101 exam 1

Internal attributes or characteristics that cannot be directly observed but are useful for describing and explaining behavior

An infinite number of possible values that fall between any two observed values. A continuous variable is divisible into an infinite number of fractional parts.

Individuals who do not receive the experimental treatment. Instead, they either receive no treatment or they receive a neutral, placebo treatment. The purpose of a control condition is to provide a baseline for comparison with the experimental condition.

Two different variables are observed to determine whether there is a relationship between between them.

A collection of measurements or observations.

A single measurement or observation and is commonly called a score or raw score.

The variable that is observed to assess the effect of the treatment.

Statistical procedures used to summarize, organize, and simplify data.

Consists of separate, indivisible categories. No values can exist between two neighboring categories.

Individuals who do receive the experimental treatment.

One variable is manipulated while another variable is observed and measured. To establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the two variables, an experiment attempts to control all other variables to prevent them from influencing the results.

The variable that is manipulated by the researcher. In the behavioral research, the independent variable usually consists of the two (or more) treatment conditions to which subjects are exposed. The independent variable consists of the antecedent conditions that are manipulated prior to observing the dependent variable.

techniques that allow us to study samples and then make generalizations about the populations from which they were selected.

Ordered categories that are all intervals of exactly the same size. Equal differences between numbers on scale reflect equal differences in magnitude. However, the zero point on an interval scale is arbitrary and does not indicate a zero amount of the variable being measured.

the bottom of the interval (for continuous variables)

Identifies a measurement procedure (a set of operations) for measuring an external behavior and uses the resulting measurements as a definition and a measurement of a hypothetical construct. Note that an operational definition has two components: first, it describes a set of operations for measuring a construct. second, it defines the construct in terms of the resulting measurements.

A set of categories that are organized in an ordered sequence. Measurements on an ordinal scale rank observations in terms of size or magnitude.

Avalue, usually a numeric value, that describes a population. A parameter is usually derived from measurements of the individuals in the population.

the set of all the individuals of interest in a particular study

in a nonexperimental study, the "independent variable" that is used to create the different groups of scores is often called this

An interval scale with the additional feature of an absolute zero point. With a ratio scale, ratios of numbers do reflect ratios of magnitude.

The boundaries of intervals for scores that are represented on a continuous number line. The real limit separating two adjacent scores is located exactly halfway between the scores.

a set of individuals selected from a population, usually intended to represent the population in a research study

the discrepancy, or amount of error, that exists between a sample statistic and the corresponding population parameter

a set of mathematical procedures for organizing, summarizing, and interpreting information

the top of the interval (for continuous variables)

a characteristc or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals

an organized tabulation of the number of individuals located in each category on the scale of measurement

a skewed distribution with the tail pointed to the left-hand side (below zero)

a skewed distribution with the tail pointing to the ride-hand side (above zero)

the score tends to pile up toward one end of the scale and taper off gradually at the other end

it is possible to draw a vertical line through the middle so that one side of the distribution is a mirror image of the other

the section where the scores taper off toward one end of a distribution

A statistical measure to dtermine a single score that define the center of a distribution. The goal of central tendency is to find the single score that is most typical or most representative of the entire group.

the sum of the scores, divided by the number of scores

if the scores in a distribution are listed in order from smallest to largest, it is the midpoint of the list

in a frequency distribution, this is the score or category that has the greatest frequency