Which term describes the extent to which study results can be generalized across different populations and settings?

Which term describes the extent to which study results can be generalized across different populations and settings?

• A. External Validity
• B. Internal Validity
• C. Construct Validity
• D. Ecological Validity

Answer: (A)

External validity is the extent to which study results generalize to other people, settings, and times beyond the exact conditions of the study. This matters because an effect observed in one group or environment may not appear in different populations or real-world contexts. For example, if a therapy shows benefits with college students in a controlled lab, external validity asks whether those benefits would occur with adults in community clinics or in different cultural settings. Internal validity concerns whether the study design truly shows a causal effect within the study, free from confounds. Construct validity questions whether the measures actually capture the intended constructs. Ecological validity relates to how realistic the study’s setting and tasks are, which is related but narrower than external validity. The correct term for generalizing across populations and settings is external validity.

External validity is the extent to which study results generalize to other people, settings, and times beyond the exact conditions of the study. This matters because an effect observed in one group or environment may not appear in different populations or real-world contexts. For example, if a therapy shows benefits with college students in a controlled lab, external validity asks whether those benefits would occur with adults in community clinics or in different cultural settings. Internal validity concerns whether the study design truly shows a causal effect within the study, free from confounds. Construct validity questions whether the measures actually capture the intended constructs. Ecological validity relates to how realistic the study’s setting and tasks are, which is related but narrower than external validity. The correct term for generalizing across populations and settings is external validity.