Validity

• What is validity in psychological research asking about?

  The accuracy or truth
• Researchers must consider the validity of their findings to determine if the results show something true about behavior
• What is the distinction between internal and external validity in psychological research?

  Accuracy vs generalizability
• Internal validity is concerned with whether the change in the independent variable actually produced the change in the dependent variable.
• Confounding variables can threaten internal validity by providing alternative explanations for observed changes.
• What does questioning external validity involve in psychological research?

  Generalizing findings to real-world
• External validity is concerned with generalizing findings beyond the specific experimental condition.
• What is ecological validity concerned with in psychological research?

  Generalizing findings across settings
• Behavior observed in a laboratory might be unusual because the setting is artificial.
• Behavior can vary considerably across different settings, such as school, shopping, or a sports match.
• What does mundane realism refer to in psychological research?

  How naturalistic the task is
• Tasks that are closer to real-life activities are more likely to provide a valid indication of performance.
• Memory research often uses tasks with low mundane realism, such as remembering nonsense letter combinations.
• What is population validity concerned with in psychological research?

  Generalizing findings to the broader population
• Gender bias in research occurs when studies exclude or underrepresent women.
• Many older psychological studies excluded women, assuming the results would be the same for both genders.
• What is temporal validity concerned with in psychological research?

  Applying findings across time
• Studies on obedience or gender identity may lack temporal validity if they were conducted in a different era.
• Outdated studies may not accurately explain modern human behavior due to societal and technological changes.
• What is face validity in psychological research?

  Whether the measure looks accurate
• A test of remembering the times table would lack face validity if used as a measure of general mathematical ability.
• Criterion validity involves comparing data from a new test to an established standard.
• What are the two types of criterion validity?

  Concurrent and predictive
• High concurrent validity is achieved when scores on a new test correlate closely with scores on an established test.
• A correlation of 0.8 or higher indicates high concurrent validity between two tests.
• What does predictive validity measure in psychological research?

  Ability to forecast future performance
• GCSE results are often assumed to have good predictive validity for A-level performance.
• Random allocation, standardized procedures, and counterbalancing can improve internal validity by reducing bias.
• How can replication improve external validity in psychological research?

  By generalizing findings across settings
• Temporal validity can be improved by conducting modern-day replications of older studies.
• Replications of Milgram's obedience studies in different settings showed similar results, improving ecological validity.