Evaluative terms

• What does validity mean


  The extent to which a test or tool measures what is claims to measure
• Quantitative data meaning

  numerical data
• What is ethnocentrism


  Seeing the world from the pov of ones own cultural group
• Definition of determinism

  Suggests we lack control of our behaviour and are controlled by our genes or past experiences
• Definition of free will

  Human beings are entirely free to act as they chose and bear responsibility for the outcome of their behaviour
• What is nature in the nature/nurture debate

  sees genetic, biological factors as the explanation for thinking and behaviour
• What is nurture in the nature/nurture debate

  Sees behaviour is learned or acquired through experiences in the environment
• What is the definition of useful research

  research that adds to our knowledge and can be applied to real life situations
• What does concurrent validity mean

  A way to judge validity that compares measures of the same phenomenon in different ways at the same time to show that they produce similar results in the same circumstances
• What does confounding variable mean

  A factor in an experiment that confuses the results because it masks the effect of the IV on the DV as its influences is systematic
• The study of cause and effect

  Investigation of a casual relationship - search for a link between two variables so a change in one causes a change in the other
• Definition of falsification

  being able to demonstrate that something is not the case - that something is false
• Definition of objectivity

  Being able to take an unbiased external perspective without being influenced by ones own individual or personal viewpoint - consistent between researchers
• Definition of competence


  States that psychologists should maintain high standards, including advancing their knowledge, skills, training, education and experience.
• Definition of demand characteristics

  Features of an experiment setting that indicate to participants the aims of the study and so can influence their behaviour
• Definition of one tailed hypothesis

  A statement predicting the nature/direction of a relationship between variables
• Definition of two tailed hypothesis

  A statement predicting how one variable will be related to another - whether there will be a difference in the DV for> different levels of IV
• What is event sampling


  An observational data recording method in which categories of behaviours are recorded simultaneously and continuously (tallies on a checklist eg)
• What are extraneous variables


  Any factors that can affect the outcome of an investigation other than those being tested - their influence may be systematic or non systematic but both can threaten overall validity
• Definition of face validity


  A simple measure of validity indicating whether a measure appears to test what it claims
• What is the fatigue effect

  A situation in which participants’ performance declines because they have experienced an experimental task more than once
• What does individual differences mean

  Variation between people in terms of their behaviour =, cognitions or emotions - could lead to differences between their responses in experiments not caused by IV (could also be genetic or acquired in origin)
• What is inter rater reliability

  The extent to which two people coding a variable such as behaviours in an observation or qualitative responses in an interview will produce the same records when they are presented with the same raw data
• Definition of matched participants design

  Experimental design in which participants are arranged into groups - each group is similar in ways that are important to study