Glossary / Lexicon

Artifact refers to a concept pertaining to manufactured or human-designed objects. Artifacts are things people surround themselves with, such as clothes, jewelry, office decorations, cars, and many more that communicate information about the person. In the context of a research study, an Artifact is an external factor that could influence or distort measures. Artifacts threaten both internal and external validity.

Description

An artifact in the psychology context refers to any unintended distortion or bias that occurs in research data as a result of certain external factors. These factors can include variations in measurement tools, participant characteristics, or environmental conditions. Artifacts can lead to inaccurate conclusions and undermine the validity of research findings. Researchers must carefully identify and control for potential artifacts to ensure the reliability of their results. Understanding and addressing artifacts are essential in producing high-quality research in psychology.

Application Areas

• Experimental psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Social psychology

Treatment and Risks

• Identifying and acknowledging artifacts in research
• Implementing appropriate controls and measures to minimize artifacts
• Acknowledging the limitations of research findings affected by artifacts
• Risks include drawing incorrect conclusions and contributing to the spread of misinformation in the field

Examples

• Observer bias leading to skewed observations in a study
• Sampling bias affecting the generalizability of results
• Confounding variables influencing the relationship between variables in a study

Similar Concepts and Synonyms

• Confounding variables
• Measurement error
• Systematic bias
• Interference

Summary

An artifact in psychology refers to unintended distortions or biases in research data caused by external factors. Researchers must identify and control for artifacts to ensure the validity of their findings. Application areas include experimental, clinical, developmental, neuropsychology, and social psychology. Treatment involves acknowledging and minimizing artifacts to produce reliable research. Risks include inaccurate conclusions and misinformation spread in the field.

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