Abuse and Misuse of Psychometrics as a Threat to Vocational Psychology

Abuse and Misuse of Psychometrics as a Threat to Vocational Psychology

Psychometrics—the science and technology of measuring psychological constructs—is a definitive feature of vocational psychology and career development. For a century, vocational psychology has produced and refined measures for research and practices in diverse industry sectors, including education, training, selection, and recruitment. We overview the philosophical foundations of post-positivism in contrast to an anti-psychometrics discourse emanating from critical scholarship so as to raise concerns that this critical commentary threatens the public’s understanding of psychometrics, their ethical use, and utility. It is time for psychology to advocate for its science and technology, and push back against the iconoclastic rhetoric of its protagonists in the struggle for knowledge/power.