Rethinking the validity of psychological assessment.

Comments on S. Messick's (see record 1996-10004-001) paper on the validity of psychological assessment. The author discusses the indeterminacy of construct validity, the overzealous scuttling of criterion-relevant validity, the drift away from measure-centered validity, and the need for reestablishing multiple forms of validity. The comments are aimed at combating an air of complacency fostered by the introduction and mounting elaboration of the concept of construct validation. The author concludes that the intractability of psychological measurement needs to be confronted more directly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ramifications of increased training in quantitative methodology.

Comments on the article "Doctoral training in statistics, measurement, and methodology in psychology: Replication and extension of Aiken, West, Sechrest, and Reno's (1990) survey of PhD programs in North America" by Aiken, West, and Millsap (see record 2007-19520-003). The current author asks three questions that are provoked by the comprehensive identification of gaps and deficiencies in the training of quantitative methodology that led Aiken, West, and Millsap to call for expanded graduate instruction resources and programs. This comment calls for greater attention to how advances and expansion in the training of quantitative analysis are influencing who chooses to study psychology and how and what will be studied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)