How Is Generality Different from the Reliability of Effects

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The Answer is Asking about the generality of our interpretations addresses the question: "If experimental findings are used under circumstances that are somewhat different, will the same kind of effects be obtained?" This question is similar to the question raised by curiosity about the reliability of a study's outcomes, but it is not the same. Reliability asks: "If experimental procedures are repeated, will the same effects be obtained?" We make this same distinction in discussing replication in chapter 10. In both instances we are making predictions, but the basis for these predictions is different. Concluding that a study's effects are reliable predicts that the same results would be obtained if the procedures were repeated more or less exactly. Concluding that our interpretations are general predicts that the same kind of results would be obtained even if certain features of the study were somewhat different.

How Is Generality Different from the Reliability of Effects

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