A total of 1,247 college students participated in this study on the effect of scale format on the reliability of Likert-type rating scales. The number of response categories ranged from 3 to 9. Anchor labels on the scales were provided for each response option or for the end points only. The results indicated that the scales with few response…

This paper examines the individual consistency of eleventh grade respondents in normal test-retest situations as well as situations involving changed response methods. It postulates the personality-trait "discriminator" (high vs low) and confirms the trait's influence on individual consistency within and across Biology Cognitive…

When 1,201 males and 1,145 females responded to a range of spatial questions, males significantly outperformed females on 25 of 72 occasions. On no occasion did females significantly outperform males. Wattanawaha's system for classifying spatial tasks was used to identify qualitative differences in performances of males and females. (Author/CM)

This article introduces a new test-centered standard-setting method as well as a procedure to detect intrajudge inconsistency of the method. The standard-setting method that is based on interdependent evaluations of alternative responses has judges closely evaluate the process that examinees use to solve multiple-choice items. The new method is…

Examined whether the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons test could be faked by 38 physical therapy students who took the test once honestly and once faking positive attitudes. Results showed fake scores were significantly higher than honest scores, indicating that respondents were able to fake positive responses. (JAC)

The results of an initial study of the relationship between grades and number of words written on assignments at the Open University are reported. Analysis shows that higher grades are awarded students with longer answers, and suggestions for standardization are made. (LBH)

Two sets of mathematical reasoning and two sets of verbal comprehension items were cast into each of three formats--constructed response, standard multiple-choice, and Coombs multiple-choice--in order to assess whether tests with identical content but different formats measure the same attribute. (Author/CTM)

Investigated the usefulness of Carey's Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire in the Chinese culture and used the questionnaire to assess the temperamental characteristics of Chinese babies. While the general pattern of results resembled data from Carey's American sample, differences were found, which could be interpreted in terms of response…

The ways in which projective and nonprojective verbal measures of achievement motivation elicit comparable and dissimilar responses in a "Third World" sample of entrepreneurs and farmers were explored as a test of McClelland's theory of economic growth. Results were generally consistent with the theory of achievement motivation.…

In a replication of an earlier study, a questionnaire with items lacking content and merely containing answer possibilities was administered to a sample of Dutch freshmen psychology students. Subjects showed a preference for positive options over negative options. (Author/JKS)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether item difficulty is significantly affected by language difficulty and response set convergence. Language difficulty was varied by increasing sentence (stem) length, increasing syntactic complexity, and substituting uncommon words for more familiar terms in the item stem. Item wording ranged from…

The first of several planned volumes of Free Response Test Items contains geology questions developed by the Assessment and Evaluation Unit of the New South Wales Department of Education. Two additional geology volumes and biology and chemistry volumes are in preparation. The questions in this volume were written and reviewed by practicing…

Explores culture and gender differences in response styles using those of 1,717 children from 5 countries. Responses from the Self-Description Questionnaire-1 were analyzed for inconsistent responding, negativity or positivity bias, lack of profile variation, and social desirability. Relatively substantial country and country-by-gender differences…

The relationships between response latencies and accuracy on the matching familiar figures test (MFFT) and two gross motor tasks (batting or catching a ball) were studied in twenty-nine 9-year-old boys. Children were classified into four groups using a double dichotomy of response latencies and errors on the MFFT: reflective, impulsive,…

The resistance of the Personal Orientation Inventory to deliberate attempts to fake in a positive direction was investigated for samples of Spanish- speaking Nicaraguan students and industrial workers. Results were consistent with findings from American samples, particularly the consistently lower existentiality scores. (Author/JKS)