PNB 3RM3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Construct Validity, Internal Validity, Heredity

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour
• Course: PNB 3RM3
• Professor: Jennifer Ostovich

Document Summary

Argue that one variable is responsible for change in another, associated variable. Causal relationships can be: positive, negative, curvilinear (not zero) The causal variable came first, the outcome later. Directionality problem occurs when temporal precedence doesn"t occur. Tryon: genetically unrelated rats and raised in lab. Error: ending up at dead end of maze. Maze bright - rats that make least errors. Maze dull - rats that make most errors. Results lead to belief that intelligence is determined by heredity, but causal claim cannot be made. May not generalize to humans ( may violate external validity) May not actually be about intelligence (may violate internal validity) In the end, study concluded that rat intelligence was affected by genes (an association claim), but did not say intelligence was determined by heredity (which would be a causal claim) Assessing research claims: four types of validity applied to the three types of.