Psychological measurement has traditionally been approached through the lens of psychometric models: statistical structures that form a bridge between substantive psychological theory and empirical data. For most of the 20th century, the dominant model in psychometrics was the latent variable model, in which test scores can be viewed as effects of a latent psychological construct. However, in recent years, psychological constructs are increasingly interpreted in terms of networks of interacting beliefs, abilities, affect states, and behaviors; such conceptualizations have taken a high flight in psychopathology research, but are also on the rise in research on attitudes, intelligence, and personality. From this perspective, a psychological construct is not seen as a latent variable that underlies or determines observable behaviors, but as a property that emerges from the interaction between network components. A novel psychometric modeling tradition associated with this idea has developed statistical structures to serve as a bridge between network theory and data: network psychometrics. In the present talk, I will explain how network psychometrics relates to traditional psychometric perspectives and how it changes some pivotal elements in thinking about psychological measurement.
Dr. Borsboom is a professor in the Psychological Methods Group at the Psychology Department of the University of Amsterdam and director of its Social and Behavioural Data Science Centre. His research focuses on the conceptual analysis of psychometric concepts, the development of new psychometric techniques, and the formation of formalized psychological theory. His research on the use of complex systems and network models in the context of psychometrics and psychopathology research is concentrated in the Psychosystems Project. Research on formal theory construction is located at the Theory Methods Lab. He is also an associate of the Institute for Advanced Study and an affiliate of the POLDER simulation center.