Speaker

Dr. Teague Henry
School of Data Science and Department of Psychology
University of Virginia

Teague Henry is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed in the School of Data Science and the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia (Uva). His research centers on advancing statistical methodologies for modeling network and dynamic systems data, with applications to personalized medicine, neuroimaging and predictive modeling. Beyond his core focus on statistical innovation, he explores the neural underpinnings of neurodevelopmental disorders and the design of tailored interventions for psychological conditions.

Title

“How can constructs be real if our eyes aren’t real?”: A modest proposal for psychological construct theory.

Abstract

Since Cronbach & Meehl’s seminal 1955 paper, psychologists, psychometricians and philosophers have been arguing incessantly about the nature of psychological constructs. In this talk, I will add yet another argument to the pile: that constructs are real, just not in the way that realists want, that constructs and measurements are not useful to separate, and that the validity of a construct depends entirely on its use case. To lay this argument out I will use recent work on construct theory in addition to more classical work on the philosophy of psychological science. Finally, I will illustrate the differences between the realist and proposed instrumentalist stance by discussing the construct theory behind two modern psychological theories, the p-factor theory and the theory of constructed emotion.