Conceptual Complexity and Construct Validity

TLDR

Psychosocial measurement suffers from poor correspondence between indicators and intended constructs, partly due to conventions favoring complex, multi‑item measures that combine disparate content, limiting accurate representation of psychosocial phenomena. The article proposes preliminary alternative modeling approaches to improve construct validity in psychosocial measurement.

Abstract

Despite a century of methodological and conceptual advances in the technology of psychosocial measurement, poor correspondence between indicators and the constructs they are intended to represent remains a limiting factor to the accumulation of scientific knowledge. Longstanding conventions in measurement may contribute to the failure to develop optimal criteria. These conventions include the focus on complex over simple constructs and the use of multi-item measures of disparate content to represent those constructs. Several arguments suggest that such a measurement model compromises the potential for developing measures that accurately reflect psychosocial phenomena. The article concludes with some preliminary suggestions concerning an alternative model that may address this construct validity problem more effectively.