1. Chapter 14
Generalizing results

2. Generalizing to other populations
Individuals in studies are usually picked b/c they are available
College students
A popular sample to study due to convenience
Volunteers
Tend to be more educated, more in need of approval, higher SES and more social
Gender considerations
Try to include both males and females
Locale
Different locales offer different perspectives

3. Cultural considerations
In the past most studies use whites b/c of availability
More ethnically diverse populations are being used of late for comparison purposes
These types of studies inform us about the generality of findings across cultural groups
Keep in mind that some operational definitions are rooted in cultural meaning and thus may vary across cultures
i.e. self esteem

4. Generalization problems
To other experiments
The experimenter can be a source for generalization problems .
Pretests and generalization
Pretests work within a study but may the study may not be generalizable to other studies that did not use a pretest

5. Generalizing from lab settings
The lab setting allows for experimenting under highly controlled settings
Alternatives to contrived settings (i.e settings in field experiments)
Mundane realism –
Experimental realism–
Does the experiment involve the participants sufficiently?
Do the conditions in the experiment make them take it seriously?

6. Generalizing from lab settings cont.
Mutual benefits of lab and field research
Lab and field experiments provide great opportunity for advancing our knowledge of behavior
A study (Anderson et al., 1999) found that lab and field experiments find complementary same results

7. Replications Replication – Types of replications Exact replications
Replicating the same procedures of a study to see if the same results are obtained
Conceptual replications
Using different procedures to replicate a research finding

8. Exact Replications Done to better understand a previous study
Done to build on the findings of a previous study
i.e.
Failure to replicate can mean the original study is flawed or the replication was flawed

9. Conceptual Replications
The same IV is used but manipulated in a different way
The DV may also be measured in different way
More important than exact replications in furthering our understanding of behavior
If conceptual replications produce similar results, this leads to
High generalizability of relationships b/w variables
A solid relationship between the conceptual theoretical variables

10. Evaluating generalizations via literature reviews and meta-analysis
Conclusions about the generalizability of research is done by conduction literature reviews
Meta analysis
A technique for comparing a large # of studies in an area
A set of statistical procedures for combining the results of a number of studies in order to provide a general assessment of the relationship b/w variables
Critical evaluation of published studies
A method of determining the reliability of a finding by examining the results from many different studies
Complementary to narrative reviews

11. Using research to improve lives
Improvements have been seen in
Healthcare
i.e. Promotion of healthy eating habits, exercise
Environment
Work space satisfaction
Conservation of energy
Law
Jury selection
Education
Academics and ethnicity