Define indirect measurement and explain why most cognitive psychology experiments rely on it. Give an example of it. What is the drawback to this type of measurement?
What will be an ideal response?
Student examples will vary. A sample answer follows.
In cognitive psychology, indirect measurement means observing and counting something related to a process rather than studying the process itself. For instance, a study that examines people's response times to stimuli measures the accuracy of answers or the speed of button pushing. That is an indirect measurement because the researchers are observing what they believe is the outcome of cognition, not the cognition itself.
The drawback to indirect measurement is that experimenters are assuming that the behavior they measure is related to the cognitive process they wish to study. However, it is not yet possible to observe cognition directly. For this reason, indirect measurement will most likely be in use for a long time.
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