Dr. Williams has developed a paper-and-pencil test to assess fear of heights. He gives the test to 50 research participants, whose scores range from 0 (no fear) to 100 (intense fear). He finds that scores on the test have a correlation of only -0.25 with physiological measures of fear. Two months later, participants take the paper-and-pencil test again. The correlation between scores on this second paper-and-pencil test and scores on the first paper-and-pencil test is 0.95. This information suggests that Dr. Williams' test is __________.
A) reliable and probably valid
B) valid and therefore reliable
C) unreliable and not valid
D) probably not valid but reliable

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correlation between the paper-and-pencil test scores and physiological measures of fear is low, indicating that the test may not be valid. However, the high correlation between the two administrations of the test suggests that the test is reliable. Therefore, the best choice is D, which indicates that the test is probably not valid but reliable.

Dr Williams Has Developed a Paper-And-Pencil Test to Assess Fear