John Carroll's three-stratum theory (and the decades of research behind its development) is foundational to the contemporary practice of intellectual assessment. The present study addresses some ...limitations of Carroll's work: specification, reproducibility with more modern methods, and interpretive relevance. We reanalyzed select data sets from Carroll's survey of factor analytic studies using confirmatory factor analysis as well as modern indices of interpretive relevance. For the majority of data sets, we found that Carroll likely extracted too many factors representing Stratum II abilities. Moreover, almost all factors representing Stratum II abilities had little-to-no interpretive relevance above and beyond that of general intelligence. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research with respect to the interpretive relevance and clinical utility of scores reflecting cognitive abilities at all strata of the three-stratum theory and offer some directions for future research.
Public Significance Statement
John Carroll's three-stratum theory (and the decades of research behind its development) is foundational to the contemporary practice of intellectual assessment. The results of this study indicate that most cognitive abilities specified in three-stratum theory have little-to-no interpretive relevance above and beyond that of general intelligence. Thus, it is likely best to focus score interpretations on measures of general intelligence when engaging in the practice of intellectual assessment.
Emotional intelligence, or the ability to perceive, understand, and regulate emotions, has been identified as a protective factor for one's adaptation. Measuring emotional intelligence using ...performance-based approach is thought to be objective and effective. However, performance-based emotional intelligence instruments for non-Western adolescents are rarely available. To facilitate research on emotional intelligence, the present study developed and validated the emotional intelligence test for adolescents (A-EIT) using a Chinese sample. Study 1 (N = 1,536) showed that emotional intelligence consists of three subabilities (i.e., emotion perception, emotion understanding, and emotion regulation) and identified eligible items for each subtest through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Study 2 (N = 2,568) confirmed the three-factor structure and its measurement invariance across gender and age groups by (multiple-group) confirmatory factor analyses. Both the full test and its three subtests showed acceptable internal consistencies, and their scores increased with age and showed female advantage. Also, the A-EIT scores were significantly correlated with indicators related to emotional and cognitive skills (convergent validity) and were independent of personality (discriminant validity). Additionally, higher scores on the A-EIT were related to better intrapersonal, interpersonal, and academic adaption (criterion validity), as expected. Study 3 (N = 163) provided further convergent validity evidence for each subtest by using validity tools not based on an emotional intelligence framework. Additionally, the A-EIT displayed satisfactory test-retest reliability. Generally, the A-EIT appears to be a valid and reliable instrument to assess adolescents' emotion intelligence, especially those with relatively low level.
Public Significance Statement
This study develops the emotional intelligence test for adolescents (A-EIT), and suggests the A-EIT appears to be reliable and valid to assess Chinese adolescents, especially those with relatively low level of emotional intelligence. This study also suggests that emotional intelligence is related to multiple adjustment outcomes and is increasing in adolescence, therefore, intervention projects for maladjusted adolescents are promising.
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic studies were not reported in the Technical Manual for the Woodcock-Johnson, 4th ed. Cognitive (WJ IV Cognitive; Schrank, McGrew, & Mather, 2014b) Instead, ...the internal structure of the WJ IV Cognitive was extrapolated from analyses based on the full WJ IV test battery (Schrank, McGrew, & Mather, 2014b). Even if the veracity of extrapolating from the WJ IV full battery were accepted, there were shortcomings in the choices of analyses used and only limited information regarding those analyses was presented in the WJ IV Technical Manual (McGrew, Laforte, & Shrank, 2014). The present study examined the structure of the WJ IV Cognitive using exploratory factor analysis procedures (principal axis factoring with oblique promax rotation followed by application of the Schmid-Leiman, 1957, procedure) applied to standardization sample correlation matrices for 2 school age groups (ages 9-13; 14-19). Four factors emerged for both the 9-13 and 14-19 age groups in contrast to the publisher's proposed 7 factors. Results of these analyses indicated a robust manifestation of general intelligence (g) that exceeded the variance attributed to the lower-order factors. Model-based reliability estimates supported interpretation of the higher-order factor (i.e., g). Additional analyses were conducted by forcing extraction of the 7 theoretically posited factors; however, the resulting solution was only partially aligned (i.e., Gs, Gwm) with the theoretical structure promoted in the Technical Manual and suggested the preeminence of the higher-order factor. Results challenge the hypothesized structure of the WJ IV Cognitive and raise concerns about its alignment with Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory.
Recently emerging evidence suggests that the dominant structural model of mental abilities-the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model-may not adequately account for observed scores for mental abilities ...batteries, leading scholars to call into question the model's validity. Establishing the robustness of these findings is important since CHC is the foundation for several contemporary mental abilities test batteries, such as the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III). Using confirmatory factor analysis, we investigated CHC's robustness across 4 archival samples of mental abilities test battery data, including the WJ-III, the Kaufman Adolescent & Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT), the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC), and the Differential Ability Scales (DAS). We computed omega hierarchical (ωH) and omega subscale (ωS) coefficients for g and the broad factors, which estimated the relationship of composite scores to g and the broad factors, respectively. Across all 4 samples, we found strong evidence for a general ability, g. We additionally found evidence for 3 to 9 residualized, orthogonal broad abilities existing independently of g, many of which also explained reliable variance in test battery scores that cannot be accounted for by g alone. The reliabilities of these broad factors, however, were less than desirable (i.e., <.80) and achieving desirable reliabilities would be practically infeasible (e.g., requiring excessively large numbers of subtests). Our results, and those of CHC critics, are wholly consistent with Carroll's model. Essentially, both g and orthogonal broad abilities are required to explain variance in mental abilities test battery scores, which is consistent with Carroll but not Cattell-Horn.
Public Significance Statement
Psychologists are increasingly adopting the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of mental ability testing, which combines models developed by Cattell and Horn and Carroll. Examining data from several such tests, this article finds evidence that mental ability test data are more consistent with Carroll's model (than Cattell and Horn's) and suggests that Carroll's model be used in the future.
To date, stereotype threat interventions have been considered interchangeable. Across 4 experiments, the present research demonstrates that stereotype threat interventions need to be tailored to the ...specific form of experienced stereotype threat to be effective. The Multi-Threat Framework (Shapiro & Neuberg, 2007) distinguishes between group-as-target stereotype threats-concerns that a stereotype-relevant performance will reflect poorly on the abilities of one's group-and self-as-target stereotype threats-concerns that a stereotype-relevant performance will reflect poorly on one's own abilities. The present experiments explored Black college students' performance on diagnostic intelligence tests (Experiments 1 and 3) and women's interest (Experiment 2) and performance (Experiment 4) in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Across the 4 experiments, participants were randomly assigned to experience either a group-as-target or self-as-target stereotype threat. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that role model interventions were successful at protecting only against group-as-target stereotype threats, and Experiments 3 and 4 revealed that self-affirmation interventions were successful at protecting only against self-as-target stereotype threats. The present research provides an experimental test of the Multi-Threat Framework across different negatively stereotyped groups (Black students, female students), different negatively stereotyped domains (general intelligence, STEM), and different outcomes (test performance, career interest). This research suggests that interventions should address the range of possible stereotype threats to effectively protect individuals against these threats. Through an appreciation of the distinct forms of stereotype threats and the ways in which interventions work to reduce them, this research aims to facilitate a more complete understanding of stereotype threat.
The concept of emotional intelligence (EQ) was introduced about 25 years ago, and over that time has evolved from a new scientific construct, to a popular fad, to a mainstay concept in leadership and ...team development. It is a unique concept in that it is both respected in the scientific community and understood by the general public. This article is focused on common practical questions about applying EQ in consulting psychology. First, it examines 3 of the most widely accepted models of EQ and compares and contrasts them. Next, it describes and evaluates the assessment tools used to measure each model. Finally, the article presents sample applications of EQ assessment in executive coaching and team development to demonstrate both the utility of EQ and ways to go about applying it in practice.
We examined (1) the relationship between actual intelligence and the CAMCOG-R performance in cognitively normal elders and (2) the presumed impact of age and education on the relationship. Our ...retrospective study of 94 participants assessed in a specialized setting, measuring actual intelligence (general and specific) with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III, the Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (WAIS-III FSIQ), and the specific subtests thereof. The CAMCOG-R correlated largely with FSIQ (.629, p < .001; .708 when controlled for age). The CAMCOG-R’s scores increased across three different IQ levels as IQ increased. FSIQ accounted for 40% of the CAMCOG-R’s variability. Combined, FSIQ and age accounted for 59% of the CAMCOG-R’s variability. FSIQ had a stronger weight than age (β: .644 and −.439, respectively). Regression analyses with FSIQ’s subtests, age and education, found the best-equilibrated model to include Information, age, and Picture Completion. Combined, they accounted for 55% of the CAMCOG-R’s variability. Information received the strongest weight (β: .411). Overall, education was nonsignificant. Thus, a significant relationship existed primarily between general intelligence and the CAMCOG-R and, to a lesser extent, between the above-mentioned subtests of intelligence and the CAMCOG-R. Adding age increased the prediction rate. Actual intelligence and age should be considered when interpreting the CAMCOG-R’s scores. The practical implementation of the intelligence factor is complex.
From 1929 until 1972, the Alberta Eugenics Board (the Board) recommended that 4,739 individuals be sterilized. The original 1928 act that legalized eugenic sterilization stipulated that the surgery ...itself required the consent of the individual or their caregiver; however, in 1937, the Alberta government removed the consent requirement for such cases where the Board determined individual patients to be "mental defectives." By analyzing published reports, case histories, medical journals, and primary sources from the Board, we situate the concept of "mental defective" in a historical context to clarify the Board's diagnostic process. By analyzing how the Board found individuals to be "mental defectives," we challenge a previous historiographic assumption that intelligence tests played a critical or defining role in this diagnostic process. We argue that the notion of the "mental defective" used by the Board had a long history before the advent of intelligence testing and eugenic thought. This history helps to explain how and why the Board relied extensively on the broader examination of behavior, social status, and physical appearance as core evidence in the diagnosis of "mental defect." Intelligence tests were certainly important as they shed light on an individual's academic ability. However, this alone was only one part of "mentality." Defects of mentality were understood to be broad and multifactorial, and included difficult, if not impossible, to measure attributes such as personality, emotionality, and morality. Further research should incorporate the concept of mentality in the history of psychology, testing, and eugenics.
Manipulate Me Thissen, Alica; Spinath, Frank M.; Becker, Nicolas
European journal of psychological assessment : official organ of the European Association of Psychological Assessment,
07/2020, Letnik:
36, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The cube construction task represents a novel format in
the assessment of spatial ability through mental cube rotation tasks. Instead of
selecting the correct answer from several response options, ...respondents
construct their own response in a computerized test environment, leading to a
higher demand for spatial ability. In the present study with a sample of 146
German high-school students, we tested an approach to manipulate the item
difficulties in order to create items with a greater difficulty range.
Furthermore, we compared the cube task in a distractor-free and a
distractor-based version while the item stems were held identical. The average
item difficulty of the distractor-free format was significantly higher than in
the distractor-based format (M = 0.27 vs.
M = 0.46) and the distractor-free format
showed a broader range of item difficulties
(.02 ≤ pi ≤ .95
vs.
.37 ≤ pi ≤ .63).
The analyses of the test results also showed that the distractor-free format had
a significantly higher correlation with a broad intelligence test
(r = .57 vs.
r = .17). Reasons for the higher convergent
validity of the distractor-free format (prevention of response elimination
strategies and the broader range of item difficulties) and further research
possibilities are discussed.
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