Measurement of newcomer socialization: Construct validation of a multidimensional scale

A construct validation approach was taken to develop a primary measure of newcomer socialization that addresses shortcomings with a prior scale (Chao, Kelly, Wolf, Klein, & Gardner, 1994). Three separate groups of subject matter experts reviewed items to ensure the content validity of the Newcomer Socialization Questionnaire (NSQ). Studies 1 and 2 examined the NSQ’s psychometric properties using employed students and organizational newcomers as participants, respectively. Results illustrate scale reliability, factor structure, convergent and discriminant validity, and correlations with criterion variables. The NSQ measures three dimensions or domains of newcomer socialization: the organization, the group and the job/task. In addition, both factual knowledge and knowledge of expected role behaviors are assessed within each domain. Thus, the NSQ provides a useful measurement tool for researchers and practitioners interested in examining direct outcomes of being socialized.     

Construct validation of the Dutch version of the impact of event scale

The Impact of Event Scale (ES; M. J. Horowitz, N. Wilner, & W. Alvarez, 1979) is a worldwide-used self-report measure to assess the frequency of intrusive and avoidant phenomena after a variety of traumatic experiences. The purpose of this article is to assess the psychometric value of the Dutch version of the IES (D. Brom & R. J. Kleber, 1985) in several samples of individuals who had experienced various traumatic stressors. The reliability and structure of the IES were evaluated in 3 different samples (total N = 1.588). The reliability of the Dutch version of the IES was adequate across the various stressors. The construct validity was assessed by using confirmatory factor analyses. Outcomes revealed a robust structure over the various samples, generally supporting the composition of the original IES.     

Construct validation of the Self-Control Schedule

The present paper describes an investigation of the construct validity of the English version of M. Rosenbaum's (1980, Behavior Therapy, 11, 109–121) Self-Control Schedule (SCS). A total of 121 Brigham Young University students took the SCS and several other measures. t tests were conducted between the Brigham Young University student SCS means and the SCS means of samples from two midwestern universities. Pearson correlations between the SCS, the SCS subscales, Rotter's I-E scale, the Manifest Anxiety scale, and the Religious Orientation scale were computed. Reliability analyses were conducted on the SCS subscales. The results (a) provide additional normative data about the SCS, (b) further establish the comparability of the Hebrew and English versions of the SCS, (c) expand the nomological network and support the construct validity of the SCS, and (d) indicate that the SCS may have potential as a multidimensional instrument.     

Construct validation of scales derived from the Rorschach method: a review of issues and introduction to the Rorschach rating scale

I suggest the main goal of Rorschach validation should be a refined understanding of what each score means. Toward this end, I review general issues in construct validity, hurdles unique to the Rorschach, and general limitations with validation criteria. I then recommend two approaches for improving criteria so they can begin approximating the gold standards that are necessary for a refined understanding of what scores actually measure. The first is a method for improving expert clinical judgment, and the second is a method for aggregating data across diverse judges. Finally, the Rorschach Rating Scale (RRS) is presented as a criterion tool to be used with either of these approaches to validation. The RRS is a fairly comprehensive summary of the constructs thought to be measured by various Rorschach scoring systems. The utility of the RRS for research and training are discussed, as are other practical, theoretical, and psychometric issues in its application.     

Construct validation of a measure of ingratiatory behaviour in organizational settings

To assess the construct validity of an instrument for Measuring Ingratiatory Behaviour in Organizational settings (MIBOS), 51 supervisors completed a 12-item version of the scale, indicating the frequency with which they used ingratiatory behavior at work. Their immediate superiors (targets of the ingratiation attempts) rated the subject on four hypothesized correlates of ingratiation tactics, liking for the subject, feeling comfortable in the subject’s company, subject’s perceived career success and subject’s perceived job performance. Each of the correlations between MIBOS and these superior ratings were significant, suggesting that the instrument possesses sufficient validity to justify its use in future research into ingratiation in organizations.     

Construction and validation of a perceived physical fitness scale

Numerous researchers have demonstrated that improvements in physical conditioning can influence one's psychological functioning. Heaps proposed in 1978 that physical improvement does not improve psychological functioning. Heaps contended that only when an individual is cognitively aware of the physical improvement can one expect psychological functioning to be enhanced through physical activity. The purpose of this study was to construct a valid and reliable instrument to assess an individual's perception of his physical fitness.     

The construction and validation of a juror bias scale

A questionnaire was constructed to measure individual differences in pretrial bias among jurors. The final Likert scale, called the Juror Bias Scale (JBS), contains 17 items—8 that reflect pretrial expectancies that defendants, in general, commit the crimes with which they are charged and 9 that reflect the value attached to conviction and punishment. The scale is internally consistent and test-retest reliable. Scores are uncorrelated with social desirability, moderately correlated with I-E control and belief in a just world, and more highly correlated with authoritarianism. In one validation experiment, student jurors were exposed to three trial presentations in a laboratory setting. Overall, subjects classified as prosecution biased were more conviction prone and adopted a less stringent standard of reasonable doubt. In a second study, community jurors watched one of two videotaped mock trials in a courtroom. Prosecution-biased subjects asserted a higher probability that the defendent committed the crime and rendered a higher percentage of guilty verdicts than defense-biased subjects for one of the two trials. JBS scores were unrelated to all demographic variables, but were significantly correlated with political views. The potential uses and limitations of the JBS are discussed.     

Construct validation of the Bern Sex Role Inventory

The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity of the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), a questionnaire which measures pyschological androgyny. Psychological androgyny refers to the fact that a person may possess both traits traditionally considered feminine, and traits traditionlly considered masculine, i.e. that femininity and masculinity are two independent dimensions. Eight different groups, chosen because their androgyny scores were expected to differ, participated in the study. The groups differed as expected and this is taken as an evidence that the BSRI has construct validity and that it is valid for Swedish conditions.     

Development and validation of a scale measuring attitudes toward smoking

The authors developed the Smoking Attitudes Scale (SAS) and administered it to 2 samples of U.S. students who were smokers or nonsmokers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL (K. G. J?reskog & D. S?rbom, 1989) methodology revealed that the SAS consists of 4 factors. The overall instrument possesses good internal consistency and adequate construct validity as well.     

Construction and validation of a children's interpersonal trust belief scale

A scale was constructed to assess children's generalized trust beliefs (CGTB) in four target groups (mother, father, teacher and peer) with respect to three bases of trust: reliability, emotionality, and honesty. The CGTB Scale was administered to 145 Year 5 and 156 Year 6 children (mean age = 10 years, 1 month) residing in the English Midlands, United Kingdom. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded evidence for the expected factor structure of the CGTB Scale. The total CGTB Scale and subscales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and expected levels of stability across time. As support for validity, Year 6 participants' scores on the CGTB peer subscale were correlated with their trust beliefs in classmates, assessed a year earlier. As hypothesized, children's helpfulness to their classmates was correlated with the CGTB Scale and subscales. Girls displayed greater trust beliefs and helpfulness to classmates than did boys.     

Construct validity of the Concern For Appropriateness scale

Construct validity of the Concern For Appropriateness scale (CFA; Lennox & Wolfe, 1984), a measure of the tendency to adopt protective self-presentation styles, is examined using a multitrait-multimethod approach. Self-ratings on the CFA and ratings by suitemates constitute the two methods, and concern for appropriateness, interpersonal trust, and boredom susceptibility are assessed with each. Multitrait-multimethod analysis shows that the CFA scale exhibits convergent validity against peer ratings and discriminant validity against boredom susceptibility, the only other variable demonstrating convergence. Results indicate that the CFA exhibits construct validity and might therefore prove useful as an operationalization for self-presentation tendencies.     

If it walks like a duck: Construct validation of proverb-based personality dimensions

Previous research has investigated the personality-relevance of proverb endorsement. In this previous research, however, participants were provided with additional information to aid them in their interpretations of the proverbial phrases. Although seven proverb-based personality dimensions were revealed, it is not entirely clear whether these dimensions truly reflect dimensions encoded in the proverb domain itself, or whether they reflect, instead, meanings imposed by the definitional context. In this study, college-student participants relied on their own interpretations of proverbial wisdom to guide their endorsements. Significantly, two of the previously reported dimensions - the two that had previously seemed to be the most novel - did not replicate. Five proverb-based dimensions were replicated, however, and the relationships between these dimensions and dimensions assessed by more established personality inventories were explored. This study thus confirms that proverbial wisdom does indeed advocate behavior and beliefs relevant to important dimensions of individual difference.     

Collective moral disengagement: Initial validation of a scale for adolescents

Collective moral disengagement refers to shared group beliefs that morally justify negative actions. This study reports an initial validation of the newly developed Classroom Collective Moral Disengagement Scale (CCMDS) for adolescents. This self-report instrument assesses the degree to which mechanisms of moral disengagement are shared by students in their class. Data were collected from two samples of 486 and 654 adolescents attending middle and high schools in Italy. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses the unidimensional structure of the scale was established. Multigroup analyses demonstrated configural, metric and scalar invariance of the model across age and gender groups. The final version of the scale consists of 17 items and it has good internal consistency and validity. It is concluded that the scale is a promising measure for research concerning group level morality.     

Development and validation of a scale to measure beliefs about women managers

This paper presents preliminary evidence on the internal consistency and validity of a scale designed to measure the degree to which one believes women managers experience a greater number of obstacles and more critical judgments about their work performance as compared to managerial men (the Stereotype Beliefs about Women Managers scale; SBWMS). Survey data from 1,337 managerial and nonmanagerial men and women employed by a large manufacturing organization revealed that the 6-item scale possessed a single factor. Significant mean group differences and correlations between the SBWMS and a number of organizationallyrelevant measures provide good preliminary support for the scale’s validity.     

Development and validation of a scale to measure beliefs about women managers

This paper presents preliminary evidence on the internal consistency and validity of a scale designed to measure the degree to which one believes women managers experience a greater number of obstacles and more critical judgments about their work performance as compared to managerial men (the Stereotype Beliefs about Women Managers scale; SBWMS). Survey data from 1,337 managerial and nonmanagerial men and women employed by a large manufacturing organization revealed that the 6-item scale possessed a single factor. Significant mean group differences and correlations between the SBWMS and a number of organizationallyrelevant measures provide good preliminary support for the scale’s validity.