Question

Sometimes two studies can reach opposite conclusions, BUT not necessarily be contradictory. For example, one might conclude that there is no relation between frustration and aggression; another might conclude there is. Apply the concept of operational definition in a simple example that illustrates how such differences may be only artifacts of measurement and not really different afterall. You may use frustration and aggression or something else.

Answer 1

If a study is on the effect of nature in producing peak experiences. The operational definition of nature in one study may be a park and in a another study it may be a forest with ponds, wild animal etc. The operational definition of peak experiences in one study would be getting a specific score on a questionnaire which measures peak experiences and in another it could be an interview where a person reports a fleeting self actualisation and euphoric moment. So based on these differences in the operational definition, the outcome of the same study can be different.