Frye test

a test for the admissibility of scientific evidence in U.S. courts, derived from the case Frye v. United States (1923) in which an early form of lie-detector evidence (see polygraph) was ruled inadmissible because it had not yet “gained general acceptance in the field in which it belongs.” This “general acceptance” test became the chief standard for ruling on admissibility of scientific evidence in both state and federal courts until 1993, when it was replaced by the Daubert test in most jurisdictions.

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Psychology term of the day

December 25th 2024

Spearman–Brown prophecy formula

the mathematical formulation of a basic tenet of classical test theory concerning the length (number of items) of a test and its influence on reliability, whereby increasing the number of items with similar content results in increased reliability for the test, and decreasing the number of items leads to decreased reliability. The formula allows a researcher to estimate the gains or losses in reliability that would occur with changes in test size. Also called Spearman–Brown prediction formula. [Charles Spearman; W. Brown, 20th-century British psychologist]