Psychology / Unit 1 Psych 0044 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Operational Definition
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The idea
An operational definition states precisely how a variable is measured, in terms another researcher could repeat.
In practice
"Aggression" becomes "number of times a child strikes the inflatable doll in five minutes," counted by two independent raters.
Where people slip
An operational definition never captures the whole concept. It captures enough of it to be checked.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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