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Explain what this correlation coefficient indicates about the discriminant validity of the new self-esteem measure. Diagnose whether this result supports or fails to support the validity of the measure, and justify your answer based on the conceptual relationship between self-esteem and mood.
Case context: A psychometrician develops a new measure of self-esteem. During validation testing, they administer this scale alongside an established measure of daily mood. Upon analyzing the data, the psychometrician finds a correlation of between the self-esteem scores and the daily mood scores.
Question: Explain what this correlation coefficient indicates about the discriminant validity of the new self-esteem measure. Diagnose whether this result supports or fails to support the validity of the measure, and justify your answer based on the conceptual relationship between self-esteem and mood.
Sample answer: This correlation coefficient indicates a failure to establish discriminant validity. Self-esteem and mood are conceptually distinct variables. Because discriminant validity requires low correlations between distinct variables, a high correlation of indicates the new self-esteem scale is not uniquely capturing the intended trait and is instead inadvertently measuring the participants' current mood state.
Key points:
- The high correlation () represents a failure to establish discriminant validity.
- Self-esteem and daily mood are conceptually distinct variables.
- Discriminant validity requires low correlations between differing constructs.
- The new measure fails to uniquely capture the intended trait and instead measures mood.
Rubric: The student must diagnose the finding as a failure to support discriminant validity. The justification must explain that self-esteem and mood are conceptually distinct, that discriminant validity requires low correlations, and that the high correlation suggests the scale is inadvertently measuring mood.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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