COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE WITH
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AND COMPREHENSIVE TEST
PREPARATION
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Exam Prep
, ASA Theory People like to be around those who are most similar to themselves
If you collected a group of people from all ages the people who are similar in age would
group up together
IPO Model inputs, processes, outputs
Inputs individual members, structure, environment
Task Transition, action
Social- interpersonal, boundary spanning
Outputs Performance, satisfaction, viability
Theory A collection of assertions (both verbal and symbolic) that specify how and why variables
are related, as well as the conditions in which they should (and should not) be related
Hypothesis A TESTABLE a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited
evidence (theory building) as a starting point for further investigation.
Independent Variable The variable that you change or manipulate on purpose to see what effect it has.
Example: If you want to see whether the amount of sleep affects test scores, the
independent variable is the amount of sleep.
Dependent variable The outcome or result you measure to see if it changes after the independent variable
changes.
Example: In the same study, the dependent variable is the test scores, because you want
to see if they depend on how much sleep someone got.
Mediator A "middle step" that explains why or how the independent variable affects the dependent
variable.
Example: Maybe more sleep improves focus, and better focus leads to higher test scores.
Here, focus is the mediator—it explains how sleep leads to better scores