Rose is a rose is a rose: Content and construct validity

Abstract

This is a response to Roth, Hammelstein, and Brähler’s (2007) article: “Beyond a youthful behavior style—Age and sex differences in sensation seeking based on need theory”. The authors developed a new scale for sensation seeking because they claim that the behavioral type of items in Zuckerman (1979, 1994, 2007) sensation seeking scale (SSS) do not reflect a need for varied, novel, intense, and complex sensations. The criticism of the SSS is one of content rather than construct validity. Content validity cannot substitute for construct validity, as measured by relationships between a scale and external criteria. “Need” was part of an older definition of sensation seeking but was dropped because the construct of need as a secondary drive is not relevant to the trait concept of sensation seeking. Tolerance for risk is part of the definition of sensation seeking but sensation seeking covers a broader range of phenomena including non-risky preferences. In spite of the specificity of the content of different sensation seeking scales all of them show age declines. A “youthful behavior style”, as reflected in the content of the items, does not produce the age changes in the trait itself.