Some proponents of computer assisted psychological assessment have argued that computer administration of tests may reduce social desirability response bias and, consequently, increase the validity of test results. Although computer administration has been shown to decrease this response bias in nonclinical subjects, this effect has not been found in clinical populations. This author hypothesized that clinical subjects may experience repercussions because of their test responses (e.g., changes in treatment) and this could have a greater effect in determining responses than social desirability. To test this hypothesis, 76 adult psychiatric outpatients were assessed either by computer or clinician on measures of social desirability and psychopathology. One-half were tested under typical clinical conditions in which their therapists received feedback on their results and one-half were tested under standard research conditions assuring confidentiality. ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between subjects tested under clinical (i.e., possible repercussions) and research (i.e., no repercussions) conditions on the measure of psychopathology and one of the two social desirability measures. Subjects presented themselves as having more traits which are considered psychologically healthy and fewer traits which are viewed as antisocial when their therapists would know their results. The type of assessor, either computer or clinician, had no significant effect on subjects' responses. Although both types of assessor were rated favorably, subjects rated the clinical interview as significantly more enjoyable than the computer administered version of the interview. Implications of these findings for future research and clinical practice were discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-03, Section: B, page: 1676. / Major Professor: Mark H. Licht. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This dissertation focuses on the importance that status has on society and the difficulties in adequately addressing its effect on consumption. The motivation to consume for status has not been adequately conceptualized or operationalized in the social science literature. The author suggests a new construct to address this issue: status consumption. Status consumption is defined as the motivational process by which individuals strive to improve their social standing through the conspicuous consumption of consumer products that confer and symbolize status both to the individual and to surrounding significant others. / To illustrate this, the author presents a model of the proposed six antecedents, three dimensions, and six consequences of status consumption presented in this dissertation. Based on the three dimensions, a three factor Status Consumption Scale, SCS, is created. Hypotheses are presented along with a proposed methodology to test the reliability and validity of the SCS in a series of five studies utilizing both students and adults. The results of the five studies illustrates that the fourteen item SCS is a reliable and valid measure with good factor structure having three unidimensional subscales (Sociability, An Interest in Consuming for Status, and Buying for Nonfunctional Reasons). / Thus, this individual difference variable of status consumption is demonstrated in this dissertation to be an explanatory variable that may explain and predict some aspects of consumer behavior. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0600. / Major Professor: Ronald E. Goldsmith. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a multimethod study of the dynamics of Learned Helplessness (LH) in an organization. Models of LH which exist in the literature were reviewed, and comparisons and contrasts among the models were made, leading to suggestions for a number of variables from these models which were examined. Interview and questionnaire data were gathered to examine a number of issues including the validity of LH as a construct in organizations, the occurrence, dimensionality and consistency of attributions made by organizational members, and the convergence of various measures of LH, with special attention given to the validity of the Organizational Attributional Style Questionnaire (OASQ). To analyze the data, content analysis, correlations, profile analysis and multivariate multiple regression were used. / Results indicated that LH is a construct deserving of further attention by organizational researchers. Specifically, results showed that there are differences between helpless and empowered respondents, that attributions are consistent in similar situations, that the results of using various measures to examine LH are convergent, and that the OASQ is a valid measure of LH in organizations. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3590. / Major Professor: Mark J. Martinko. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

This study explored the usefulness of the warp factor, a measure of the extent to which a multidimensional scaling solution is non-Euclidean in Galileo theory, as a measure of cognitive dissonance. A direct measure of cognitive dissonance has been lacking from dissonance theory, provoking criticism in the literature. Meanwhile, proponents of Galileo theory have claimed that dissonance is among the theoretic explanations of warp. By testing the usefulness of warp as a measure of dissonance, this study contributes to both these theoretical bodies of literature within the communication discipline. / The methodology consisted of a randomized, post test only design where dissonance was manipulated by asking each subject in the experimental conditions to write a counter-attitudinal essay. Subjects were students in large-enrollment undergraduate communication classes at a major southeastern university. Because many subjects refused to cooperate with the manipulation, data were collected twice and the results combined for analysis. A "bootstrap" technique for computing error around the warp factor was used to allow hypothesis testing. / The hypothesis relating levels of dissonance to size of the warp factor was not supported, as no significant warp was measured for any group. The results are thought to be due to subjects' success in reducing the induced dissonance before it could be measured using the Galileo technique. Tentative conclusions include the possibility that the warp factor is not useful as a measure of the kind of cognitive dissonance which can ordinarily be manipulated in an experiment because in practice this type of dissonance can be reduced by subject self-persuasion or other means before it can be measured using warp. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-08, Section: A, page: 2008. / Major Professor: C. Edward Wotring. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

Estudantes do ensino fundamental são ensinados a produzir textos e isto lhes permite expressar suas ideias por meio da linguagem escrita. Verificar por meio de instrumentos, se eles estão evoluindo na aquisição das habilidades de escrita é crucial, mas é ainda mais importante, utilizar ferramentas de avaliação que atendam a critérios de confiabilidade e validade. O objetivo deste estudo foi relizar o processo de validação de instrumento de avaliação de produção textual. O Protocolo de Análise de Produção Textual (Pro-AProT Santos e Hage) foi elaborado e testado (SANTOS, 2013) e publicado em 2015 (SANTOS; HAGE, 2015). Nesta nova etapa doEstudantes do ensino fundamental são ensinados a produzir textos e isto lhes permite expressar suas ideias por meio da linguagem escrita. Verificar por meio de instrumentos, se eles estão evoluindo na aquisição das habilidades de escrita é crucial, mas é ainda mais importante, utilizar ferramentas de avaliação que atendam a critérios de confiabilidade e validade. O objetivo deste estudo foi relizar o processo de validação de instrumento de avaliação de produção textual. O Protocolo de Análise de Produção Textual (Pro-AProT Santos e Hage) foi elaborado e testado (SANTOS, 2013) e publicado em 2015 (SANTOS; HAGE, 2015). Nesta nova etapa do trabalho, participaram do estudo 240 escolares do ensino fundamental do 4º ao 9º ano, 20 professores com experiência no ensino fundamental e dois fonoaudiólogos com experiência na avaliação e intervenção de crianças com Transtornos de Aprendizagem. Os escolares escreveram duas redações, uma narrativa e um texto instrucional regras de jogo ou brincadeira. As 480 redações obtidas foram corrigidas por 16 educadores do ensino fundamental e dois fonoaudiólogos. A correção ocorreu por meio do Pro- AProt. Os educadores e fonoaudiólogos também responderam a um questionário sobre a eficácia do protocolo, na condição de juízes. Outros quatro professores com experiência na correção de redações também corrigiram, entre 6 e 10 redações, seguindo os critérios do Pro-AProT e compararam com os critérios utilizados pelo Sistema de Avaliação de Rendimento Escolar do Estado de São Paulo SARESP. Para verificação da confiabilidade foi utilizado o método Split-Half, das metades partidas, sendo que a análise foi feita calculando-se os coeficientes de precisão, por meio da fórmula de Spearman & Brown, e ainda foi realizada a análise pelo Alfa de Cronbach. A validade de conteúdo foi verificada pelo Índice de Validade de Conteúdo (IVC), sendo utilizada a Escala Likert para o julgamento em 4 níveis. Os professores e fonoaudiólogos juízes avaliaram cada item do protocolo considerando os 4 níveis. A validade do critério foi obtida pela comparação do Pro-AProt com os critérios utilizados pelo SARESP, os professores classificaram-no quanto à sua aplicabilidade e relevância, comparado com as orientações do SARESP. Os resultados das análises realizadas foram de 0,80 e 0,75 para o Coeficiente de Cronbach e de Spearman & Brown,, respectivamente. O IVC foi de 0,875 para o protocolo em geral, e 0,927 para a análise item a item. Os juízes da validade de critério apontaram que o instrumento atende as expectativas para corrigir textos, é de fácil aplicação e é válido comparado aos critérios de correção do SARESP. Assim, o Pro-AProT tem confiabilidade e validade de conteúdo e critério, atestados por medidas estatísticas, sendo julgado válido e relevante pela avaliação dos juízes. / Elemantary school students are taught to produce texts and this allows them to express their ideas through written language. Verify through instruments if they are evolving in the acquisition of writing skills is crucial, but it is even more important to use evaluation tools that meet the criteria of reliability and validity.The purpose of this study was to review the validation process of the textual production evaluation tool. The Prtotocolo de Análise de Produção Textual (Pro-AProT Santos and Hage) was elaborated and tested (SANTOS, 2013), and published in 2015 (SANTOS; HAGE, 2015). In this new stage of the study, 240 students from elementar/middle school from the fourth to the ninth year participated, 20 teachers with experience in primary education and two speech-language pathologists with experience in the evaluation and intervention of children with Learning Disorders. The student wrote two essays, a narrative and an instructional text - game rules or child play. The 480 essays were corrected by 16 elementary school teachers and two speech-language pathologists. The correction occurred through the Pro-AProT. Educators and speech-language pathologists also answered to a questionnaire about the effectiveness of the protocol as judges. Four other teachers with experience in correction essays also corrected between 6 and 10 essays, following the Pro-AProT criteria and compared with criteria used by the Sistema de Avaliação de Rendimento Escolar do Estado de São Paulo - SARESP. In order to verify the reliability, the split-half method of the split halves was used, and the analysis was done by calculating the precision coefficients using Spearman & Brown\'s formula and the analysis by Cronbach\'s Alpha. Content validity was verified by the Content Validity Index (CVI), using the Likert Scale for the 4-level judgment. The teachers and speech- language pathologists judges evaluated each item of the protocol considering the 4 levels. The validity of the criterion was obtained by comparing Pro-AProT with the criteria used by SARESP, the teachers classified it as to its applicability and relevance, compared to the SARESP guidelines.The results of the analyzes were 0.80 and 0.75 for the Cronbach and Spearman & Brown Coefficient, respectively. The CVI was 0.875 for the protocol in general, and 0.927 for the item-by-item analysis. The judges of criterion validity pointed out that the instrument meets expectations to correct texts, is easy to apply and is valid compared to the SARESP correction criteria. Thus, the Pro-AProT has good reliability and validity of contents attested by statistical measures and was judged valid and relevant by the evaluation of the judges.

Service learning is a pedagogy designed to teach democratic skills to prepare students to become civically engaged members of society. One of the challenges in the field of service learning is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this pedagogy. Common methodological problems include small sample sizes, difficulty differentiating correlation from causation, self-selection bias, and use of primarily qualitative and experiential outcome measures. The literature review failed to reveal any quantitative scales designed for the health professions. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a quantitative scale to measure service learning outcomes among health professions students, before and after an academic service learning activity. Phase 1 of the study, the development phase, involved an extensive review of the literature to develop the conceptual framework and identify the operational indicators to be measured. Items were adapted from existing scales that were consistent with the personal and social responsibility dimensions and found to possess at least minimally acceptable reliability and validity. Items were adapted to add the health professions perspective which resulted in the preliminary twenty-two item scale, divided into four subscales: Civic Responsibility, Self-Efficacy Toward Service, Civic Participation, and Social Justice Attitudes. Psychometric testing of this preliminary PSR Scale was done in 3 studies. Study 1 involved evaluation of content validity with subject matter experts utilizing a Content Validity Index. The scale was modified based on the results of the CVI and recommendations of the subject matter experts. The S-CVI/Ave for the entire scale was .84 suggesting content validity of the PSR Scale. Study 2 utilized principal components analysis of the subscales to validate the dimensions and operational indicators. Data was constrained to four factors which accounted for 60.56% of the total variance. Items with factor loadings less than 0.4 were deleted. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated for internal consistency. Based on these results, the scale was further revised by deleting items that decreased the Cronbach’s alpha. This resulted in a 16 item scale, containing four subscales, each with four items. The Cronbach’s alpha for the entire revised scale PSR Scale was .94. Study 3 involved testing the final 16 item version for sensitivity. Wilcoxon signed rank analysis revealed statistically significant changes pre and post service learning activity in the Civic Participation Subscale. Civic Participation Subscale items that were significant included “volunteering time to support my community”, “being involved in programs and activities that improve my community”, and “being involved in activities that improve the health of my community”. These findings suggest that participation in a service learning activity can increase civic participation. Psychometric testing of the Personal and Social Responsibility Scale (PSR) support preliminary validity, reliability and sensitivity of the instrument and the premise, consistent with prior research that changes in civic participation can occur as a result of service learning. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to evaluate organizational attributional style (OAS). OAS is defined as an individual's characteristic attributional tendencies concerning work related issues. Based on a review of the existing attributional literature, a scale was developed to assess OAS. The scale was given to two groups of subjects along with measures of other constructs of interest. Both an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were performed and relationships between OAS and other variables (e.g. performance, turnover) were assessed. Reported reliabilities of the scale was acceptable and some evidence for the construct validity of the scale was found. The results of this study should serve as a guide to future attributional research in organizational behavior. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-10, Section: A, page: 3656. / Major Professor: Mark J. Martinko. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

The present study compared two groups of community-bound persons, over 55 years old, who had sustained deterioration of cognitive and behavioral skills for over 6 months. These changes had been medically diagnosed as either Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (SDAT) or Multi-Infarct Dementia (MID). There were 15 subjects in each group. All participants were relatively free of any known psychiatric or medical disorder, outside the presumptive dementia condition. / A profile of these groups' performance on physiological, behavioral, and psychometric measures was obtained. Physiological measures, EEG(P300) and CT Scan, confirmed the presence of neurological changes in 28 subjects; abnormal patterns in the EEG(P300) were also positively related to the subjects' age. Functional deficits, rated by the caregivers, increased proportional to the length of time since onset of the illness. Descriptively, within the first three years of the illness, the SDAT group preserved self-care skills longer than the MID group, while the latter maintained their communication skills at the pre-morbid functional levels. Neuropsychological data were obtained in six areas, including orientation, memory, abstraction, judgment, visual-motor coordination, and language. Significant differences were noted in recent memory, concentration, comparative judgment, and processing of specified words. / A linear discriminant analysis identified the psychometric and behavioral scales most sensitive to the differentiation of SDAT and MID conditions. The resulting brief but thorough screening scale showed a predictive and reliability coefficient above chance. Data also indicated a physician's bias in rating the level of cognitive functioning of the SDAT group. The SDAT subjects, who were older, were rated as more cognitively impaired than the MID subjects, who were younger. There were no significant differences between these groups in the length of time since onset of dementia. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-03, Section: B, page: 0910. / Major Professor: Lloyd F. Elfner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) movement has gained considerable influence in the healthcare industry, including psychotherapy. The American Psychological Association's (APA) official stance on EBP encouraged clinicians to used standardized outcome measures in routine practice in order to establish the efficacy of their interventions. Routine Outcome Measurement (ROM) systems were designed specifically to accomplish this purpose, and have been shown to improve client outcomes and provide valuable aggregate data that contributes to empirical literature. Despite this research and the endorsement of the APA's official EBP stance, these measures have not been widely adopted by clinicians. Several studies have found that clinicians find the measures impractical and lacking in clinical relevance. In order to accommodate these clinician concerns, while still maintaining the major features of ROM, the Clinically Adaptive Multidimensional Outcome Survey (CAMOS) was developed. The CAMOS employs a unique system that allows clinicians to be able to tailor the measure to the needs of their client, while still maintaining a core of standardized items. The present study attempted to identify a short form of McBride's measurement model, in order to determine which items would form this standardized core. The study found evidence for the validity and reliability of the CAMOS short form. With this evidence, the short form can serve as the basis for the CAMOS's unique tailoring system. It is hoped that the novel features of the CAMOS can help accomplish the APA's goals in relation to EBP.

Poorly written police reports interfere with the efficient functioning of the criminal justice system. Accounts from several police jurisdictions have indicated that many officers lack the necessary writing skills to complete reports which require documenting chronological events in an incident, reporting witness statements, and describing evidence. This study attempted to identify the important dimensions of police report writing. On this foundation, a job-related video test was developed and its psychometric properties investigated. The test, the New Orleans Police Department Written Communication Test (NWCT), was designed to assess the report writing skills of New Orleans Police Department Recruits and Officers. Two versions of the test were developed, each having direct and indirect subtests. Subjects were 110 police officers who had been on the job one to two years. Internal consistency, alternate forms reliability, interscorer reliability, intraclass reliability, and test-retest reliability were estimated. Reliability was also estimated within a generalizability framework with persons and raters as facets. Both forms of the NWCT were administered to the officers as well as Hammill and Larsen's (1988) Test of Written Language-2 (TOWL-2). The TOWL-2 was administered to the officers to estimate the convergent validity of the NWCT. Convergent validity was also assessed by determining the relationship between NWCT scores and other measures of writing skills. Subjects' police reports were rated by Assistant District Attorneys and police personnel whose ratings served as criteria. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) estimates differed by subtest, and the overall test lacked internal consistency (both Forms A and B). Alternate forms reliability coefficient was extremely low (.22) for the alternate direct subtests. The test-retest coefficient was.73 ($p < .001$) for the indirect portions of the test which were identical for both forms of the test. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to estimate the variance components for the effects of raters, persons, and the interaction between raters and persons. A large amount of variance was attributed to differences in how raters scored subjects for the direct subtests. With the indirect subtests, however, much of the variance was attributed to differences in the test performance of the subjects. Convergent validity evidence was weak, although the NWCT did correlate significantly with some of the variables of interest. Criterion-related validity evidence, using ratings of work samples as criteria, was insufficient / acase@tulane.edu