PSYC62H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Construct Validity, Antipsychotic, Nootropic
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Internal validity: it refers to the control of variables with potential to influence a dependent variable. Without appropriately arranging conditions, other variables, called confound variables, can cause changes to the dependent variable. To avoid potential confound variables, researchers blind participants to the study medications, and they may also assign placebo to a participant group. External validity: it refers to how well study findings generalize beyond the study conditions. It presents limitation in predicting treatment effects in humans from studies conducted in animals. Example: thalidomide in rats and mice it treated sickness without affecting fetuses. In humans, it cured morning sickness, but was very harmful, and in some cases fatal to fetuses. This happened because in human, the thalidomide was metabolically transformed to teratogen which is harmful for fetuses. Face validity: it refers to the appearance of a test measuring what a researcher considers to measure. For example, researcher"s study drugs for alzheimer"s by testing mice with memory deficits.
