Glossary / Lexicon

Construct validity refers to the test which is demonstrated to be a measure of a job-relevant characteristic (e.g., reasoning ability ). The extent to which a test measures the hypothetical trait (construct) it is intended to measure. Methods for establishing construct validity include correlating test scores with scores on measures that do and do not measure the same trait (convergent and discriminant validity); conducting a factor analysis to assess the test's factorial validity; determining if changes in test scores reflect expected developmental changes; and seeing if experimental manipulations have the expected impact on test scores.