A mental model is a knowledge structure composed of concepts and the relations between them. Mental models are distinct from declarative and procedural knowledge--they go beyond semantic relationships and skills acquisition and contain varied intellectual skills and knowledge. This study describes an initial investigation into the construct…

In the early 1970s A. Constantinople wrote a seminal article that led to the development of the construct of psychological androgyny. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory is a popular measure of the construct, but the measure remains controversial. The construct validity of scores from the measure was explored using confirmatory factor analysis on data from…

Examination of the construct validity of Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale points toward dislike of learning as the cause of low scores. High scores seem to result from positive attitudes toward learning in general and not specifically self-directed learning. Further studies are needed to distinguish between readiness for…

A study involving 174 at-risk undergraduate students provided evidence of the construct validity of 5 factors corresponding to scales of the Dimensions of Self-Concept measure. Evidence was obtained for a higher order general academic self-concept, but the anxiety factor was not related to this higher order factor. (SLD)

Although there are thousands of studies investigating work and job design, existing measures are incomplete. In an effort to address this gap, the authors reviewed the work design literature, identified and integrated previously described work characteristics, and developed a measure to tap those work characteristics. The resultant Work Design…

This article reports on two studies that used three different samples (N = 644) to construct and validate a multidimensional measure of managerial coaching skill. The four dimensions of coaching skill measured were Open Communication, Team Approach, Value People, and Accept Ambiguity. The two studies assessed the context adequacy, dimensionality,…

Self-stigma is an important factor in people's decisions not to engage in therapy. To measure this construct, the authors developed the 10-item Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale. In Study 1 (n = 583), the SSOSH had a unidimensional factor structure and good reliability (0.91) among participants. Study 2 (n = 470) confirmed the factor…

The construct validity of the Australian version of the Multidimensional School Anger Inventory-Revised (MSAI-R) was examined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Rasch analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on a sample of 1,400 Australian students enrolled in Years 8 through 12. The EFA revealed a strong replication of the MSAI-R's…

Administration of the Test of Spoken English (TSE) yields tapes of oral performance on items within six sections of the test. Trained scorers subsequently rate responses using four proficiency scales: pronunciation, grammar, fluency, and overall comprehensibility. This project examined the consistency of statistical relations among TSE scores with…

This study evaluated the construct validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) with children (ages 8 to 13) having learning disabilities who were either Hispanic (N=120) or Non-Hispanic white (N=120). Factor analyses found that the WISC III has a three factor structure consisting of verbal comprehension,…

The Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) is the most widely used instrument for measuring the tactics used by members of a family in a conflict situation. It is intended to measure the extent to which family members use reasoning, verbal aggression, and physical aggression. Focus is on: (1) bringing together and evaluating criticisms of the CTS so that…

The factorial structure of the Rotter Internal-External (IE) scale was examined. While there was strong evidence against the unidimensionality of the Rotter scale, the findings suggested that the first-order factors do define a single higher-order construct that may represent the generalized IE construct. (Author/LMO)

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of a classroom communication apprehension scale for a sample of 196 high school students in Japan. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used. The original English version of a classroom communication apprehension scale (M. Neer, 1987) consisted of 20 items representing 2…

The structure of "teacher efficacy" was studied with a sample of 342 prospective and experienced teachers through an efficacy questionnaire. Factors correspond to an internal versus external distinction, similar to the locus-of-control measures of causal attribution. (SLD)

The construct validity of a supplemental scoring system for the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was evaluated with 146 referred school-age children (aged 6 to 12.5 years) and the K-ABC normative sample. Results support the construct validity of only part of the scoring model. (SLD)