Question

How Grounded Is Your Love Life?

In a recent experiment, psychologists at University of Pittsburgh and the University of Waterloo in Canada decided to examine stability, turbulence and love. The researchers focused on stability because it is a term that has both literal and abstract meanings. Our bodies can be physically stable or they can be wobbly, and so can our intimate relationships. The study participants were 40 college students who reported being involved in a committed relationship that had lasted for at least a year. The researchers randomly assigned half of their volunteers to sit at a normal desk and the other half to sit at a workstation that had been subtly altered so that both the chair and the desk wiggled slightly. The volunteers individually completed questionnaires about their lives and romantic relationships, including whether they felt the relationship would last. The volunteers were alone in the room when they completed the questionnaire and were instructed to not put their name on the questionnaire. The ratings of perceived stability ranged from 1- 7 (1 = not at all likely to last to 7 = certain this relationship will last). A participant could report any number between 1 and 7 on that scale. The students who had been seated at the unstable workstations were much more likely to perceive instability in their love lives (mean = 4.17) than were the students whose chairs and work spaces didn’t waver (mean = 4.93). There is a statistically significant difference between these means (t(38) = 3.64; p<0.05).

PART A

1. Name the Predictor / Independent Variable

2. Give the operational definition of the Predictor / Independent Variable.

3. Evaluate the construct validity of the Predictor / Independent Variable PLEASE INCLUDE/EXPLAIN ALL THE ASPECTS: (Be sure to consider face, method, and procedural aspects though not all aspects will necessarily need to be discussed; point out strengths and weaknesses of this measure.)

PART B

1. Name the Outcome / Dependent Variable

2. Give the operational definition of the Outcome / Dependent Variable.

3. Evaluate the construct validity of the operational definition for the Outcome / Dependent Variable. PLEASE INCLUDE/EXPLAIN ALL THE ASPECTS: (Be sure to consider face, method, and procedural aspects though not all aspects will necessarily need to be discussed; point out strengths and weaknesses of this measure.)

Answer 1

PART A

Answer 1: The independent variable in the experiment is unstable chairs and desk as that is being changed for different groups and that would affect the dependent variable in the experiment.
Answer 2: Independent variable in an experiment is the variable which changes for different groups (experimental group and controlled group) whose dependent variable is being measured. It affects the dependent variable.
Answer 3: The construct validity of the independent variable ( stability of desk and chair) is high as the experiment is measuring what it claims to measure and the stability of desk and chair is affecting the perceived stability of the relationship.

PART B

Answer 1: The dependent variable in the experiment is perceived stability in relationship as that is being affected (and measured) due to independent variable present in the experiment.
Answer 2: Dependent variable is the variable in an experiment which is being measured and getting affected. It depends on the independent variable.
Answer 3: The construct validity of the dependent variable (perceived stability of relationship) on the basis of stability of chair and desk is high as the experiment is measuring what it claims to measure and perceived stability is being affected by the stability of desk and chair.