5.2 Construct Validity of Measures Flashcards
The evidence for validity is that the measure appears “on the face of it” to measure what it is supposed to measure, this is called ____ ____.
face validity
Example: if the new measure of depression includes items like “I feel sad” or “I feel down” or “I cry a lot”, it would have evidence for being face-valid.
____ validity concerns whether our methods of studying variables are accurate.
Construct
Face validity is not sufficient to conclude that the measure is in fact ____. Appearance is not a very good indicator of accuracy.
valid
The content of the measure is linked to the universe of content that defines the construct, this is called ____ ____.
content validity
Example: depression is defined by a mood and by cognitive and physiological symptoms. If the new measure of depression was content-valid, it would include items from each of those domains.
Scores on the measure predict behaviour on a criterion measured at a future time, this is called ____ ____.
predictive validity
Example: if the measure of depression predicts future diagnosis of depression, then it would have evidence of predictive validity.
Scores on the measure are related to a criterion measured at the same time (concurrently), this is called ____ ____.
concurrent validity
Example: if two groups of participants were given the measures, and they differed in predictable ways (e.g., if those in therapy for depression scored higher than those in therapy for anxiety disorder), then this would be evidence for concurrent validity.
Scores on the measure are related to other measures of the same construct, this is called ____ ____.
convergent validity
Example: if the scores from the new measure, collected at the same time as other measures of depression, were related to scores from those other measures, then it could be said to have evidence for convergent validity.
A potential problem with measuring behaviour is ____. A measure is said to be reactive if awareness of being measured changes in individual’s behaviour.
reactivity
____ scales have no numerical or quantitative properties. Instead, categories of groups simply differ from one another (sometimes nominal variables are called “categorical” variables).
Nominal
Examples: male/female. Introvert/extrovert.
____ scales allow us to rank order the levels of the variable being studied. Instead of having categories that are simply different, the categories can be ordered from first to last.
Ordinal
Examples: 2, 3 and 4 star restaurants. Ranking TV programs by popularity.
In an ____ scale, the difference between the numbers on the scale is meaningful. Specifically, the intervals between the numbers are equal in size.
interval
Examples: intelligence, aptitude test score, temperature.
____ scales do have an absolute zero point that indicates the absence of the variable being measured.
Ratio
Examples: reaction time, weight, age, the frequencies of behaviours.
Scores on the measure are not related to other measures that are theoretically different, this is called ____ ____.
discriminant validity
Example: if the new measure, collected at the same time as other measures of anxiety, was unrelated to those measures, then it could be said to have evidence for discriminant validity because it would indicate that what was being measured was not anxiety.
