Convergent validity, for
human cognition, especially within
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, and other
behavioral sciences
Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic o ...
, refers to the degree to which two measures that theoretically should be related, are in fact related.
Convergent validity, along with
discriminant validity In psychology, discriminant validity tests whether concepts or measurements that are not supposed to be related are actually unrelated.
Campbell and Fiske (1959) introduced the concept of discriminant validity within their discussion on evaluating ...
, is a subtype of
construct validity Construct validity concerns how well a set of indicators represent or reflect a concept that is not directly measurable. ''Construct validation'' is the accumulation of evidence to support the interpretation of what a measure reflects.Polit DF Beck ...
. Convergent validity can be established if two similar constructs correspond with one another, while discriminant validity applies to two dissimilar constructs that are easily differentiated.
Campbell and Fiske (1959) developed the
Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix
The multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrix is an approach to examining construct validity developed by Campbell and Fiske (1959). It organizes convergent and discriminant validity evidence for comparison of how a measure relates to other measures. ...
to assess the construct validity of a set of measures in a study. The approach stresses the importance of using both discriminant and convergent validation techniques when assessing new tests. In other words, in order to establish construct validity, you have to demonstrate both convergence and discrimination.
Evaluation/application
Convergent validity can be estimated using correlation coefficients.
A successful evaluation of convergent validity shows that a test of a concept is highly correlated with other tests designed to measure theoretically similar concepts. For instance, to show the convergent validity of a test of mathematics skills, the scores on the test can be correlated with scores on other tests that are also designed to measure basic mathematics ability. High correlations between the test scores would be evidence of convergent validity.
Convergent evidence is best interpreted relative to discriminant evidence. That is, patterns of intercorrelations between two dissimilar measures should be low while correlations with similar measures should be substantially greater. This evidence can be organized as a
multitrait-multimethod matrix
The multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrix is an approach to examining construct validity developed by Campbell and Fiske (1959). It organizes convergent and discriminant validity evidence for comparison of how a measure relates to other measures. ...
. For example, in order to test the convergent validity of a measure of
self-esteem
Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...
, a researcher may want to show that measures of similar constructs, such as self-worth, confidence, social skills, and self-appraisal are also related to self-esteem, whereas non-overlapping factors, such as intelligence, should not relate.
See also
*
Construct validity Construct validity concerns how well a set of indicators represent or reflect a concept that is not directly measurable. ''Construct validation'' is the accumulation of evidence to support the interpretation of what a measure reflects.Polit DF Beck ...
*
Content validity
In psychometrics, content validity (also known as logical validity) refers to the extent to which a measure represents all facets of a given construct. For example, a depression scale may lack content validity if it only assesses the affective dim ...
*
Criterion validity In psychometrics, criterion validity, or criterion-related validity, is the extent to which an operationalization of a construct, such as a test, relates to, or predicts, a theoretical representation of the construct—the criterion. Criterion valid ...
*
Discriminant validity In psychology, discriminant validity tests whether concepts or measurements that are not supposed to be related are actually unrelated.
Campbell and Fiske (1959) introduced the concept of discriminant validity within their discussion on evaluating ...
(divergent validity)
*
Face validity Face validity is the extent to which a test is subjectively viewed as covering the concept it purports to measure. It refers to the transparency or relevance of a test as it appears to test participants. In other words, a test can be said to have fa ...
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Test validity Test validity is the extent to which a test (such as a chemical test, chemical, physical test, physical, or test (assessment), scholastic test) accuracy and precision, accurately measures what it is supposed to measure. In the fields of psychologica ...
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Validity (statistics)
Validity is the main extent to which a concept, conclusion or measurement is well-founded and likely corresponds accurately to the real world. The word "valid" is derived from the Latin validus, meaning strong. The validity of a measurement tool ( ...
References
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Validity (statistics)