PSYC 2360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Coffee Cup, Theoretical Definition, Birth Order

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2360
• Professor: Harjinder Gill

Document Summary

Researchers may start with the same conceptual definition but come up with very different operational definitions. Example: liking: so(cid:272)ial psy(cid:272)h: ratings of another person"s attra(cid:272)ti(cid:448)eness, developmental: number of times a child picks one toy over another, cognitive: amount of activation in the orbitofrontal cortex when tasting types of food. Classifies objects or events into non numerical categories. If you"re in one (cid:272)ategory you (cid:272)ant (cid:271)e in the other. Ranks objects or events in order of their magnitude. Interval between the numbers on the scale are equal. Intervals are equal and the scale has an absolute zero: ratio. Zero indicates the absence of the variable being measured. Gather info by directly asking someone about their thoughts, feelings or behaviour. Participants are allowed to freely express their thoughts. Participants are given a set of questions and their response is constrained or structured. Disad(cid:448)antage: don"t kno(cid:449) (cid:449)hether the right options were presented, lack insight, reactivity: behavioural.