The philosophical idea that knowledge and meaning are constructed by actions on objects, which are neither innate nor simply transmitted through experience. Constructivists believe that events have no meaning by themselves, but instead that individuals must create meaning through the application of existing actions or ways of knowing. It is the epistemological theory that underlies …
Author Archives: Brian Hopkins
Contamination
The influence of one measure of behavior upon the measurement of another (e.g., if parents know how a teacher has rated their child and modify their own rating accordingly). See Confound, Confounding variable
Construct validity
The process of assessing the significance and utility of a measure by examining whether it predicts associations (and lack of associations) with other variables in the way predicted by the theoretical concept being studied. See Construct, Convergent equivalence, Convergent validity, Discriminant validity, External validity, Internal validity, Multitrait-multimethod matrix, Validity
Construct
Relationships between a number of objects or events and thus not much different from a concept. However, a hypothetical construct is where a process is not directly observable or objectively measurable, but is assumed to exist because it gives rise to measurable phenomena. In the past, Karl Pearson (1857-1936) suggested it as a substitute for …
Construct equivalence
The measurement principle asserting that a construct or factor can be measured under different circumstances or at different occasions yet still retain its basic property. In practice, several levels of equivalence may be investigated, including factor loading equivalence (or factorial invariance) and factor score equivalence. See Construct, Construct validity, Factor analysis, Factor loadings, Replicability
Constraint
A condition that preserves the symmetry of a system and restricts its degrees of freedom. When the system is perturbed, it may lead to symmetry breaking. Applied to behavior, a constraint is a boundary condition that eliminates or restrains certain configurations of action while permitting or enabling others. There are two classes of constraints: holonomic …
Conspecific
A member of the same species. See Species
Constitution
A broad term covering many fields of study, it refers to thecomposition of an entity or phenomenon (e.g., water is constituted ofoxygen and hydrogen). Scientific explanations generally identify not only causalprocesses, but also constitutive relationships or processes (see Wendt, 1998). See Character, Organism, Systemic causality Wendt, A. (1998). On constitutionand causation in international relations. Review of …
Consonants
Sounds produced by various forms of closure of the oral passage (i.e., by obstructing the flow of air from the lungs), as in the first sound of ‘pill’. See Babbling, Bilabial, Cluster reduction, Diagraph, Glottal, Labio-dental, Lingua-alveolar (or alveolar), Lingua-dental (or dental), Lingua-palatal (or palatal), Vowel-to-consonant ratio, Vowels
CONSPEC
A term coined by Morton and Johnson, and the other part of their modularity theory, to reflect an innate bias or disposition of infants to orient to face-like stimuli in the first two months of life. Presumed to be mediated by the superior colliculus. See CONLERN, Face processing, Face recognition, Innate (1), Innate (2), Superior …