Variable:  Personal Account

Conceptual definition:  A description of what happened and why it happened in an episode.

Operational definition:

Self-report:  In a face to face interview, ask the following questions

1)  Indicate how strongly you agree with the following statement:

I know what happened during <insert episode here>

                            1             2              3             4             5

                       Strongly    Agree      Neutral    Disagree   Strongly

                        Agree                                                     Disagree

I understand why <insert episode here> happened

                            1             2              3             4             5

                       Strongly    Agree      Neutral    Disagree   Strongly

                        Agree                                                     Disagree

2)  Starting at the beginning, tell me what happened.

3)  Tell me why it happened

4)  Whose caused this episode to happen

5)  Do you feel you could have stopped this from happening

         If so, how?

         If not, why not?

Observation:  Go to a place like a coffee shop where people talk to each other.  Eavesdrop on conversations.  Take notes about conversations that relate stories about things that happened to the teller.  Pay careful attention to phrases that indicate who caused the situation and how much control the teller had over the situation.

Manipulation:  Accounts can vary in how complete they are.  Reminiscence can help people develop more complete accounts.  The experimental group will be asked to keep a diary every night for two weeks.  The control group won't.  At the end of two weeks, weÕll bring people into the lab to tell about something that happened to them during the two week period.  We predict that the people who kept a diary will have more complete accounts than those who did not.

  If your conceptual definition is concrete, it will guide you in creating your measures. If it is abstract, it won't help you.

Abstract versus concrete definitions:

Abstract

Status:  The level in society one has

What level in society do you have?

            Lower Class

            Middle Class

            Upper Middle Class

            Upper Class

Concrete

Status:  The combination of institutional legitimate authority, wealth and notoriety

Ask questions about budget controlled, people underneath and job title

Ask questions about income and financial resources

Ask questions about public reputation, both scope and quality