Consensual validity parameters of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman personality questionnaire: evidence from self-reports and spouse reports

One way of validating questionnaire responses is correlating them with ratings made by external assessors who know the ratee well: This is known as consensual validity. In this study, we assessed the consensual validity of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ; Zuckerman, 2002; Zuckerman, Kuhlman, Joireman, Teta, & Kraft, 1993). A multitrait-multimethod matrix of self-reported and spouse reported personality ratings was used to establish convergent and discriminant validity by means of Campbell and Fiske's (1959) evaluative criteria. Self-reports of 86 men and 85 women were correlated with their spouses' reports. Intraclass correlations ranged from .47 to .63 for the 5 dimensions, providing strong evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. The results obtained favor the use of the ZKPQ as a valid self-report measure of personality traits.     

Cognitive defusion and self-relevant negative thoughts: examining the impact of a ninety year old technique

Cognitive defusion techniques are designed to reduce the functions of thoughts by altering the context in which they occur, rather than the attempting to alter the form, frequency, or situational sensitivity of the thoughts themselves. Applied technologies designed to produce cognitive defusion seem to lead to reductions in the believability of negative thoughts, but defusion techniques are generally only parts of complex packages and the role of defusion techniques per se is note yet known. The present study examined the impact of a cognitive defusion technique first described by Titchener nearly 90 years ago: rapidly repeating a single word. In series of eight single-case alternating treatment designs, this defusion technique was compared to a distraction task, and to a thought control task on reductions in the discomfort and believability of self-relevant negative thoughts. The cognitive defusion technique reduced both discomfort and believability more so than the comparison approaches. Control studies showed that the effect was probably not due to demand characteristics.     

On the invalidity of validity scales: evidence from self-reports and observer ratings in volunteer samples

Because of the potential for bias and error in questionnaire responding, many personality inventories include validity scales intended to correct biased scores or identify invalid protocols. The authors evaluated the utility of several types of validity scales in a volunteer sample of 72 men and 106 women who completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; A. Tellegen, 1978/1982) and were rated by 2 acquaintances on the observer form of the NEO-PI-R. Analyses indicated that the validity indexes lacked utility in this sample. A partial replication (N = 1,728) also failed to find consistent support for the use of validity scales. The authors illustrate the use of informant ratings in assessing protocol validity and argue that psychological assessors should limit their use of validity scales and seek instead to improve the quality of personality assessments.     

Discrepancies among mother,child, and teacher reports: Examining the contributions of maternal depression and anxiety

The relationship between maternal affective symptomatology and discrepancies in maternal reports of child symptoms, relative to teacher and child reports, was evaluated in a community sample of 188 children ages 9–12 years. Mothers, teachers, and children were administered a structured interview about child psychopathology. In general, mothers reported more child behavior problems than children and teachers, regardless of maternal symptomatology. However, maternal affective symptoms were associated with discrepancies between mothers' and daughters' reports and between mothers' and teachers' reports of girls' externalizing symptoms. Furthermore, mothers who reported high levels of both anxiety and depressive symptomatology tended to report a large number of symptoms that were not confirmed by either their daughters or teachers. Findings are discussed as possible evidence of the role of maternal affective symptomatology in both actual increases in child symptomatology and maternal reporting distortions. Although maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms shared variance in reporting discrepancies, only anxiety explained unique variance. Consistent with previous studies, cross-informant agreement was modest to moderate (r= .16 to .50) and all informants reported more behavior problems in boys than in girls. This work was undertaken with the support of National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH43909 and MH46717.     

Construct validity of the medical specialty preference inventory: A critical analysis

The Medical Specialty Preference Inventory (MSPI; Zimny, G.H. (1979). Manual for the Medical Specialty Preference Inventory. St. Louis, MO: St. Louis University School of Medicine), a measure of medical students’ interests, was substantively and empirically examined to identify an underlying factor structure. A factor model for the original MSPI based on 38 factors in five general areas was evaluated on a national sample of 1014 medical students and yielded poor fit to the data. Exploratory factor analyses at the item level utilizing the full pool of MSPI items produced an 11 factor solution with 88 items. Sub-scales were identified within this model and an 11-18 higher-order model and an 18 sub-scale model also were proposed. The relative fits of the three models were evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis with the 18 sub-scale model shown to be superior. This model was cross-validated on a separate sample of 1016 medical students and fit the data well. All sub-scales exhibited adequate internal consistency across samples. These findings support the need for a revised MSPI based on 18 scales. Implications of these findings for MSPI scoring practices are discussed along with future directions.     

The timeline of threat processing in repressors: more evidence for early vigilance and late avoidance

Evidence is mixed concerning whether individuals with a repressive coping style can actually selectively avoid threatening stimuli. Recent research (Calvo & Eysenck, 2000) on repressors’ threat processing suggests that it is necessary to take into account the timeline of this bias. A spontaneous trait inference paradigm was used here to test the hypothesis that repressors would, relative to others, be less likely to infer unfavorable and threatening traits. However, if pressured to make trait inferences quickly, it was predicted that they would be less likely than others to infer favorable and unthreatening traits. Repressors and nonrepressors were presented with passages that could have supported positive or negative trait inferences. In Study 1, they were asked to respond to trait words as quickly as possible but were not held accountable for doing so. In Study 2, time pressure was increased to capture uncorrected trait inferences. Results indicated that repressors were more likely to make positive trait inferences than others when simply asked to respond quickly. Under time pressure, this bias disappeared. Results point to the importance of taking into account an important moderator between coping style and threat, namely, the stage of processing at which differences in threat processing are being assessed.     

Examining the item response process to personality measures in high-stakes situations: Issues of measurement validity and predictive validity

We conducted two experimental studies with between-subjects and within-subjects designs to investigate the item response process for personality measures administered in high- versus low-stakes situations. Apart from assessing measurement validity of the item response process, we examined predictive validity; that is, whether or not different response models entail differential selection outcomes. We found that ideal point response models fit slightly better than dominance response models across high- versus low-stakes situations in both studies. Additionally, fitting ideal point models to the data led to fewer items displaying differential item functioning compared to fitting dominance models. We also identified several items that functioned as intermediate items in both the faking and honest conditions when ideal point models were fitted, suggesting that ideal point model is “theoretically” more suitable across these contexts for personality inventories. However, the use of different response models (dominance vs. ideal point) did not have any substantial impact on the validity of personality measures in high-stakes situations, or the effectiveness of selection decisions such as mean performance or percent of fakers selected. These findings are significant in that although prior research supports the importance and use of ideal point models for measuring personality, we find that in the case of personality faking, though ideal point models seem to have slightly better measurement validity, the use of dominance models may be adequate with no loss to predictive validity.     

歧视知觉与农村贫困大学生孤独感:核心自我评价、朋友支持的中介作用

采用问卷测量769名贫困大学生和1014名非贫困大学生的歧视知觉、核心自我评价、朋友支持和孤独感,探讨歧视知觉对贫困/非贫困大学生的影响以及核心自我评价和朋友支持的中介作用。结果表明：（1）贫困大学生歧视知觉和孤独感显著高于非贫困大学生、核心自我评价和朋友支持显著低于非贫困大学生。（2）歧视知觉与贫困/非贫困大学生核心自我评价、朋友支持和孤独感相关显著,歧视知觉显著预测贫困/非贫困大学生孤独感。（3）贫困/非贫困大学生结构模型没有显著差异,核心自我评价和朋友支持部分中介歧视知觉对贫困/非贫困大学生孤独感的影响。     

An own-age bias in mixed- and pure-list presentations: No evidence for the social-cognitive account

The own-age bias (OAB) is suggested to be caused by perceptual-expertise and/or social-cognitive mechanisms. Bryce and Dodson (2013, Psychology and Aging, 28, 87, Exp 2) provided support for the social-cognitive account, demonstrating an OAB for participants who encountered a mixed-list of own- and other-age faces, but not for participants who encountered a pure-list of only own- or other-age faces. They proposed that own-age/other-age categorization, and the resulting OAB, only emerge when age is made salient in the mixed-list condition. Our study aimed to replicate this finding using methods typically used to investigate the OAB to examine their robustness and contribution to our understanding of how the OAB forms. Across three experiments that removed theoretically unimportant components of the original paradigm, varied face sex, and included background scenes, the OAB emerged under both mixed-list and pure-list conditions. These results are more consistent with a perceptual-expertise than social-cognitive account of the OAB, but may suggest that manipulating age salience using mixed-list and pure-list presentations is not sufficient to alter categorization processes.     

Children's appraisal of their relationship with the teacher: Preliminary evidence for construct validity

Teacher–child relationships are increasingly considered as contexts for children's development. While teacher reports are mostly used to study the developmental consequences of the three attachment-based dimensions of closeness, conflict and dependency, children's perceptions are important too. This study evaluated the construct validity of the newly developed Child Appraisal of Relationship with Teacher Scale (CARTS). To this end, data from a special education sample of children with emotional and behavioural disorders (N = 82; M_age = 8.75) and from a general education sample (N = 145; M_age = 8.15) were used. Results supported the reliability and construct validity of the CARTS scales and showed that children's relationship perceptions as assessed with the CARTS were uniquely associated with their feelings about their teacher as measured with the Feelings About School. In addition, child-perceived closeness and conflict converged in expected directions with teacher-perceived closeness and especially conflict in the relationship, as measured with a questionnaire and a diary.     

Definitions need to be precise and consistent: A reply to Haslam with suggestions for the future

In his reply to our critique of research on self-humanizing, Haslam claims that we used a narrow definition of self-humanizing that ignored the evidence from the correlational research he and his colleagues have done. We disagree. First, we relied upon a definition of self-humanizing based upon comparative judgments that Haslam and colleagues have consistently used. Second, we were well aware of the correlational research he and his colleagues have done. We simply did not think, and do not think, these correlations verified the existence of self-humanizing as defined. In his reply, Haslam offered a new definition of self-humanizing that defines self-humanizing in terms of correlations between comparative judgments and ratings of how much traits reflect human nature. Although we believe this change represents some progress, numerous issues in the study of self-humanizing remain to be resolved. We offer some suggestions for future research on this important topic.     

Assessing obsessive compulsive symptoms and cognitions on the internet: evidence for the comparability of paper and Internet administration

Administration of psychological questionnaires via the Internet has gained popularity in recent years and touts many advantages. However, before questionnaires that were originally developed as paper-and-pencil measures can be confidently administered over the Internet, it is necessary to document the equivalence of the paper and computer-generated versions [American Psychological Association. (1986). Guidelines for computer-based tests and interpretations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; Cohen, R.J., Swerdlik, M.E., & Smith, D.K. (1992). Psychological testing and assessment (2nd ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing; Cronbach, L.J. (1990). Essentials in psychological testing (5th ed.). New York: Harper Collins; Meier, S. (1994). The chronic crisis in psychological measurement and assessment: A historical survey. San Diego: Academic Press; Schulenberg, S.E., & Yutrzenka, B.A. (2001). Equivalence of computerized and conventional versions of the Beck Depression Inventory- II (BDI-II). Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social, 20, 216-230]. The current study tested this equivalence for the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory [Foa, E.B., Kozak, M.J., Salkovskis, P.M, Coles, M.E., & Amir, N. (1998). The validation of a new obsessive compulsive disorder scale: The obsessive-compulsive inventory. Psychological Assessment, 10(3), 206-214] and the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-44 [Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group. (2005). Psychometric validation of the obsessive belief questionnaire and interpretation of intrusions inventory-Part 2: Factor analyses and testing of a brief version. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 1527-1543] in an unselected student sample. Study results support the equivalence of these measures of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and beliefs independent of administration method (paper versus secure project website). These findings create new opportunities for conducting OCD-related research online.     

高中生羞怯与学校适应:一个有调节的中介模型

目的:探讨羞怯对高中生学校适应的影响机制。方法:采用中学生羞怯量表、学校适应问卷、核心自我评价量表、自我关注量表对山东省1770名高中生进行调查。结果:①羞怯不仅能直接负向预测高中生的学校适应,还能通过核心自我评价进而影响其学校适应; ②自我关注在中介模型的后半路径起到调节作用。     

Intelligence and maturity: meta-analytic evidence for the incremental and discriminant validity of Loevinger's measure of ego development

This review examined whether Loevinger's measure of personality (ego) development is equivalent to the measurement of intelligence. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 52 correlations between ego level scores and intelligence test scores (retrieved from 42 studies involving 5,648 participants). The weighted average correlation between ego level and intelligence ranged from.20 to.34, depending on the intellectual ability assessed (e.g., verbal intelligence). Adjusting for measurement unreliability increased these values only minimally. The authors also reviewed 16 studies that examined the association between ego level and various criterion variables (e.g., aggressive behavior) after statistically controlling for the effects of intelligence. Ninety-four percent of the tests revealed significant relations between ego level and criterion variables after controlling for intelligence, indicating that ego development and intelligence are not interchangeable constructs. These findings do not support recent speculations concerning the limited value of stage models of maturity, social development, and moral reasoning.     

Not so above average after all: When people believe they are worse than average and its implications for theories of bias in social comparison

Recent research calls into question the generally accepted conclusion that people believe themselves to be better than average. This paper reviews the new theories that have been proposed to explain the fact that better-than-average effects are isolated to common behaviors and abilities, and that people believe themselves to be below average with respect to rare behaviors and uncommon abilities. These new theories are then used to revisit prior findings of better-than-average effects. When viewed in light of recent work, the evidence suggests that prior findings overstated the degree to which people engage in self-enhancement by believing that they are better than others when in fact they are not. Prior studies have often confounded desirability with commonness and have used subjective measures of comparative judgment that capitalize on people’s tendency to conflate relative with absolute self-evaluation.     

Measuring the automatic negative self-schema: New evidence for the construct and criterion validity of the Depression Implicit Association

The construct and criterion validity of the Depression Implicit Association Test (Depression IAT) as a marker of an automatic negative self-schema was investigated. The Depression IAT and other measures were administered to a sample of 116 participants (72 females) aged 37.28 (SD = 15.69) that was composed by 56 patients with an history of suicide ideation (SI) and by 60 university students. Combining students and patients’ sub-samples, results revealed that the Depression IAT was significantly and positively correlated with self-report scales of depression and hopelessness as well as with implicit and explicit measures of death-life identification. On the contrary, it was negatively correlated with life satisfaction, optimism, and self-esteem scales. These results give new evidence for the construct validity of the Depression IAT. Moreover, considering only the patients’ sub-sample, significant correlations between Depression IAT scores and SI in the last year, month, and week, as well as in a follow-up observation two months later, were found. These correlations remain unchanged even when the Death IAT was controlled for, supporting the incremental validity of the Depression IAT. Overall, these results provide new evidence for the construct and criterion validity of the Depression IAT as a marker of an automatic negative self-schema.     

The Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being: Psychometric properties,demographic comparisons,and evidence of validity

The Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being (QEWB) was developed to measure well-being in a manner consistent with how it is conceptualized in eudaimonist philosophy. Aspects of eudaimonic well-being assessed by the QEWB include self-discovery, perceived development of one's best potentials, a sense of purpose and meaning in life, intense involvement in activities, investment of significant effort, and enjoyment of activities as personally expressive. The QEWB was administered to two large, ethnically diverse samples of college students drawn from multiple sites across the United States. A three-part evaluation of the instrument was conducted: (1) evaluating psychometric properties, (2) comparing QEWB scores across gender, age, ethnicity, family income, and family structure, and (3) assessing the convergent, discriminant, construct, and incremental validity of the QEWB. Six hypotheses relating QEWB scores to identity formation, personality traits, and positive and negative psychological functioning were evaluated. The internal consistency of the scale was high and results of independent CFAs indicated that the QEWB items patterned onto a common factor. The distribution of scores approximated a normal curve. Demographic variables were found to predict only small proportions of QEWB score variability. Support for the hypotheses tested provides evidence for the validity of the QEWB as an instrument for assessing eudaimonic well-being. Implications for theory and future research directions are discussed.     

Applying a Social Justice Lens to Youth Mentoring: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Practice

Youth mentoring interventions are often designed with the intention of promoting improved outcomes among marginalized youth. Despite their promise to reduce inequality through the provision of novel opportunities and increased social capital to marginalized youth, youth mentoring interventions hold the potential to reproduce rather than reduce inequality. In the current review, we explore literature on youth mentoring that has incorporated a social justice lens. We conclude that there is a need for greater attention to principles of social justice in the design, implementation, and evaluation of youth mentoring interventions. After reviewing the literature, we make recommendations for research and practice based on a social justice perspective and explore alternatives to traditional youth mentoring that may allow for better alignment with social justice principles.     

Initial development and validity evidence for the processes of change in Psychological Skills Training Questionnaire

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to create and provide validity evidence for the Processes of Change in Psychological Skills Training Questionnaire (PCPSTQ).DesignThe current study used a cross-sectional research design.MethodsFive hundred fifty nine NCAA Division I, professional, and Olympic level athletes participated in the current study. To create the PCPSTQ, an initial pool of 114 items was generated by the research team. After a content validity process, 65 items were retained for analysis. Exploratory structural equation modeling was used as an analytic strategy to identify the most appropriate factor structure for the PCPSTQ. Decisions about the most appropriate model were made using multiple fit indices. To examine the construct validity of the PCPSTQ, a series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences in processes of change use across stage of change.ResultsIn the current study, validity evidence provided support for a 7-factor process of change measure (χ² = 325.84, p < .001; Comparative Fit Index = .971; Tucker Lewis Index = .945; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .037; Standard Root Mean Square Residual = .020). Results also supported the construct validity of the scale as a significant difference in process of change use across stage of change was reported for all seven processes.ConclusionsResults of the current study support the factor structure and construct validity of the PCPSTQ. It appears that the processes of behavior change reported across multiple behavior change domains might also be viable for sport psychology professionals.