1. Chapter 3 Operationism and Essentialism

2. Are Scientists Essentialists?  Essentialists usually believe that any theory that gives less than an ultimate explanation of a phenomenon is “useless” because it does not reflect the true underlying situation, the essence of the way the world is.  Why?  Can’t science answer essentialist questions?

3. Essentialists like to….  Argue about the meaning of words  Hunger  Life  Gravity  Spirituality Essentialists like absolutes in language…operationists, not so much.

4. Operationists like to…  Link concepts to observable events  Hunger  Life  Reading ability Operationists like scientific theories that are grounded in observable events which may be measured.

5. What about reliability and validity?  Reliability refers to the consistency of a measuring instrument – whether you would arrive at the same measurement if you assessed the same concept multiple times.  Validity refers to whether a measuring instrument is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring.

6. Direct and Indirect Operational Definitions  Few scientific concepts are defined almost entirely by observable operations in the real world. Ex: Type “A” behavior.  Scientific concepts evolve: they may increase in abstractness as knowledge about them increases. Ex: intelligence.

7. Operational Definitions Many technical concepts in psychology are designated by everyday words. For instance, what do the following terms mean?  Anxiety  Aggression  Attachment  Depression

8. An example:  The public interprets Einstein’s theory of relativity to mean that “there are no absolutes because everything is relative.”  In fact, Einstein’s theory implies just the opposite: that “although the measurement any observer makes depend on his coordinates and reference frame, the physical phenomena he measures have an invariant description that transcends that observer’s particular coordinates.” Einstein was looking for an invariant description of physical phenomena.

9. So….can’t we just rely on what we all “know” intuitively?  How do we decide among conflicting claims?  Can psychological concepts rely on someone’s personal definition?  Do physicists rely on one’s personal definition of energy and meteorology?

10. Therefore…  Operational definitions are definitions of concepts stated in terms of observable, measurable operations.  We ensure that theories are falsifiable by making certain that key concepts of theories have operational definitions stated in terms of well- replicated behavioral observations.  Like other sciences, psychology continually seeks to refine its operational definitions so that concepts in theories more accurately reflects the way the world actually is.