Learn Before
Short Answer

Imagine you are designing a study to investigate how academic stress affects students' plans to study for final exams. Draft one self-report question that operationally measures students' intentions to study, and briefly explain why this question measures an abstract construct rather than a direct behavior.

Question: Imagine you are designing a study to investigate how academic stress affects students' plans to study for final exams. Draft one self-report question that operationally measures students' intentions to study, and briefly explain why this question measures an abstract construct rather than a direct behavior.

Sample answer: An operational measurement question could be: 'On a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), how committed are you to studying for at least 10 hours this weekend?' This question measures an abstract construct because it assesses the student's conscious decision, plan, or commitment to act in the future, which is an internal mental state, rather than directly tracking their actual physical study behavior in real-time.

Key points:

  • Drafts a self-report question measuring future study plans, decisions, or commitments.
  • Explains that the question measures an internal mental state (intention).
  • Differentiates the measurement of the internal commitment from the direct tracking of actual study behavior.

Rubric: Grading criteria: The response must provide a self-report question that asks about future plans, decisions, or commitments to study. It must also explain that the question targets an internal mental state (the intention) rather than directly observing actual behavior.

0

1

Updated 2026-05-27

Contributors are:

Who are from:

Tags

KPU

Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

Related