PSYB01H3 Chapter 14: chapter 14 notes
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In this chapter, we"ll consider the issue of generalization of research findings. Recall that internal validity refers to the ability to infer that there is a casual relationship between variables. External validity is the extent to which the findings may be generalized. As noted in chap 7/9, individuals who participate in psychological research are usually selected because they"re available, mostly, freshmen, college students, sophomores enrolled in the introductory psychology course. Smart found that college students were studied in over 70% of articles published between 1962-1964 in the journal of. Experimental psychology and the journal of abnormal and social psychology. Sears reported similar findings in 1980-1985 in psychology journals. The problem is that such studies use highly restricted populations. They are young, posses characteristics of late adolescence: a sense of self-identity that is still developing, political attitudes that are in a state of flux, need for peer approval and unstable relationships.
