Examples of constructs are: self-esteem, personality traits, mind, mental illnesses, intelligence, and emotions.

Construct validity refers to the degree to which the results of a test or measure are consistent with predictions derived from the theory which underlies the construct in question. Consider the use of absenteeism as a(n indirect) test of job satisfaction.

A thinking error pertinent to ‘constructs’ is called reification: this is the invention of a concept, the adoption of a name for that concept, and then referring to or behaving as though the concept is a tangible, concrete thing – a physical object – in the world. For example, discussing the concept of ‘self-esteem’ in a manner which suggests ‘self-esteem’ exists in the same way that an apple or an orange exists. “Ron, you wouldn’t be such a fragile boy if you got more ‘self-esteem’”.