Rationally developed fake-good and fake-bad scales for the Jesness Inventory

Develops two validity scales for the Jesness Inventory using a rational approach: a fake-good scale, Lie (L); and a fake-bad scale, Overt Symptomatology (OS). Effectiveness was assessed using 293 male delinquents classified as fake-good, fake-bad, or honest based on a matched-pair MMPI-A. L was moderately effective in detecting the fake-good set, and OS tentatively effective in detecting the fake-bad set. Both correlated well with their MMPI-A counterparts. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, negative predictive power, and overall effectiveness data were reported. The L scale and OS scale were related to race but differences were less than 1 raw score point. L was unrelated to age. OS was related to age, with younger children showing more willingness to admit to symptomatology. Age-based modified T-score norms were developed for the newly constructed scales using 1142 male and 360 female delinquents. ages 13–18.     

Probability of directional errors with disordinal (qualitative) interaction

In a factorial design with two or more factors, there is nonzero interaction when the differences among the levels of one factor vary with levels of other factors. The interaction is disordinal or qualitative with respect to a specific factor, sayA, if the difference between at least two levels ofA is positive for some and negative for some levels of the other factors. Using standard methods of analysis, there is a potentially large probability of drawing incorrect conclusions about the signs of differences in the presence of disordinal interaction. The maximum probability of such incorrect conclusions, or directional errors, is derived for two-factor designs in which the factor of interest has two levels and the number of levels of the other factor varies.     

Validity of Social Behavior Assessment in discriminating emotionally disabled from nonhandicapped students

Discriminant analyses and stepwise multiple regression techniques were applied to teacher ratings of 184 kindergarten through eighth-grade students using Stephen's Social Behavior Assessment (SBA) inventory and were used to predict group membership as emotionalyy disabled (ED) or non-ED. The results suggested that the SBA was highly effective in correctly discriminating ED from non-ED students. The linear discriminant function derived from the 30 SBA subcategories correctly classified 83% of the subjects, yielding a highly significant separation of groups of ED and non-ED children. While the results of the discriminant analyses have not yet been cross-validated, these findings support the discriminant validity of the SBA for ED versus non-ED classification and suggest that the SBA is potentially a useful instrument for school psychologists as one source of information in a multifactored assessment regarding the identification of children as ED.     

Considerations in the choice of interobserver reliability estimates

Two types of interobserver reliability values may be needed in treatment studies in which observers constitute the primary data-acquisition system: trial reliability and the reliability of the composite unit or score which is subsequently analyzed, e.g., daily or weekly session totals. Two approaches to determining interobserver reliability are described: percentage agreement and "correlational" measures of reliability. The interpretation of these estimates, factors affecting their magnitude, and the advantages and limitations of each approach are presented.     

The perception of preschool social dominance

Children's and teachers' perception of social dominance was examined using a behavioral criterion for determining accuracy of verbal judgments. Video records of agonistic interactions were obtained during approximately 60 hours of free-play at two preschool centers. Analyses of social conflict episodes ending in submission revealed linear dominance structures for both groups. Dominance perception was assessed in two ways. Both teachers and children were asked to rank-order a subgroup of children according to dominance. They were also asked to select the more dominant children in a number of predetermined pairs. Results indicated that teachers could accurately judge dyadic dominance relations, and that accuracy among children varied as a function of their status within the group hierarchy. Findings have implications for social dominance assessment methodology, and for the issue of consensual versus ecological validity in developmental studies of social perception.     

目标追求的入世、出世心理测评初探

假设入世、出世心理是相对独立的成分,编制了相应的问卷。探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析表明,入世分量表由“拼搏精神”和“在乎结果”因素组成,出世分量表由“平常心”和“低要求”因素组成。该问卷具有较好的信度和效度。     

关于评价中心若干问题的探讨

本文对评价中心的定义、评价中心与心理测验的比较、评价中心的预测效度以及影响评价中心成功实施的原因等问题,进行了综合分析和初步探讨,从而帮助人们能够正确地认识评价中心,有效地使用评价中心;同时,也为人们对评价中心的研究和改革,提供了理论和实践方面的依据。     

When a Psychometric Advance Falls in the Forest

Borsboom (2006) attacks psychologists for failing to incorporate psychometric advances in their work, discusses factors that contribute to this regrettable situation, and offers suggestions for ameliorating it. This commentary applauds Borsboom for calling the field to task on this issue and notes additional problems in the field regarding measurement that he could add to his critique. It also chastises Borsboom for occasionally being unnecessarily perjorative in his critique, noting that negative rhetoric is unlikely to make converts of offenders. Finally, it exhorts psychometricians to make their work more accessible and points to Borsboom, Mellenbergh, and Van Heerden (2003) as an excellent example of how this can be done. I wish to thank Frank Schmidt for his help in preparing this paper. Requests for reprints should be sent to la-clark@uiowa.edu.     

Use of Self-Report Measures of Anxiety and Depression in Outpatients with Schizophrenia: Reliability and Validity

The psychometrics of many self-report measures of anxiety and depression have been established for patients with anxiety disorders, but little is known about use of these measures in patients with psychotic disorders. This study examined psychometrics of commonly used self-report measures. Self-report measures and interviewer ratings were collected on 33 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia disorders. A sample of 46 patients with anxiety disorders completed the same self-report measures. Internal consistency was high for the self-report measures in both samples. Test-retest reliability was moderate to high. Scores on self-report measures were correlated with interviewer ratings and with scores on other self-report measures of similar constructs, supporting the convergent validity of the measures. Reliable and valid information about anxiety and depression can be obtained through administering the self-report measures to outpatients diagnosed with psychotic disorders. There was more overlap among measures than was expected, possibly because of poor discriminant validity. One explanation of this may be that anxiety constructs overlap more in patients with schizophrenia or related disorders than in non-psychotic populations.     

Cognitive–Behavioral-Interpersonal Scenarios: Interformulator Reliability and Convergent Validity

Although a clinical case formulation can help focus treatment, little is known about the reliability and convergent validity of independently generated, cognitive–behavioral or cognitive–interpersonal formulations. Using videotapes of a semi-structured interview, pairs of clinicians independently formulated 2–3 cognitive–behavioral–interpersonal scenarios (CBISs) on each of 4 women with mood or comorbid mood and anxiety disorders. Ten licensed psychologists then rated each CBIS on 15 dimensions involving cognition, affect, symptoms, and interpersonal functioning. Reliability of the mean ratings (aggregated over the 10 raters) was >.83 for all dimensions. The set of CBISs formulated by a clinician for a patient generally demonstrated good convergent (same patient/different formulator) and discriminant (different patient/same or different formulator) validity on three factor-analytically derived general dimensions of depression, anxiety, and interpersonal functioning. Within each of three patients, pairs of formulators generally agreed on the situational components of the CBISs and demonstrated adequate to very good convergent validity of corresponding CBIS content. These results contribute to accumulating evidence for the reliability and validity of clinical scenarios as an idiographic, situation-level case formulation. Such formulations can help identify multiple cognitive, behavioral, or interpersonal intervention points in the causal chain leading to distress or dysfunction.