PNB 3RM3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Psychometrics, Operational Definition, Categorical Variable

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour
• Course: PNB 3RM3
• Professor: Ali Hashemi

Document Summary

Measurement: the assignment of scores to individuals so that the scores represent some characteristics of the individuals: in psych, not necessarily dealing with physical measurements (like height, we typically measure something of the mind (psychological constructs) Psychometrics: the measurement of psychological variables and constructs: ex: rosenberg"s self-esteem scale. Coming up with certain scales, assessments, etc. Construct: a variable that cannot be observed directly. Eg: personality traits, emotional states, attitudes and abilities. Defining your construct in a way that you are able to ask a specific question and get a specific answer. Multiple different ways to come up with data from operationalized questions. Operational definition: a definition of a variable or construct in terms of how exactly it will be measured. You can measure things in multiple different ways. By doing research with a bunch of different methods of which all have converging evidence, this is how you are able to conclude things or make facts about certain things.