In: Psychology
1. Indicate whether you think the variable is better measured as self-report or with an observation.
2. Indicate why the variable is better measured the way you indicated in
3. Provide an exact operationalization of how you would measure the variable (either write a self-report question or describe precisely how you would observe the behavior).
a) A political psychologist wishes to measure the percentage of people who vote in elections in a certain rural area.
b)A psychology student wants to measure how often people send text messages while driving in a local neighborhood.
c)A relationships researcher wants to measure how much jealousy women feel in their relationships with their partners.
Measured as self-report or observation?
Why?
Operationalization:
A. It would be better to observe for this instance than give self report measures
The reason would be that the subjects in order to please the investigator could have the propensity to lie in order to appear desirable. This is called response bias and is most common In self report.
The experiment could be operationalized by having a few investigators stationed in and around the voting booth who'd be counting the numbers and, they would be cross checking the numbers as well.
B. This would be self report as observation would not be possible, unless permission for tapping into cctv cameras is acquired, which would not be possible.
It would be in a questionnaire format and the questions cannot be posed directly as there could be response bias in this as well, so the questions would be posed in a circuitous and indirect fashion which does not show the direct intention of the variable being measured.
C. Self report as well.
Because jealousy cannot be observed as an overt activity for it can be masked well. Hence, self report.
The questions would be framed for people who are in a relationship and it would be framed with caution as well, for woman can fake their response in self report. Their would be the same questions posed in different form and syntax in order to gain the truth value of the response.