Psychological Construct
A theoretical concept that cannot be directly observed but is inferred from measurable behaviors. Examples: intelligence, personality traits, emotional intelligence, motivation.
A construct is something that exists as a concept but can't be measured directly — you can't put a ruler on "extraversion." Instead, we measure behaviors that indicate extraversion (sociability, assertiveness, positive affect) and infer the underlying trait.
Good constructs have: clear definitions, reliable measurement tools, and predictive validity (they predict real-world outcomes). Bad constructs are vague, hard to measure consistently, and don't predict anything useful.
The Big Five traits are well-validated constructs — they reliably predict job performance, relationship satisfaction, and mental health outcomes. Some popular constructs (like "emotional IQ" as a single number) are more controversial because their measurement properties are less robust.