Students in a research methods course watched episodes of Star Trek (Coon & Roddenberry, 1967)and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Roddenberry, 1990) as an exercise to empirically test the validity of personality impressions, demonstrating the use of operational definitions, interobserver reliability, and behavioral observation. The students first viewed episodes to identify contrasting personality characteristics between 2 Star Trek captains, then operationally defined these in terms of relevant, observable behaviors. To test the hypothesized personality contrasts, students observed the characters in different episodes, recording observations according to the operational definitions.
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