Final answer:
Angelo wants to establish discriminant validity for his new empathy measure to ensure it does not correlate with unrelated constructs. Ensuring high discriminant validity, alongside other validity and reliability checks, is important for the accuracy and consistency of his measuring instrument.
Step-by-step explanation:
Angelo would like to establish discriminant validity for his new measuring instrument. Discriminant validity is the extent to which a test does not correlate with other measures that it is theoretically expected not to correlate with. For Angelo’s empathy scale, a high discriminant validity would mean that it does not significantly correlate with unrelated constructs like non-verbal decoding ability, mood awareness, or self-consciousness. Angelo needs to demonstrate this to ensure that his measure is accurately capturing the concept of empathy and not other unrelated concepts. In developing a new measure, as Raymond Cattell did with the 16PF, it is crucial to score each dimension on a continuum to capture the degree to which each trait is expressed, rather than treating it as present or absent.
In psychological research, establishing both validity and reliability is essential for the credibility of a measuring instrument. Validity refers to how well the instrument measures what it is intended to measure, while reliability refers to the consistency of the instrument’s results over time. Angelo will need to consider these factors alongside discriminant validity to ensure his empathy measure is both accurate and consistent. Validity scales, such as the Lie Scale mentioned, help further ensure the accuracy of respondents' answers by identifying potential response biases, which can bolster the overall validity of the instrument.