Operationalizing Variables of Interest For this assignment, you will be trying your hand at creating operational definitions. For this assignment, you will be thinking about a research project in which we are investigating whether people who are in great pain are more aggressive with others than those in less pain or no pain. Thus, the two variables we are focusing on are Pain and Aggression. In this assignment you will practice coming up with ways to manipulate and measure these variables. Remember, to manipulate a variable is to change the participants' level in the experiment. On the other hand, to measure something is to find a way to record what the participant is doing or experiencing with a numerical value. You may need to think outside the box to come up with different ways to operationalize these variables. Try to be creative and use different kinds of measurements and manipulations. For example, if you've already used a survey as one measurement, try a behavioral measurement for the second one Below, I am providing a few examples of some manipulations and measurements. Remember that your manipulations must include at least 2 levels (or conditions) each. Each of my examples have two levels. Example: Variable Name: Stress a. Example Manipulations i. Provide half of my participants with a large sheet of math problems and only 1 minute to complete the sheet (stress condition). Give the other half a shorter list of math problems (control condition). ii. Inject half of my participants with a shot of stress hormone cortisol (stress condition) and the other half with harmless water (placebo condition). iii. I can ask some participants to write a few paragraphs about a stressful event they recently experienced (stress condition). Other participants will write about their morning routine (control condition) b. Example Measurements i. Ask participants how stressed they feel on a scale from 1 (Not at all stressed) - 7 (Extremely stressed) ii. Have participants complete an online stress questionnaire iii. Measure participants' heart rate, which increases with stress Remember, we want to learn whether pain leads to aggression. 1. Independent Variable: Pain a. First Manipulation (at least two levels) Answer: b. Second Manipulation (at least two levels) Answer: 2. Dependent Variable: Aggression a. First Measurement Answer: b. Second Measurement Answer: