PSYC 3250 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Criterion Validity, Concurrent Validity, Personnel Selection

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 3250
• Professor: David Stanley

Document Summary

The accuracy of decisions is directly linked to the validity of test scores. Criterion validity serves to reduce particular types of decision errors and whether the gains in accuracy of decisions are worth the cost of testing. Mathematical decision theory makes a formal distinction between a decision and what is known about another variable. This validity deals with the correlation between tests and criteria or the degree to which test scores can be used to predict criteria. Prediction occurs when you try to estimate a person"s score on particular measure. Decision represents some action that you take on the basis of your predictions. Thus, the correlation between test scores and criterion scores can be thought of as a measure of the validity of decisions. A criterion is a measure that could be used to determine the accuracy of a decision. In psychological testing, the criteria typically represent measures of the outcomes that specific treatments or decisions are designed to produce.