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What is a Construct?
This the Ayers Rock in Australia.
It is a physical object and it can be measured.
It has a location. It has a weight, length, width,
and height. It has a temperature, density, and a
chemical composition.
But what about love?
Or motivation?
个性
Or personality?
La personalidad
Personlichkeit
Or happiness?
幸福
Or satisfaction?
满意
satisfacción,
Befriedgung
These are called “constructs”
and they have to be assumed from behavior.
Two people in the same environment
don’t act the same.
Why not?
We hypothesize something to help
explain the difference in
behavior (under the same conditions).
These are called “constructs”
For example:
“Motivation” explains why one person’s behavior
is stronger, and more focused than another person’s.
“Love” and/or “respect” explains why two persons
may treat us differently.
They are called
“Hypothetical Constructs”
because they can only be hypothesized.
“Hypothetical Constructs”
cannot be measured directly.
Hypothesized and measured by watching and
measuring behavior.
This typically takes multiple measures.
For example: What is a person?
For example: What is a person?
Is a person a brain: Physical object
Is a person a personality: Hypothetical construct
Does a person have a nose? Physical object
Does a person have motivation? Hypothetical construct
Can a person walk a mile? Physical goal
Can a person learn to be a manager? Hypothetical construct goal
These measures can be very difficult to do….
But it matters and it can be very important
in the real world….
A professor claimed that everyone
is a genius at something….
Seven dimensions of ability
1. Bodily-kinesthetic
2. Musical
3. Spatial
4. Linguistic
5. Logical-mathematical
6. Interpersonal
7. Intrapersonal
The problem for education was to discover
what you are a genius at, and then
develop that knowledge or skill…
But what if it were not true…
all of these abilities have a correlation with Spearman’s factor g.
Consider bodily-kinesthetic: Almost everyone can be taught to play tennis,
but few of us could ever be a varsity gymnast.
There are things that we cannot do, or at least never do as well as others.
There will always be people left behind…
It could be that:
Half of all people are in the bottom half…
one quarter is in the bottom quarter, and
ten percent of everyone is in the bottom 10 percent.
And no amount of spending will change that.
In practical terms, a construct is defined by
HOW it is measured.
This is called an:
“Operational
Definition.”
Is an electron a particle
or
Is it a wave?
That depends upon how it is measured!
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Quantum_Mechanics/Atomic_Theory/Electrons_in_Atoms/Wave-Particle_Duality
Percy W. Bridgman 1882-1961
Operationalization is the process of defining a fuzzy concept so as to
make the concept measurable in form of variables consisting of specific
observations. In a wider sense it refers to the process of specifying the
extension of a concept.
Intelligence could be defined as how fast (RT)
a person solves a puzzle….
Or intelligence could be defined as being
good at making a bargain.
When you meet someone for the first time
how many constructs do you evaluate?
Make a list….
What is a first impression…
What is it based on?
An “impression” is a hypothetical construct that is
very important in management and marketing!
List as many ways you can think of:
To measure how satisfied (a hypothetical construct)
someone is of a hotel they have just stayed at.