matching

n. a procedure for ensuring that participants in different study conditions are comparable at the beginning of the research on one or more key variables that have the potential to influence results. After multiple sets of matched individuals are created, one member of each set is assigned at random to the experimental group and the other to the control group. For example, a researcher could create two groups whose members are of the same sex and have the same family history of a disease; one group would be given a treatment whereas the other would not. Such an approach would enable the researcher to rule out sex and family history as potential explanations of the study outcome, thereby allowing greater validity to attributing any changes between the groups to the treatment. See also matched-pairs design.

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Psychology term of the day

February 11th 2025

clerical aptitude

1. the ability to learn specific skills required for office work, such as perceptual speed (e.g., comparing names or numbers), speed in typing, error location, and vocabulary.

2. the measure of individual abilities in the following areas: vocabulary (understanding words and ideas), arithmetic (handling figures easily and accurately), and checking (recognizing similarities and differences rapidly).