Module 6

Match the following

• placebo effect

• a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from −1 to +1)

• correlation coefficient

•  assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those  assigned to the different groups.

• validity

• effect on experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

• random assignment

• the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

• scatterplot

• a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables.

Match the following

• experiment

• the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

• double-blind procedure

• in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

• independent variable

• an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participant have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

• dependent variable

• the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

• control group

• a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

Match the following

• confounding variable

•  a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

• illusory correlation

• the perception of a relationship where none exists

• experimental group

• 1a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

• correlation

• in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable