Refinements in validity generalization methods: Implications for the situational specificity hypothesis

Abstract

Using a large database, this study examined 3 refinements of validity generalization procedures: (1) a more accurate procedure for correcting the residual standard deviation (SD) for range restriction to estimate SD p , (2) use of r̄ instead of study-observed r s in the formula for sampling error variance, and (3) removal of non-Pearson r s. The 1st procedure does not affect the amount of variance accounted for by artifacts. The addition of the 2nd and 3rd procedures increased the mean percentage of validity variance accounted for by artifacts from 70 to 82%, a 17% increase. The cumulative addition of all 3 procedures decreased the mean SD p estimate from .150 to .106, a 29% decrease. Six additional variance-producing artifacts were identified that could not be corrected for. In light of these it was concluded that the obtained estimates of mean SD p and mean validity variance accounted for were consistent with the hypothesis that the true mean SD p value is close to zero. These findings provide further evidence against the situational specificity hypothesis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)