PSY 240 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Meta-Analysis, Electromyography, Implicit-Association Test
10 Dec 2020
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A second general approach to the self- report problem is to collect indirect, covert measures of attitudes that cannot be controlled. One possibility in this regard is to use observable behaviour such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language (nodding of heads) Although behaviour provides clues, it is far from perfect as a measure of attitudes. Sometimes, we nod our heads because we agree; at other times, we nod to be polite. The problem is that people monitor their overt behaviour just as they monitor self-reports. In the past, researchers tried to divine attitudes from involuntary physical reactions such as perspiration, heart rate, and pupil dilation. The result, was always the same: measures of arousal reveal the intensity of one"s attitude toward an object but not whether that attitude is positive or negative. On the physiological record, love and hate look very much the same.
