels of the independent variable, such as viewing resumes for a male or female job applicant

Causality

A relationship where one factor or variable is dependant on aother factor or variable

confederate

An individual who pretends to be a study participant but who has instead been trained to play a role in the experiment

Control condition

A condition where the independent variable is not manipulated

Control group

A group which is not exposed to the manipulation of the independant variable

Cover story

A false reason for participation in a study

Debreifing

The process of interviewing particiapnts after the study and then informing them of the true nature of the study

Dependant vairable

In a causal hypothesis, the variable that is acted upon; the outcoe we are seeking to understand

Double-blind study

A study where niether the reseracher nor the participant is aware of which condition of the participant is in

Experiment

A research method where the researcher manipulates one or more independent variables to determine the effects on a dependant variable

Experimental condition

A condition in the experiment where the independant variable is manipulated

Experimental group

The group that is exposed to the experimental manipulation

Experimenter effects

When a reseracher subtly or unconsciously effects the performance of a study participant

External validity

A measure of validity concerning the degree to which the results of a study can generalize beyond the study

Factorial design experiment

An experiment that has two or more independant variables

Field experiment

An experiment that takes places in a natural or “real-world” setting

Independant variable

In a causal hypothesis, the variable puported to be the cause; the variable on which values of the dependent variable may depend

Internal validity

The degree to which a study establiches a causal effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable

Laboratory experiment

An experiment that takes place in a laboratory

Natural experiment

An experiement in which the independent varaible is manipulated by nature, not the experimenter.

Physiological measure

A biological response to stimuli

Population-based survey experiment

an experiment that relies on survey methods and is conducted on a representative sample of the population of interest

Random assignment

A process that ensures that participants have an equal likelihood of being assigned to experimental or control conditions in order to ensure that individual characteristics are randomly disributed across conditions

Salience

When participants notice the experimental manipulation, such as a job applicant being male or female

Selection bias

A form of bias that occurs when a certain types of people are “selected” into particular situations based on their characteristics; In experiments, selection bias occurs when control and treatment groups differ on some characteristic prior to the intevention that effects the outcome of interest

Social desirability bias

a forn of bias that occurs when a participants answers a question that reflects socially desirable characteristics or attitudes rather than truthful answers

Spuriousness

When apparent relation between two concepts is actually the result of some third concept (confound) influencing both of them

Triangulation

The use of multiple research methods to study the same question and determine if different types of evidence and approaches lead to consistent findings

Within-subject design

A study in which participants recieve all levels of the independent variable, such as viewing resumes for both male and female job applicants