If a study's participants are representative of the population as a whole and its stimuli are representative of stimuli encountered in the real world, then the study is said to have __________.

A) internal consistency
B) internal validity
C) external validity
D) external consistency

External validity refers to the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to the real world. If the participants and stimuli in a study are representative of the population and real-world situations, then the study has high external validity. Internal consistency and internal validity are different aspects of research design that pertain to the accuracy and precision of a study's results within the sample being studied. External consistency is not a commonly used term in research design.