Is construct validation valid?
Published version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Alexandrova, Anna https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3226-6044
Haybron, DM
Abstract
What makes a measure of well-being valid? The dominant approach today, construct validation, uses psychometrics to ensure that questionnaires behave in accordance with background knowledge. Our first claim is interpretive—construct validation obeys a coherentist logic that seeks to balance diverse sources of evidence about the construct in question. Our second claim is critical—while in theory this logic is defensible, in practice it does not secure valid measures. We argue that the practice of construct validation in well-being research is theory avoidant, favoring a narrow focus on statistical tests while largely ignoring relevant philosophical considerations.
Description
Keywords
5003 Philosophy, 50 Philosophy and Religious Studies
Journal Title
Philosophy of Science
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0031-8248
1539-767X
1539-767X
Volume Title
83
Publisher
University of Chicago Press