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Proxy failure and poor measurement practices in psychological science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2024

Wendy C. Higgins Open the ORCID record for Wendy C. Higgins [Opens in a new window] ,
Alexander J. Gillett Open the ORCID record for Alexander J. Gillett [Opens in a new window] ,
David M. Kaplan Open the ORCID record for David M. Kaplan [Opens in a new window]  and
Robert M. Ross Open the ORCID record for Robert M. Ross [Opens in a new window]
Wendy C. Higgins*
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia david.kaplan@mq.edu.au https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/wendy-higgins https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/david-michael-kaplan
Alexander J. Gillett
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia. alexander.gillett@mq.edu.au robert.ross@mq.edu.au https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/alexander-gillett https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/robert-ross
David M. Kaplan
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia david.kaplan@mq.edu.au https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/wendy-higgins https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/david-michael-kaplan
Robert M. Ross
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia. alexander.gillett@mq.edu.au robert.ross@mq.edu.au https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/alexander-gillett https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/robert-ross
*
Corresponding author: Wendy C. Higgins; Email: wendy.higgins@mq.edu.au
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Abstract

We argue that proxy failure contributes to poor measurement practices in psychological science and that a tradeoff exists between the legibility and fidelity of proxies whereby increasing legibility can result in decreased fidelity.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 47 , 2024 , e75
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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