The degree to which the results of an experiment or study on particular groups of participants generalise to the population at large. One way of checking external validity is by means of replicating experiments or studies. See Community survey, Convergent validity, Construct validity, Discriminant validity, Ecological validity, Experimental method, Generalization, Internal validity, Quantitative research, Validity
Tag Archives: glossary
Exposure
In epidemiological studies, the duration or intensity of the presence of a risk for a negative outcome. See Epidemiology, Epidemiological studies, Risk factors
Exposure learning
A simple form of learning expressed by young animals in which mere exposure to a stimulus leads to establishment of a preference for that stimulus later in life. Postnatal examples of exposure learning include imprinting and the development of bird song; during prenatal development, exposure learning can lead to preferences for sounds or odor cues …
Exponential change
Continuous change that either accelerates or decelerates so that the pattern of change is curvilinear [J-shaped or S-shaped (sigmoid)]. A snowball rolling downhill changes exponentially with time since when it is twice as big, it gathers snow twice as fast. A prime example of exponential change is contained in the theory of population pressure devised …
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA)
A type of factor analysis where the neither the specific number of factors nor the pattern of the zero and non-zero loads are hypothesized in advance of the estimation. EFA is often used to estimate a reasonable description of data in terms of a multiple factor model in situations where no other description is available. …
Exponential
A function that varies as the power or exponent of another quantity. If y = ax, then y varies exponentially with x. Exponential functions or series involve the constant e = 2.71828 … (the base of natural or Napierian logarithms). See Asymptote, Developmental function, Exponential change
Exploration
As a developmental concept, it refers to actions that reveal new possibilities for interacting with objects and people through obtaining information about the world and about oneself. See Action, Ecological psychology, Experience
Explanation
To explain literally means to ‘straighten out’ in the sense of removing irregularities. It is a process of making something intelligible or saying why certain things are as they are; In short, an explanation provides answers to why questions: “Why did the child behave in that way?” It is not always easy to make a …
Explicit (or declarative) and implicit (or non-declarative) memory
Both are classes of long-term memory. Explicit memory, also referred to as episodic memory, is conscious memory (i.e., the conscious recollection and recall of information previously learnt). Implicit memory is unconscious memory (i.e., memory that does not require the conscious or intentional recognition of information previously learnt). Amnesic patients typically perform normally on tasks involving …
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Explanans and explanandum
A part of the formal structure of scientific explanation. The explanandum `or conclusion is the fact to be explained, while the explanans is the explanatory account or argument that rationalizes the explanandum (i.e., an account used to answer the why question). This distinction provides the means for identifying different types of scientific explanations. See Deductive-nomological …