L4 - Validity

Question 1

What is validity?

Answer 1

• Refers to whether a measure is actually measuring what it claims to measure
• e.g: a test of intelligence should not actually measure memory

Question 2

What is Face Validity?

Answer 2

When behaviour appears at first sight to represent what is being measured

e.g: observation - people with higher scores in exams are getting higher scores in an IQ test. This is the same as on the surface

Question 3

What is Internal Validity?

Answer 3

• When the effects observed in a study are due to the manipulation of the independent variable
• There is a causal relationship between the independent variable and the dependent

Question 4

How can internal validity be improved?

Answer 4

• Controlling extraneous variables
• Using standardised instructions
• Counterbalancing
• Eliminating Demand characteristics & Investigator effects

Question 5

What is concurrent validity?

Answer 5

• Establishing internal validity of a new test.

E.g - scores gained from a new test can be compared against an older test where validity of already known. If both tests have similar scores a correlation of 0.8+) then the new test has high internal validity

Question 6

What is external validity?

Answer 6

Refers to the extend results can be generalised to:

• Other settings (ecological validity)
• Other people (population validity)
• Over time (temporal validity)

Question 7

How can External validity be improved?

Answer 7

• Setting experiments in a more natural setting

- Using random sampling to select participants

Question 8

What is Ecological Validity?

Answer 8

• Where a measure of behaviour accurately reflects the way in which the behaviour would occur in normal circumstances

Question 9

What is Population validity?

Answer 9

Refers to the extent to which the sample can be generalised to the wider population

Question 10

What is Temporal validity?

Answer 10

When findings from research which took place at a certain point in time accurately reflect the way behaviour would occur at a different point in time