Which statement about construct validity is true?

Which statement about construct validity is true?

• A. It concerns whether the measure relates to other measures as theory predicts.
• B. It concerns the consistency of reports by the same observer.
• C. It concerns the repeatability of measurements across time.
• D. It concerns whether a measure yields the same results across different observers.

Answer: (A)

Construct validity asks whether a measure behaves in ways the underlying theory says it should. In practice, that means the measure should relate to other variables as the theory predicts: it should show meaningful associations with related constructs (convergent validity) and weaker or expected associations with unrelated ones (discriminant validity). This linkage to theoretical relationships helps confirm that the instrument is actually tapping the intended concept, not something else. Reliability questions—like whether scores stay the same across time (temporal stability) or remain consistent across different observers (inter-rater or intra-rater reliability)—are about measurement consistency rather than whether the measure aligns with theoretical expectations about relationships to other constructs.

Construct validity asks whether a measure behaves in ways the underlying theory says it should. In practice, that means the measure should relate to other variables as the theory predicts: it should show meaningful associations with related constructs (convergent validity) and weaker or expected associations with unrelated ones (discriminant validity). This linkage to theoretical relationships helps confirm that the instrument is actually tapping the intended concept, not something else.

Reliability questions—like whether scores stay the same across time (temporal stability) or remain consistent across different observers (inter-rater or intra-rater reliability)—are about measurement consistency rather than whether the measure aligns with theoretical expectations about relationships to other constructs.