Campbell's law

proper noun

The adage that "the more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor".

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. The adage that "the more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor".

Origin

Developed by American psychologist and social scientist Donald T. Campbell.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Campbell's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Campbell's%20law

MLA

“Campbell's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Campbell's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Campbell's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Campbell's%20law.

Source: Campbell's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.