You are collecting information regarding the changing ability of school age baseball players. You hypothesize that as the players get older this causes their baseball playing abilities to increase. A colleague suggests that the change may be due to the length of time playing baseball rather than age itself. What type of threat to validity is your colleague suggesting?
A) maturation threat
B) history threat
C) testing threat
D) mortality threat

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The colleague is suggesting a maturation threat, which refers to the natural changes or development that occur over time in individuals, rather than the effect of a particular treatment or condition being studied. In this case, the colleague is suggesting that the apparent increase in ability may be due to the players simply having more experience playing baseball, rather than age being a direct cause.

You Are Collecting Information Regarding the Changing Ability of School