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

Abstract

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