Inductive reasoning in psychometrics: A philosophical corrective

A brief historical overview of inductive logic is presented, and the logic of enumerative induction is discussed in its two generalized forms: rule-derivative and event-predictive. The psychometric tradition and experimental studies in induction are briefly recapitulated to indicate that they have not included event-predictive induction, that probabilities have not been prevalently included in rule-generative induction, and that the linguistic medium might be utilized more fully in the inductive area. An experimental test model designed in order to address these considerations is discussed. This test model of event-predictive induction in the linguistic medium was administered to a large sample of college graduates. Statistical characteristics of the tests and items were very satisfactory when compared to operational subtests. The theoretical significance of the study for future psychometric and experimental investigations in induction is discussed.     

CASPER: A personal computer package for exploring psychometrics

CASPER is a psychometrics software package suitable for instructional and research applications with IBM-PC-compatible computers. CASPER lets the user simulate or directly enter psychometric data. Numerous statistical analyses, file handling procedures, and graphics are included Analyses include factor analysis, multiple regression, correlation/partial correlation, moments analysis, reliability analysis, and item analysis.     

A note on the Tryon-Kaiser solution for the communalities

The Tryon-Kaiser solution for the communalities is reviewed. Numerical investigation suggests that the procedure is applicable if and only if the correlation matrix has unique minimum rank communalities. This implies that this approach to the communality problem is not general enough to be of practical use.     

Modern psychometrics for assessing achievement goal orientation: A Rasch analysis

Background A program of research is needed that assesses the psychometric properties of instruments designed to quantify students' achievement goal orientations to clarify inconsistencies across previous studies and to provide a stronger basis for future research. Aim We conducted traditional psychometric and modern Rasch‐model analyses of the Achievement Goals Questionnaire (AGQ, Elliot & McGregor, 2001 ) and the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scale (PALS, Midgley et al., 2000 ) to provide an in‐depth analysis of the two most popular instruments in educational psychology. Samples and methods For Study 1, 217 undergraduate students enrolled in educational psychology courses participated. Thirty‐four were male and 181 were female (two did not respond). Participants completed the AGQ in the context of their educational psychology class. For Study 2, 126 undergraduate students enrolled in educational psychology courses participated. Thirty were male and 95 were female (one did not respond). Participants completed the PALS in the context of their educational psychology class. Results Traditional psychometric assessments of the AGQ and PALS replicated previous studies. For both, reliability estimates ranged from good to very good for raw subscale scores and fit for the models of goal orientations were good. Based on traditional psychometrics, the AGQ and PALS are valid and reliable indicators of achievement goals. Rasch analyses revealed that estimates of reliability for items were very good but respondent ability estimates varied from poor to good for both the AGQ and PALS. These findings indicate that items validly and reliably reflect a group's aggregate goal orientation, but using either instrument to characterize an individual's goal orientation is hazardous.     

DSM-IV: empirical guidelines from psychometrics

This commentary addresses the use of psychometric theory and methodology in the development of the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Reliability issues include interdiagnostician reliability, temporally consistent diagnoses, and the relations of diagnostic criteria within categories. Validity issues include content validity of the diagnostic criteria, criterion-related validity (the relation between different criterion sets or their algorithms and alternative diagnostic criteria), and construct validity (the relation between diagnostic categories and external validators). Specific questions and methodology to investigate its utility vary with the different uses proposed for the diagnostic system. Specific psychometric methodologies that may be useful in developing the DSM-IV are noted, as are the limitations of psychometrics and their applicability to DSM-IV.     

Inhaltsangabe zu Brown: A methodological consideration of the problem of psychometrics

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Asymptotic distributions of the estimators of communalities in factor analysis

Asymptotic distributions of the estimators of communalities are derived for the maximum likelihood method in factor analysis. It is shown that the common practice of equating the asymptotic standard error of the communality estimate to the unique variance estimate is correct for standardized communality but not correct for unstandardized communality. In a Monte Carlo simulation the accuracy of the normal approximation to the distributions of the estimators are assessed when the sample size is 150 or 300. This study was carried out in part under the ISM Cooperative Research Program (90-ISM-CRP-9).     

Departure from normal assumptions: A promise for future psychometrics with substantive mathematical modeling

Normal assumptions have been used in many psychometric methods, to the extent that most researchers do not even question their adequacy. With the rapid advancement of computer technologies in recent years, psychometrics has extended its territory to include intensive cognitive diagnosis, etcetera, and substantive mathematical modeling ha become essential. As a natural consequence, it is time to consider departure from normal assumptions seriously. As examples of models which are not based on normality or its approximation, the logistic positive exponent family of models is discussed. These models include the item task complexity as the third parameter, which determines the single principle of ordering individuals on the ability scale.     

The curiosity and exploration inventory-II: Development, factor structure, and psychometrics

Given curiosity’s fundamental role in motivation, learning, and well-being, we sought to refine the measurement of trait curiosity with an improved version of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI; [Kashdan, T. B., Rose, P., & Fincham, F. D. (2004). Curiosity and exploration: Facilitating positive subjective experiences and personal growth opportunities. Journal of Personality Assessment, 82, 291–305]). A preliminary pool of 36 items was administered to 311 undergraduate students, who also completed measures of emotion, emotion regulation, personality, and well-being. Factor analyses indicated a two-factor model—motivation to seek out knowledge and new experiences (Stretching; five items) and a willingness to embrace the novel, uncertain, and unpredictable nature of everyday life (Embracing; five items). In two additional samples (ns = 150 and 119), we cross-validated this factor structure and provided initial evidence for construct validity. This includes positive correlations with personal growth, openness to experience, autonomy, purpose in life, self-acceptance, psychological flexibility, positive affect, and positive social relations, among others. Applying item response theory (IRT) to these samples (n = 578), we showed that the items have good discrimination and a desirable breadth of difficulty. The item information functions and test information function were centered near zero, indicating that the scale assesses the mid-range of the latent curiosity trait most reliably. The findings thus far provide good evidence for the psychometric properties of the 10-item CEI-II.     

A discussion of modern versus traditional psychometrics as applied to personality assessment scales

Item response theory (IRT) methods are used by large testing firms, state agencies, and school districts to construct, analyze, and score most major aptitude, achievement, proficiency, entrance, and professional licensure exams. Personality assessment, in contrast, has not generally adopted these more powerful, modern psychometric techniques. We evaluate the possible role of IRT in the personality domain by highlighting key areas in which IRT and traditional methods differ. Although we conclude that IRT has a significant role to play in future personality measurement, there are many systemic and technical barriers to its routine application.     

The psychometrics of photographic cropping: the influence of colour, meaning, and expertise

Cropping is the central act of photography, the viewfinder of a camera being used to crop a portion of the visual world which is then surrounded with a frame. Six studies are described which show that the act of cropping is carried out reliably and confidently by both expert and non-expert participants. Two studies confirm that some croppers are better croppers than others, their cropped images being preferred aesthetically over the croppings of less-good croppers. Colour had little impact on cropping decisions, whereas thresholded monochrome images ('Mooney images') dramatically altered crop positions. That suggests that cropping can be driven top-down, by the meaning of objects in photographs, but the fact that the Mooneyised images are still cropped consistently, suggests that image structure, perhaps in the form of low-level image properties, may still be important. Experts crop pictures differently from non-experts, and they take longer, viewing a wider range of possible crops, pausing longer to assess crops, and using more formal terminology when reflecting on their cropping decisions. Experts' crops are not, however, preferred more, either by non-expert viewers or by expert viewers. Cropping, it is suggested, is an ideal paradigm for experimental aesthetics, allowing precise experimental control with Fechner's Method of Production, a technique which normally is not easy to use.     

Group Session Rating Scale: Preliminary psychometrics in substance abuse group interventions

Background: Although ultra‐brief outcome and process measures have been developed for individual therapy, currently there are no ultra‐brief alliance measures for group therapy. Method: The current study examined 105 clients in group therapy for issues related to substance abuse or with issues related to the substance abuse of a significant other. We tested whether a newly developed group therapy alliance measure – the Group Session Rating Scale would be related to other commonly used group process measures (Working Alliance Inventory, Group Cohesion, Group Climate) and early change (change over the first four sessions of group therapy). Results: The findings provided support for reliability based on Cronbach alphas and test‐retest coefficients. Additionally, the GSRS was a one‐factor measure that was related to other group process measures as well as predicted early change. Discussion: Clinical implications for how to utilise ultra‐brief outcome and alliance measures are provided.     

Preliminary acceptability and psychometrics of the infant–toddler social and emotional assessment (ITSEA): A new adult-report questionnaire

The preliminary acceptability, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and validity of the Infant–Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA), a parent-report questionnaire concerning social-emotional problems and competencies, were examined in a sociodemographically diverse pediatric sample of 214 parents of 12- to 36-month-olds. Results supported the ITSEA's acceptability and preliminary internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and validity. Most parents had a positive response to the ITSEA, found the questions easy to understand, and would consider recommending it to a friend. Confirmatory factor analyses supported 16 conceptually hypothesized problem and competence scales. Most scales had strong internal consistency, good to excellent 2-week test–retest reliability, and moderate 1-year test–retest reliability. Significant correlations among ITSEA scales and parent reports of child temperament and problem behaviors supported the ITSEA's validity. Psychometric findings are viewed as preliminary due to the relatively small sample size. Parents reported greater competence and more maladaptive behaviors in older children than younger children. Consistent with observational studies, boys lagged behind girls in certain parent-reported competencies, including empathy, compliance, prosocial peer interactions, and emotional awareness. Parent reports yielded empirically coherent problem and competence scales and domains, suggesting the early emergence of parental perceptions of organized and differentiated clusters of social-emotional behaviors.     

Neurodynamics: A critical survey

Following a brief introduction to the functional complexity of an individual nerve cell, the current status of neural network dynamics is reviewed. This survey is then used as a basis for suggesting some fundamental difficulties in developing a science of the human mind.     

Obtaining maximum-likelihood estimates of factor loadings and communalities using an easily implemented iterative computer procedure

This paper considers the problem of computing estimates of factor loadings, specific variances, and communalities for a factor analytic model. The equations for maximum-likelihood estimators are discussed. Iterative formulas are developed to solve the maximum-likelihood equations and a simple and efficient method of implementation on a digital computer is described. Use of the iterative formulas and computing techniques for other estimators of factor loadings and communalities is also considered to provide a very general approach for this aspect of factor analysis.     

Cross-national evidences of a school-based universal programme for promoting prosocial behaviours in peer interactions: Main theoretical communalities and local unicity

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of prosocial behaviour against aggression in a school-based universal intervention adapted in two different (non-Western) countries, Colombia and Chile. Using a randomised pretest–post-test design (and controlling for participants' gender and parents' level of education), current results highlighted different effects of a similar programme in both sites. First, the school-based universal programme designed for promoting prosocial behaviours in the peer context obtained a positive cross-national effect on prosocial behaviour rated by three informants (i.e. self, peer and teacher reports). In Colombia, this effect was moderated by the initial level of prosociality of the participants and their level of education. Mediational two-wave model corroborated that the improvement on prosocial behaviours in both countries (moderated in the case of Colombia) predicted significantly lower level of physical aggression. Characteristics of the implementation considering different cultural and historical backgrounds were discussed.