title: Multivariate misgivings: is D a valid measure of group and sex differences?
abstract: In the study of group and sex differences in multivariate domains such as personality and aggression, univariate effect sizes may underestimate the extent to which groups differ from one another. When multivariate effect sizes such as Mahalanobis D are employed, sex differences are often found to be considerably larger than commonly assumed. In this paper, I review and discuss recent criticism concerning the validity of D as an effect size in psychological research. I conclude that the main arguments against D are incorrect, logically inconsistent, or easily answered on methodological grounds. When correctly employed and interpreted, D provides a valid, convenient measure of group and sex differences in multivariate domains.
authors: Psychology Department, University of Turin, Torino, Italy.
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Del Giudice
mesh_terms: D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D015982:Bias; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology; D011584:Psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012107:Research Design / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018401:Sample Size; D012727:Sex Characteristics