CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF A LABORATORY AGGRESSION PARADIGM: A MULTITRAIT-MULTIMETHOD APPROACH

• Main Author: Phillips, Joshua Parker
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2011
• Subjects: Aggression; Construct Validity; Multitrait Multimethod Matrix; Factor Analysis; Taylor Aggression Paradigm; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/131; http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1137&context=gradschool_diss

There continues to be doubt regarding the validity of laboratory aggression paradigms. This paper provides an investigation of the construct validity of one prominent aggression task, the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), within a Multitrait Multimethod Matrix (MTMM) methodology. Participants consisted of 151 male undergraduate psychology students with a median age of 19 years old (M=19.45, SD = 2.03). Participants completed self-report and behavioral measures of aggression, impulsivity, and pro-social behavior which were analyzed using a Correlated Trait – Correlated Method Confirmatory Factor Analysis model. Results supported the construct validity of the MTMM model and the TAP. This study provides one of the only a priori tests of construct validity for the TAP and provides a basis for additional validation studies using this methodology.