Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

A time for specificity.

¹Department of Psychology, Harvard University, MA 02138-2044, USA. jk@wjh.harvard.edu

Journal of Personality Assessment

|September 21, 2005

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This article discusses conceptual complexity and construct validity in personality and psychopathology research. It suggests these concepts are crucial for advancing theoretical progress in the field.

Related Experiment Videos

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Temperamental and Theoretical Contributions to Clinical Psychology.

Annual review of clinical psychology·2022

Same author

The Ambiguity of Maltreatment.

The American journal of psychiatry·2020

Same author

Effect of Maternal Distress on Perceptions of Infant Behavior May Differ in Chinese-American and European-American Mothers and Infants.

Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP·2020

Same author

Kinds of individuals defined by patterns of variables.

Development and psychopathology·2018

Same author

Three Unresolved Issues in Human Morality.

Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science·2018

Same author

Perspectives on two temperamental biases.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2018

Same journal

Comparing the Psychometric Characteristics of Two 32-Item Versions of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems: An Extended Replication Study in English and Dutch.

Journal of personality assessment·2026

Same journal

Psychometric Evaluation of a Contextualized Version of the German BFI-2 for the Digital World Across Self- and Other-Ratings.

Journal of personality assessment·2026

Same journal

Case Studies with the Rorschach Test: A Systematic Literature Review.

Journal of personality assessment·2026

Same journal

A Stratified Analysis of Body Perception, Interoception and Somatosensory Brain Processing in Healthy Adults.

Journal of personality assessment·2026

Same journal

Predicting the Level of Suicide Risk with the MMPI-3.

Journal of personality assessment·2026

Same journal

Strengths Knowledge Scale (SKS) and Strengths Use Scale (SUS): Revisiting Psychometric Properties and Gender Invariance in the General Spanish Population.

Journal of personality assessment·2026

See all related articles

Area of Science:

Psychology
Psychopathology
Personality Theory

Background:

The article reviews McGrath's (2005) work on conceptual complexity and construct validity.
It highlights the need for theoretical reform in personality and psychopathology studies.

Discussion:

The author posits that addressing conceptual complexity is essential for robust construct validity.
This reform is framed as a necessary step for significant theoretical advancement.

Key Insights:

High conceptual complexity can challenge construct validity if not properly managed.
Theoretical progress in personality and psychopathology hinges on rigorous examination of these concepts.

Outlook:

The article signals a potential shift towards more theoretically grounded research.

Future research should focus on refining conceptual clarity and validating constructs rigorously.