A DAY IN THE LIFE: THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG NEGATIVE AFFECT, COVITALITY, AND SPATIAL BEHAVIOR MEASURED BY SELF REPORTED SPATIAL BEHAVIOR, AND BY GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) TECHNOLOGY

• Main Author: Wolf, Pedro Sofio Abril
• Other Authors: Figueredo, Aurelio J.
• Language: en
• Published: The University of Arizona. 2011
• Subjects: Affect; Depression; Global Positioning System; Individual Differences; Personality
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/145130

The focus of this validation study is to develop and use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology as a tool for psychological research. GPS technology was used to estimate the number of places participants visited over a four day period. To test the convergent validity of this method, this estimate was compared to two self-report methods of measuring the same behavior over the same time frame. All three of these methods were significantly correlated with each other. Results of the split-plot GLM further validated the convergent validity of the GPS method. The test of construct validity was successful when it comes to covitality, however, negative affect did not predict NPV.