Validation studies of the maven scale

Boster et al. (2011) proposed that to be highly influential (a superdiffuser) one must be highly expert in a domain (a maven), highly connected, and highly persuasive. Two studies are presented testing the construct validity of the maven scale they developed. The first (n = 131) found that political mavens are more politically active and knowledgeable than those lower in political expertise. The second (n = 34) found that health mavens report both that others seek them for health information and that others report that they are good sources of health information. These results provide ample evidence of high construct validity.