## Operationism ### ..in Psychological Research :straight_ruler: <!-- Put the link to this slide here so people can follow --> **Rizqy Amelia Zein** Department of Personality and Social Psychology slide: https://hackmd.io/@ameliazein/operationism ---  To download the slides (.pdf), swipe down and click :printer: icon. --- It's a theory of meaning where "we mean by any concept nothing more than ==a set of operations==; the concept is synonymous with the corresponding set of operations” (Percy Bridgman, 1927)"  --- ## Introduction :lightning_cloud: <div style="text-align: left"> * Was firstly introduced by a US physicist, [Percy Bridgman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy\_Williams\_Bridgman) * He was greatly inspired by the tradition of ==American pragmatism== or the new philosophy of ==logical positivism== * His writings were primarily ["reflections of a physicist"](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/operationalism/notes.html#note-1) rooted in ==experimental practic==e and aimed at articulating the scientific method from a ==first-person point of view== </div> --- ## Introduction :lightning_cloud: <div style="text-align: left"> * “Operationalism” or “operationism” became very influential in many areas, especially in ==[methodological debates in psychology](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t87bSqjhrng&list=PLzRWx56\_mpAT5yWRI-po-ybK9uAyZNX\_z&index=5)== * It posits the suspicion that we do not know the meaning of a concept ***unless*** we have ==a method of measurement== for it </div> --- ## The problems we have :confounded: <div style="text-align: left"> * Bridgman was both fascinated and troubled by the fact that “essential physical limitations” forced scientists to use ==different measurement operations== for the same concept in ==different domains of phenomena== * We use ruler to measure length when the object is comparable to our bodies and when it moves slowly relative to us * But we need to use different strategy to measure [the distance to a certain star](https://science.howstuffworks.com/question224.htm) </div> --- ## Actually.. :eyes: <div style="text-align: left"> * Operational analysis reveals that ==length is not one homogeneous== concept that applies straightforwardly in the whole range of cases in which we use it * In practice ==scientists do not recognize== multiple concepts of length * If we measure the very same object with different measurement strategies and then came back with completely different result, ==which one should we trust?== </div> ---  --- ***Numerical convergence*** between the results of ==two different operations== was merely a “==practical justification== for retaining ==the same name==” for what the two operations measured (Bridgman 1927 --- ## The consequences :zap: <div style="text-align: left"> * Researchers should wary of the danger of ==slipping into conceptual confusion== through the use of the same word to refer to the subjects of different operations * We may get into the sloppy habit of ==using one word== for all sorts of different situations * Bridgman warned: “our verbal machinery has no built-in cutoff” (1959) </div> --- ## Its influence on Psychology :warning: <div style="text-align: left"> * Behaviorist psychologists took up operationism as a ==weapon== in their fight against more traditional psychologists - Esp those who prized ==introspection== as the most important source of psychological knowledge </div> --- ## Its influence on Psychology :warning: <div style="text-align: left"> * Behaviorists believed that operationism as ==a sure method of increasing rigor== in psychological experiments - “To experience is, for the purpose of science, to react discriminately”, since ==these reactions== are what science can ==measure and record== - Operationism guarantees ==a straightforward procedure== for the definition and validation of concepts </div> --- ## Its influence on Psychology :warning: <div style="text-align: left"> * Despite the strong popularity of operationist behaviorism in certain quarters, it never commanded a complete consensus even in American psychology * Behaviorists were wanting to use operations ==to attain objectivity in psychology==, which for them meant taking psychological discourse away from attempts to describe private experience </div> --- ## Criticism :100: <div style="text-align: left"> * The most important criticism ==an overly restrictive== notion of meaning, which reduces it to measurement :arrow_right: **_Bridgman’s reductive doctrine of meaning_** * The kind of ==absolute control== on the meaning of scientific concepts that Bridgman wished for is ==not possible== </div> --- ## Criticism :100: <div style="text-align: left"> * The most control that can be achieved is for the scientific community to ==agree on an explicit definition== and to respect it - But even firm definitions can only constrain the uses of a concept * It is actually ==unclear== what ==types of things operations== _are_, and how they should be ==specified== </div> --- ## Criticism :100: <div style="text-align: left"> * Not every good scientific concept needs to have an operational definition * Bridgman actually acknowledged from early on that there were good theoretical concepts that were not amenable to direct operationalization - Stress and strain inside a solid body - The wavefunction in quantum mechanics </div> --- ## Problems in Psychology :confused: <div style="text-align: left"> * Measurement is [largely neglected](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/measurement-matters) by researchers * Psychologists are profoundly flexible in measuring their concepts (see [Flexible Measure](http://www.flexiblemeasures.com/) as an example) </div> --- ### Thank you! :tada: You can find me on: - [My personal website](https://rameliaz.github.io/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ameliazein) - [..or email](mailto:amelia.zein@psikologi.unair.ac.id)