488 frank l. schmidt et al. Oswald, F. L., & McCloy, R. A. (2003). Meta-analysis and the art of the average. In K. Murphy (Ed.), Validity generalization: A critical review (pp. 311–338). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Schmidt, F. L., Hunter, J. E., Pearlman, K., Hirsh, H. R., Sackett, p. R., Schmitt, N., … Sedeck, S. (1985). Forty questions about validity generalization and meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 38(4), 697–798. Tett, R. P., Hundley, N., & Christiansen, N. D. (2017). Meta-analysis and the myth of generalizability. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 10(3), 421–456. A Failed Challenge to Validity Generalization: Addressing a Fundamental Misunderstanding of the Nature of VG Frank L. Schmidt University of Iowa Chockalingam Viswesvaran Florida International University Deniz S. Ones University of Minnesota Huy Le University of Texas at San Antonio The lengthy and complex focal article by Tett, Hundley, and Christiansen (2017) is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of validity generalization (VG): It is based on the assumption that what is generalized in VG is the estimated value of mean rho ( ¯ ρ ). This erroneous assumption is stated repeatedly throughout the article. A conclusion of validity generaliza- tion does not imply that ¯ ρ is identical across all situations. If VG is present, most, if not all, validities in the validity distribution are positive and useful even if there is some variation in that distribution. What is generalized is the entire distribution of rho ( ¯ ρ ), not just the estimated ¯ ρ or any other specifc value of validity included in the distribution. This distribution is described by its mean ( ¯ ρ ) and standard deviation (SD ρ ). A helpful concept based Frank L. Schmidt, University of Iowa; Chockalingam Viswesvaran, Florida International University; Deniz S. Ones, University of Minnesota; Huy Le, University of Texas at San Antonio. The order of authorship following the lead author is by seniority. We thank Philip Roth and In-Sue Oh for suggestions and comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Chockalingam Viswes- varan, Florida International University, Department of Psychology, University Park, Miami, FL 33199. E-mail: Vish@fu.edu; or Deniz S. Ones, University of Minnesota, Department of Psy- chology, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455. E-mail: Deniz.S.Ones-1@tc.umn.edu at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2017.47 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Minnesota Libraries, on 15 Jan 2021 at 17:41:39, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available