6. 6 Characteristics: Scientific Method Internal Validity: Confounding Variables: occurs when two or more causal factors are exerting an effect on the same thing at the same time, thus interfering with accurate measurement of the causal role of either one
7. 7 Characteristics: Scientific Method External Validity: Generalizability: A research finding’s ability to be applied to difference populations, settings and conditions Representativeness Sample: Degree to which the sample’s essential characteristics match those of the populations we want to generalize about
8. 8 Characteristics: Scientific Method Scientific Procedures: The Hypothesis: A tentative explanation for behavior Operational Definitions: Defined in terms of operations that can be observed and measured
9. 9 Characteristics: Scientific Method Methods of Control: Independent Variable: A factor that is manipulated by the experimenters in an effort to measure its effects Dependent Variable: A factor that will presumably be affected by the manipulation of the independent variable and whose changes the experiment aims to measure
10. 10 Characteristics: Scientific Method Methods of Control: Experimental Condition: A condition in which the treatment is present Control Condition: A condition in which the treatment is absent Random Assignment: Assigning subjects randomly to the different groups in the experiment
11. 11 Characteristics: Scientific Method Minimizing the Expectation Effect: Demand Characteristics: Subjects respond according to an experimenter’s expectations Experimenter Effects: Knowledge of an experimental condition that can bias an experimenter’s observations of behavioral results
12. 12 Characteristics: Scientific Method Minimizing the Effects of Expectations: Placebo Effect: A substance that looks like a drug or other active substance but is actually an inert, or inactive, substance Double-blind Procedure: Both the subject and the experimenter are kept unaware as to which treatment is being administered
13. 13 Characteristics: Scientific Method Statistical Inference: The Null Hypothesis: The assumption that the independent variable has had no effect on the study or experiment Clinical Significance: Can the clinical findings be of any real help in treatment?
14. 14 Correlational Research Case-control Design: People diagnosed as having a particular mental disorder are compared with controls Longitudinal Studies: Behaviors of the same subject over an extended period of time High-risk design
15. 15 Epidemiological Studies Incidence: The number of new cases of a disorder within a given time period Prevalence: The percentage of the population that has the disorder at a particular time Duration: The average length of a given disorder
16. 16 Experimental Designs Clinical Trials: Studying the effectiveness of treatments Analogue Experiments: An experimental situation that is designed to be analogous to “real life”
