retrospective validity

the extent to which an instrument that purports to measure a particular behavior can be shown to correlate with past occurrences that demonstrate this behavior. For example, a researcher evaluating a new measure of accident proneness might administer it to a sample of respondents and then check their archived medical records to determine if higher test scores on the measure correlate with the number of actual treated injuries in the past. It is one of several types of criterion validity. Also called postdictive validity. See also concurrent validity; predictive validity.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

perceptual development

the acquisition of skills that enable a person to organize sensory stimuli into meaningful entities during the course of physical and psychological development.