Psychology 2040A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Operational Definition, Naturalistic Observation, Quasi

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2040A/B
• Professor: Matthew Brown

Document Summary

Scientific method: use of objective, measurable, and repeatable techniques to gather information. Researchers are interested in identifying relationships among variables factors in a given situation that have no fixed or constant value (i. e. individual attributes, experiences) Operational definition: specify variables in measurable terms. Validity: degree to which an assessment procedure actually measures the variable under consideration. Reliability: degree to which a measure will yield the same results if repeated. Naturalistic observation: observations of naturally occurring behaviour are made in real-life settings. Ginsburg (2001) degree that pre-school children used math concepts in free-play. Children spent almost half of the observation period engaged in some form of math activity. No gender or social class difference in the tendency to use math concepts in free play. Allows researchers to see events and behaviours that precede the target behaviours. Provides insight into which variables are important to study in the first place.