2026-06-10 –, AUDITORIUM
In psychological research, the validity of measurements is often taken for granted. This is a serious problem because poorly validated measurements mean weak scientific inferences. Let’s do something about it. Come join the Measurement Critic’s Challenge!
What is the Measurement Critic’s Challenge? It’s a call to researchers to stress test psychological measurement procedures by actively searching for threats to their validity potential, that is, their capacity to produce valid measurements. The more stress tests a measurement procedure passes, the more confident we can be in its output. In this unconference, we will discuss common threats to measurement validity and have a go at spotting two types of validity threats: confounds and conceptual flaws.
Psychological measures are frequently used in diverse populations with limited evidence that the measures perform comparably across groups or provide valid measurements of the constructs they are used to measure. This can result in misleading research findings that may misrepresent or disadvantage particular groups. This unconference aims to raise awareness about the need to think critically about psychological measures and to highlight specific threats to the validity of the output they produce. This is a small, but important step toward more inclusive and responsible psychological measurement.
Please note any pre-requisite knowledge/expertise you will expect from attendees (i.e., is the session most appropriate for someone who already has experience with a topic?).:No prior experience needed
