PSY 2810 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Tape Measure, Operational Definition, Psych
27 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Theory data cycle is how we evaluate theories. If new data was discovered which made the theory more complex/more accurate. A theory is the interpretation of data. Good data is more important that a good theory. Since you cannot have a good theory if your data is wrong. Data is the backbone of a theory because we need to be able to rely on it. Example : data: people respond more quickly when the stimulus is near the correct button, theory: a person"s attention is already directed to that area so that is. Psychological measurement is harder than a physical one because we cannot see what we are measuring. 0-10 have a person rate their happiness. Brain scan to compare t others that are happy . None of these three are a tape measure to measure happiness. Mental construct an explanation variable that is unobservable and therefore hypothetical. Links (operational definition) are formed in order to build a theory.
