ABSTRACT
The type of validity that relies on subjective judgments and empirical data i.e., data based on observations, is construct validity. A construct stands for a collection of related behaviors that are associated in a meaningful way. For instance, "depression" is a construct that stands for a personality trait manifested by behaviors such as lethargy, flat affect when speaking, loss of appetite, loss of sexual drive, preoccupation with suicidal thoughts, and difficulty concentrating on tasks. To determine the construct validity of a measure, researchers begin by hypothesizing about components that make up the construct they wish to measure. From one perspective, the indirect nature of the evidence obtained in construct validity studies may be regarded as a weakness. However, when there are a series of construct validity studies on a given measure, researchers gain insight into how meaningful the scores are in various contexts.
