validity

Examples of validity in the following topics:

• The Psychology of Recruiting and Selecting Employees

  • Measures have different types of validity that capture different qualities.
  • There are three major types of validity: content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity.
  • Content validity refers to how comprehensively the measure assesses the underlying construct that it claims to assess.
  • Construct validity refers to whether the measure accurately assesses the underlying construct that it claims to assess.
  • An example of a measure with debatable construct validity is IQ testing.

• Validity and Reliability of Personality Assessments

  • When it comes to examining the validity and reliability of personality measures, some have better psychometric properties than others.
  • Because of this, objective tests are said to have more validity than projective tests.
  • The result is that the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire has excellent reliability and validity.
  • This is one reason why horoscopes continue to be popular and trusted despite their lack of reliability or validity.
  • Evaluate the concepts of validity and reliability in the context of personality assessment

• Accuracy vs. Precision

  • In order to be valid, data must be both accurate and precise.
  • If their data is both accurate and precise, this gives them confidence that it is valid.
  • When researchers collect data, they strive for both accuracy and precision so that their data are valid and they can reduce variance in their results due to error.
  • Discuss why data must be both accurate and precise in order to be valid

• Surveys and Interviews

  • However, for a survey to be useful, it needs to be not only reliable, but valid.
  • It is important to note that a survey can be reliable, but not valid (and vise versa).
  • In this case, our emotion survey is reliable, but not necessarily valid.
  • A researcher must have a strong understanding of the basics before they can create a valid survey from scratch.
  • A researcher must have a strong understanding of the basics before they can create a valid survey from scratch.

• Controversies in Intelligence and Standardized Testing

  • They also cast doubt on the validity of IQ tests and whether IQ tests actually measure what they claim to measure—intelligence.
  • Psychometricians have sought to make intelligence tests more culture fair and valid over the years, and to make sure that they measure g, or the "general intelligence factor" thought to underly all intelligence.
  • A 2005 study stated that IQ tests may contain cultural influences that reduce their validity as a measure of cognitive ability for Mexican-American students, indicating a weaker positive correlation relative to sampled white American students.

• Biases in Experimental Design: Validity, Reliability, and Other Issues

  • A study that is externally valid is one in which the data and conclusions gathered from the results of an experiment can be applied to the general population outside of the experiment itself.
  • A study's external validity can be threatened by such factors as small sample sizes, high variability, and sampling bias.
  • This will impact whether the data is externally valid, meaning that it can be applied to the general public.
  • Explain the factors that can threaten the external validity of a study

• Personality Testing in the Workplace

  • The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a highly validated psychopathology test that is generally used in a clinical psychology setting and may reveal potential mental health disorders.
  • There are several criticisms specifically regarding the validity of the MBTI as a useful measure of personality.
  • The MBTI is not yet scientifically proven, and skeptics—including many psychologists—argue that the MBTI has not been validated by double-blind tests (in which participants accept reports written for other participants and are asked whether or not the report suits them).

• Overview of Personality Assessment

  • Objective tests tend to have more validity than projective tests (described below); however, they are still subject to the willingness and ability of the examinee to be open, honest, and self-reflective enough to accurately represent and report their true personality.
  • The MBTI is one of the most popular personality inventories used with nonclinical populations; it has been criticized, however, for its lack of statistical validity and low reliability.
  • However, they are criticized for having poor reliability and validity, lacking scientific evidence, and relying too much on the subjective judgment of a clinician.

• Cognitive Psychology

  • It accepts the use of the scientific method and generally rejects introspection as a valid method of investigation, unlike phenomenological methods such as Freudian psychoanalysis.

• Group Therapy

  • Because all members share a common goal, there is a shared sense of belonging, acceptance, and validation.
  • It also serves to remove a group member's sense of isolation, validate their experiences, and raise self-esteem.