Module 6

Match the following

• correlation coefficient

• 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.

• placebo effect

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

• validity

• 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.

• random assignment

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

• scatterplot

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

Match the following

• 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

• 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

• control group

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

• experiment

• 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

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

• correlation

• the perception of a relationship where none exists

• illusory correlation

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

• experimental group

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