validity

• validity: refers to whether the observed effects a genuine one.
• internal validity: the degree to which an observed effect was due to the experimental manipulation rather than other factors e.g confounding variables

  i.e are you measuring what you intended to measure?

  can be improved by reducing investigator effects, minimising demand characteristics, using standardised instructions and randomisation.
• external validity: the degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other settings, groups of people or over time.

  i.e whether results are true for other people, places and time periods (time and cultures)

  can results of the findings be applied to real life?

  e.g Harlows monkeys, investigates attachment - can this be applied to humans.
• the validity of any method of measurement refers to how truly/ realistically it measures something.
• a valid test measures what it is supposed to measure.
• internal validity is how much the findings of a test or method are due to the manipulation of a variable (like IV) rather than another factor.

  i.e are you measuring what you intend to measure?
• external validity is how much the findings of a test or method can be generalised to different settings.
• External validity types

  • ecological validity - how much the findings can be generalised to other environments but task MUST be realistic i.e have mundane realism
  • population validity - how much the findings can be generalised to other people. e.g do findings hold true for other groups of people? i.e milgram experiment who only tested on men so lacks pop. validity bcs no women
  • temporal validity - high when research findings successfully apply across time (valid in today's society). e.g old experiments are still valid
• internal validity is high when there is good control over variables and greater confidence of cause and effect.
• • Ecological validity is whether the findings are generalisable to the real world, based on the conditions research conducted.
  • e.g lab experiments have a high degree of control over extraneous variables that would otherwise vary in a natural environment, so results might be considered too ‘artificial’ and this lowers the ecological validity.
• temporal validity

  • changes in attitude towards gender roles over time could lower the temporal validity of data from past experiments when applied to modern day research.