In psychological measurement, reliability refers to the ______, while validity refers to the ______ of measurements.

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In psychological measurement, reliability is about consistency—whether a test yields stable, repeatable results across time, items, or raters. Validity is about accuracy in measuring the intended construct—whether the test actually assesses the trait or concept it’s meant to measure. The pairing that Reliability = consistency and Validity = accuracy in measuring the intended construct is the best fit. For example, a scale that gives the same reading every time is reliable, but if that reading doesn’t reflect the actual weight you want to measure, it isn’t valid. Conversely, a test that truly assesses what it’s supposed to gauge will generally be reliable as well, but reliability alone doesn’t guarantee validity.