Concepts Provide a Kind of Mental Shorthand, Economizing the Cognitive

question 455

True/False

Concepts provide a kind of mental shorthand, economizing the cognitive effort required for thinking and communication.

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Definitions:

Extraneous Variable

Any variable that is not intentionally studied in the experiment which can affect the outcome of the research if not controlled.

Confounding Variable

An outside influence that changes the effect of a dependent and independent variable. This extraneous influence is used to influence the outcome of an experimental design.

Volunteer Bias

A shortcoming of findings derived from a sample of volunteers instead of a representative sample; the volunteers may differ from those who did not volunteer.

Experimenter's Bias

A form of bias introduced by the experimenter whose expectations about the outcome of the experiment can be subtly communicated to the participants.