What is the difference between reliability and validity?

Reliability is about whether the same result would be found if the experiment was repeated. An experiment must be replicable if it is to be reliable. One way to remember this is 'reliability requires replicability'.

On the other hand. validity is about whether the experiment is measuring what it says it is measuring. You can have a test that is very reliable, which suggests good things about the experiment, but the test may not actually have validity - it may be testing a completely different pattern/relationship. 

Answered by Phoebe H. Psychology tutor

19744 Views

See similar Psychology A Level tutors

Related Psychology A Level answers

All answers ▸

How does the social learning theory explain aggressive behaviour?


Describe the diverse views to approach an understanding of the notion of ‘self’ from the Social Psychology literature.


Describe 3 factors which influence the effectiveness of minority influence (6)


Milgram’s work into obedience provided us with valuable insights into why people obey, even though it was carried out in a laboratory. Outline two explanations of why people obey.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences