1. Chapter 3: The Measurement of Behavior Continued Validity: the extent to which a measure actually measures what it is intended to measure The truthfulness of a measures. A test can be reliable and not be valid. Construct validity: The extend to which a measure measures the conceptual variable it is designed to measure. –Related to the adequacy of the operational definition of the variable

2. Convergent validity: the extent to which scores on a measure correlate with scores on a different measure of the same construct. –Does depression measure A correlate with depression measure B? Discriminant validity: the extent to which scores on a measure do NOT correlate with scores on a measure of a different construct. –Does the depression measure correlate with verbal ability? Content validity: whether the measure covers the full domain of the conceptual variable. –Does your test measures all the variables that are involved in IQ?

3. Face validity: whether a measure appears to measures a construst Face validity does not mean measure is valid –measuring skull size appeared to be a good measure of IQ. If a measure lacks face validity it still may be valid –some personality measures have questions that do not appear to be related to personailty Sometimes researchers do not want face validity. –Some measures of psychotic behavior may have disguised questions so the participant does not know what it is being measured.

4. Criterion Validity: to extent to which scores on a measure are related to a criterion (an indicator of the construct). –Does the measure allow you to distinguish participants on a behavioral criterion? –The extend to which the measures correlates with a behavioral measures. Predictive validity: the extent to which a measure correlates with a future behavior. –Does the GRE predict success in grad school? Concurrent validity: whether a measure correlates with a behavioral measures at the same time.

5. Validity Issues Reactivity: a measure is reactive if awareness of being measured influences the participant’s behavior and scores. Test-bias: occurs when a measure is not equally valid for everyone who takes the test. –Difficult to determine because it is hard to detect whether the groups actually do differ on the conceptual variable. –A biased test will have a weaker predictive validity for the group which it is thought to be biased against.

6. Ways to improve validity of measures: Pilot testing: try out the measure on a small group of participants before the study starts to get an idea of how they react to it and whether it is measuring what it is intended to measure. Make your items non-reactive Consider face and content validity by choosing items that seem reasonable and represent a broad range of questions concerning the concept. Validate your measure against other measures and criterion variables

7. Chapter 4: Approaches to Psychological Measurement Observational Measures Direct observation of behavior. Make observations of behavior and record them objectively. 1. Naturalistic vs Contrived setting Naturalistic observation: observation of behavior in natural setting with no intrusion of researcher. Observe everyday behavior and activities Participant observation: researcher participates in study, usually unknown to the participant.

8. Contrived Setting: observe behavior in a setting designed for the study (e.g. lab) –observe child aggression in playroom in a lab Ecological validity: extent to which research is conducted in situations that are similar to participants’ everyday lives. 2. Disguised vs Nondisguised Observation Undisguised: participants know that a researcher is observing them Reactivity: participants may act differently if they know they are being watched.

9. Disguised: participants do not know they are being observed. Informed consent? Usually not needed if watching people in public and the researchers do not intrude on or upset participants. Partial concealment: participants know they are begin observed, but do not know what the researchers are measuring. Knowledgeable informants: have someone who knows the participants well (friends, family) observe their behavior.

10. Unobtrusive measures: measures taken without the participant knowing it. Dyadic interaction paradigm: Observe behavior naturally without participant knowing and then inform them after and ask for their consent. 3. Behavioral Recording how to record the participants behavior Narratives: record a full description of participant’s behavior. Unstructured. –Video or audio recording –field notes

11. Checklists: Structured. Record behavior by checking off behaviors on a checklist. Depends on the operational definition of the concept –some behaviors may be difficult to record on a checklist –have to know what you are looking for ahead of time Temporal measures: when behavior occurs (latency) or who long it lasted (duration). Reaction time: time between stimulus and response.

12. Task completion time: time to complete a task. Interbehavior latency: time between two behaviors. Duration: how long a behavior lasted. Observational Rating Scale: measure quality or intensity of behavior. Scale to measure intensity of laughter

13. Measure of neural activity –EEG to measure brain waves Measure of autonomic nervous system activity –Involuntary responses like heart rate, temperature, and respiration. Blood analysis –hormones, blood cells Specific bodily reactions –arousal, blushing. Physiological Measures

14. Self-Report: Questionnaires and Interviews Survey research: ask people to provide information about themselves. Most widely used method of collecting descriptive information on participants. Goal is to produce a ‘snapshot’ of the opinions, attitudes, or behaviors of a group of people at a given time. Allows researcher to gather a lot of information in a short amount of time.

15. Questionnaires: a set of fixed format, self-report items completed by the participant. –Can be administered individually or to a group. –Can be mail-out surveys or internet surveys. Response rate: percent of people who complete and return and questionnaire. Important to have a high response rate to ensure your results reflect the responses of the entire group (rather than a subset) to ensure your results are generalizabile.

16. Interviews: questions are read to the participant in person or over the phone and the participant responds orally. Unstructured interview: the interviewer talks freely with the participant about many topics. –Provides in-depth information, but may be subjective. Structured interview: interviewer uses quantitative fixed-format items. Questions are prepared ahead of time. –allows better comparison across individuals. Focus group interview: interview a selected groups on individuals at the same time.

17. Pros and Cons of Questionnaires and Interviews: Questionnaires are cheaper, less time consuming, and require less training than interviews. Interview bias: interviewers can bias participants’ answers by their facial expressions and intonation. Questionnaires can produce more honest answers, especially when dealing with sensitive issues. Questionnaires are inappropriate for those who can not read. Interviews are better for young children and cognitively impaired or disturbed individuals. Interviewers can ensure the participants understand the questions

18. Biases in self-report measures Social Desirability: people may respond in the socially desirable manner. They may be concerned that they may be judged by the researcher for having a particular opinion. Threats the validity of the measure. –Ensure questions are worded neutrally –Ensure anonymity of responses Response styles Acquiescence: tendency to agree with statements Nay-saying: tendency to disagree with statements.

19. Analyze data from existing records –databases, census, magazines, newspapers Useful for studying psychological phenomena that occurred in the past –changes in family types Useful for studying behavioral changes over time Allows the researchers to study phenomena that they cannot conduct a study on –riots, world events. Archival Data