Lab 4 on Behavioral Observation and Operational Definitions | Psychology 242
Ok, I know this is cheesy, but sometimes doing cheesy things is fun. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day season, in this week’s section we will watch a 7 minute video from the most recent episode of the Fox series, Joe Millionaire. In this episode, Joe Millionaire (aka Evan Wallace) is trying to choose who he wants to marry: Zora (brunette) or Sarah (blonde). Our goal will be to develop a way to operationally define attraction and assess separately the extent to which (a) Evan is attracted to Zora and (b) Evan is attracted to Sarah.
Students should break into groups of 4 to 6 and generate a list of at least three ways that attraction may manifest itself behaviorally. Each group should identify a way to operationalize these behaviors, and be prepared to assess each behavior throughout the 7 minute clip. Because we will be unobtrusively observing Joe, Zora, and Sarah on video tape, it is important that the behavioral indicators selected are amenable to observation. For example, one way to assess attraction may involve counting the number of kisses that Joe gives or receives from one of the women. A poor way to assess attraction in this context would involve measuring Joe’s heart rate while he has a conversation with one of the women.
Each group will have 15 minutes (a) to generate a list of at least three observable manifestations of attraction, (b) to determine the scale of measurement for each variable, and (c) to determine exactly how those variables will be operationalized (i.e., what “counts” as a marker of behavior X and what does not). After 15 minutes, we will watch the 7 minute clip and each group member will take part in measuring separately Evan’s attraction to Zora and Sarah. Group members may choose to split up the task such that a different group member codes a different variable for Joe-Zora and Joe-Sarah. Another possibility is that half of the group codes all the variables for Joe and Zora while that other half codes all the variables for Joe and Sarah. Regardless of how the observational tasks are assigned, each group member should play an active role in the measurements.
Once the video has been shown, each group will need to assign two attraction scores to Joe: (a) One representing his attraction to Zora and (b) the other representing his attraction to Sarah. In order to do this, groups will need to map each of their observed variables onto the latent attraction metric. (For the purposes of this exercise, use the same metric we discussed in class. In other words, assume attraction is a latent variable that ranges between –4 to +4 on an interval-based scale.) At the end of the section, each group will need to turn in a single sheet of paper that summarizes their operational definitions, their measurements for each variable, and their two attraction scores (i.e., one for Joe’s attraction to Zora and one for Joe’s attraction to Sarah). The paper needs to clearly indicate which latent score, if either, is highest. The paper should also clearly list the name of each group member.
On Monday night (February 17, 2003), Fox will air the final episode of Joe Millionaire in which Evan chooses either Zora or Sarah. Fox has promised us that there will be a surprise or twist in this final episode. In the spirit of surprises, there may be a surprise for group members who correctly pick out the “winner”.