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* **Operational Definition;** A definition of a variable in terms of the operations (activities) a researcher uses to measure or manipulate it
* Specifies the activities of the researcher in measuring and/or manipulating a variable
For example, many people study abstract concepts such as aggression, attraction, depression,
hunger, or anxiety. How would we either manipulate or measure any of these variables? My definition of what it means to be hungry may be quite different from yours. If I decided to measure hunger by simply asking participants in an experiment if they were hungry, the measure would not be accurate because each individual may define hunger in a different way. What we need. is an operational definition of hunger—a definition of the variable in terms of the operations (activities) the researcher uses to measure or manipulate it.