Since the work of Cronbach and Meehl of mid last century, the concept of validity of the tests in Psychology and Education has been loosing its original meaning. Despite the intention of the authors to precisely save this concept, the introduction of the model of the nomological network, conceived within the framework of the logical positivism, was in fact decisive to destroy the concept of validity as originally conceived by Kelly in the 1920s and later on by Cattell. The concept of validity was finally completely mischaracterized with the definition given by the great psychometrist Samuel Messick in 1989. It seems to be fundamental that this concept is rediscovered in order to save the bases of Psychometry. The present article will try to show the confusion that the nomological network model brought to Psychometry and also to try to recuperate the real meaning of validity within the context of the measures in psychosocial sciences, especially in Psychology and Education.
validity; nomological network; psychometry
