The penile plethysmograph and the vaginal photometer measure physiological events directly related to sexual arousal, but they do not measure sexual arousal itself. Instead, these tools are said to offer reflections of a hypothetical construct called "sexual arousal." Using this example, explain the following terms: hypothetical construct, construct validity, and operational definition.
What will be an ideal response?
A hypothetical construct is a theoretical idea that refers to something that can't be observed directly. For example, arousal involves a subjective feeling of being aroused, which cannot be directly observed. In order to use such an idea scientifically, it must be defined in terms of observable indicators, even if these indicators do not define the idea completely. These observable indicators are the operational definition. In the case of arousal, observable factors such as penile circumference and vaginal engorgement are used as indicators of arousal. If these indicators turn out to be related to other indicators of arousal, such as the person's subjective report, then the indicators are said to have construct validity. This means that they are thought to be valid, if incomplete, indicators of the hypothetical construct.
You might also like to view...
Tests of infant intelligence do not generally predict later behavior because
a. individual differences in ability are too large in infants. b. infant tests are not reliable. c. infant tests tap different abilities than do later tests. d. infant tests have not been standardized like later tests have been.
Barbara is 73 and has lost a sister to a stroke and a brother to cancer. Her death anxiety is likely to be increased because of these experiences.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)
Catastrophic misinterpretations of bodily sensations may set into motion a spiraling cycle of anxiety that culminates in full-fledged panic attacks.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)
A(n) ________ is an alternate form of a gene—generally one comes from the mother and one comes from the father
a. phenotype b. genotype c. allele d. polygenic inheritance