Psychological Measurement
Psychological Measurement
Psychological Measurement
MEASUREMENT
Ch. 4
19. Understanding Psychological
Measurement
• Learning Objectives
• Define measurement and give several examples of
measurement in psychology.
• Explain what a psychological construct is and give several
examples.
• Distinguish conceptual from operational definitions, give
examples of each, and create simple operational definitions.
• Distinguish the four levels of measurement, give examples of
each, and explain why this distinction is important.
Measurement
• “the assignment of scores to individuals so that the scores represent
some characteristic of the individuals”
• Examples
• Using a scale to “measure” one’s weight
• Using a thermometer to “measure” the internal temperature of
a turkey roasting
• Types
• Self-report measure
• Behavioral measures
• Physiological measures
Levels (or Scales) of Measurement
• A variable can be measured on one of four scales:
• Nominal
• Ordinal
• Interval
• Ratio
• What is Academic
Position?
• Happiness Rating
(1-7)?
• # of people that
reported each
value?
Examples- Question 5
• Shirt Color?
• SAT Score?
• Range from 400-
1600
20. Reliability and Validity of
Measurement
• Learning Objectives
• Define reliability, including the different types and how they
are assessed.
• Define validity, including the different types and how they
are assessed.
• Describe the kinds of evidence that would be relevant to
assessing the reliability and validity of a particular measure.
Reliability vs. Validity
►Reliability: Ability to obtain consistent scores
►Validity: Ability of a test to measure what it’s supposed to
►Scenario #2:
►You have 15 s to write as many t’s as you can
►Discuss the techniques you used to perform this task
►Now, I’ll give you another 15s to repeat the task