The internal validity obsession

Co-author(s)

Philip E. Tetlock

Date

2022-5

Website

Until social psychology devotes as much attention to construct and external validity as it does to internal validity, the field will continue to produce theories that fail to replicate in the field and cannot be used to meliorate social problems.

Citation

Gregory Mitchell & Philip E. Tetlock, The internal validity obsession, 45 Behavioral and Brain Sciences e83 (2022).

UVA Law Faculty Affiliations

Gregory Mitchell

Center for Empirical Studies in Law

More in This Category

Precedent and Similarity

Frederick Schauer

Barbara A. Spellman

Given that no two acts, events, situations, and legal cases are identical, precedential constraint necessarily involves determining which two...

Memory and the Law

Barbara A. Spellman

Charles S. Weaver

Memory issues are well-known in legal trials that involve the reliability of eyewitnesses in criminal cases. However, the relevance of memory to law...

Competence for Criminal Adjudication: Client Autonomy and the Significance of Decisional Competence

Richard J. Bonnie

The practice of assessing and adjudicating competence for criminal adjudication in the United States developed largely without assistance from the U.S...

The Legal Effect of a Record of Delinquency Adjudication on Firearm Access: A Typology of State Statutes and Policies

Brett O. Gardner

Richard J. Bonnie

Katharine M. Janes

...

Gun-related violence and suicide in the United States are serious public health problems that are concentrated among young adults, especially those...

The predictive performance of criminal risk assessment tools used at sentencing: Systematic review of validation studies

Seena Fazel

Matthias Burghart

Thomas Fanshawe

...

Although risk assessment tools have been widely used to inform sentencing decisions, there is uncertainty about the extent and quality of evidence of...

The Empirical Case for Pretrial Risk Assessment Instruments

Sarah L. Desmarais

John T. Monahan

James Austin

Pretrial risk assessment instruments are used in many jurisdictions to inform decisions regarding pretrial release and conditions. Many are concerned...

The internal validity obsession

Philip E. Tetlock

Gregory Mitchell

Until social psychology devotes as much attention to construct and external validity as it does to internal validity, the field will continue to...

Overview of special issue: Human factors in forensic science practice sourcebook

Heidi Eldridge

Barbara A. Spellman

John Morgan

...

The five articles in this special issue of FSI:Synergy were created to advance the understanding and adoption of insights from cognitive psychology...

Challenges to reasoning in forensic science decisions

Barbara A. Spellman

Heidi Eldridge

Paul Bieber

The success of forensic science depends heavily on human reasoning abilities. Although we typically navigate our lives well using those abilities...

Shadow Tort Law: Lessons From The Reptile

Kenneth S. Abraham

For over a decade, a battle has been raging in the trial courts of this country over something called the "reptile theory," often simply referred to...

Consent Issues in the Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke

Justin A. Sattin

Winston Chiong

Richard J. Bonnie

...

This position statement briefly reviews the principle of informed consent, the elements of decisional capacity, and how acute stroke may affect this...

Social Science in Law: Cases and Materials

John T. Monahan

This title offers an engaging and comprehensive overview of how American courts use research and testimony from the social sciences in reaching their...

A New Commitment Pathway for Offenders With Serious Mental Illness: Expedited Diversion to Court-Ordered Treatment

Steven K. Hoge

Richard J. Bonnie

The authors propose a new form of civil commitment that would benefit individuals with serious mental illness involved with the criminal justice...

Ethical Considerations in Dementia Diagnosis and Care: AAN Position Statement

Winston Chiong

Amy Y. Tsou

Zachary Simmons

...

Alzheimer disease and other dementias present unique practical challenges for patients, their families, clinicians, and health systems. These...

The Future of Women in Psychological Science

J. Gruber

J. Mendle

K. A. Lindquist

...

There has been extensive discussion about gender gaps in representation and career advancement in the sciences. However, psychological science itself...

Expedited Diversion of Criminal Defendants to Court-Ordered Treatment

Steven K. Hoge

Richard J. Bonnie

The authors propose a formal statutory diversion process for offenders with serious mental disorders: expedited diversion to court-ordered treatment...

Science Forum: Consensus-based guidance for conducting and reporting multi-analyst studies

Balazs Aczel

Barnabas Szaszi

Gustav Nilsonne

...

Any large dataset can be analyzed in a number of ways, and it is possible that the use of different analysis strategies will lead to different results...

Psychological Science in the Wake of COVID-19: Social, Methodological, and Metascientific Considerations

Daniel L. Rosenfeld

Emily Balcetis

Brock Bastian

...

The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively changed the state of psychological science from what research questions psychologists can ask to which...