Reanalysis of the factor analysis of S. Simpson, B. Licht, R. Wagner, and S. Stader (1996) of children's responses to four ability-related self-perceptions shows how applying a construct validity approach leads to conclusions opposed to theirs but still consistent with previous theory and research on academic self-concept. (SLD)

H. Marsh and A. Yeung have criticized the conclusions of the present authors with regard to academic self-concept as inconsistent with previous research. It is argued that this inconsistency is because items on the academic self-concept scales are not adequate for answering questions about children's differentiation of perceived ability and…

Data from 20 psychiatric clients were used to test the construct validity of the Occupational Performance History Interview, which gathers information on a person's past and present functioning. The instrument appears to measure three underlying constructs--occupational competence, identity, and environment--rather than occupational adaptation.…

Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Children measures an internally consistent, unidimensional construct. Construct validity (i.e., correlations with state anxiety, trait anxiety, and quantitative ability) was demonstrated. Discusses the importance of accurately assessing mathematics anxiety at the…

Effects that a creativity training program would have on divergent production subtests of the Structure-of-Intellect Learning Abilities Test were studied with 27 college students receiving training and 29 comparisons. Training appeared effective in increasing the production of units but not the production of relations or transformations. (SLD)

Two versions of the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire for adults were developed and tested with 407 smokers and nonsmokers. The version with probability items appeared to have greater construct validity than the version with subjective expected utility items. The scale reflects the refinement of smokers' outcome expectancies with experience. (SLD)

Added a sixth factor to the Dimensions of Self-Concept Scale-Form H (DOSC) (W. Michael and others, 1984), and examined its reliability and validity with a sample of 350 midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. Results indicate satisfactory reliability for all six scales and an oblique six-factor model that supports the multidimensionality of the…

Examines testing practices in: (1) the past, in which the traditional paradigm left little room for cognitive psychology principles; (2) the present, in which testing research is enhanced by principles of cognitive psychology; and (3) the future, in which the potential of cognitive psychology should be fully realized through item design.…

The relationship among Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) processing scores of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) and the Woodcock-Johnson Revised Tests of Achievement (WJ-R) were examined with a sample of 1,559 students aged 5-17 years. Participants were part of the CAS standardization sample and closely represented the…

Managers are increasingly being held accountable for providing resources that support employee development, particularly in the form of feedback and coaching. To support managers as trainers and coaches, organizations must provide managers with the tools they need to succeed in this area. This article presents a new tool to assist in the diagnosis…

This study evaluated the construct validity of the scores of the Chinese version of the Need for Closure Scale (NFCS) as administered to a sample of Hong Kong college students who also completed the Personal Need for Structure Scale (PNS) and the Personal Fear of Invalidity Scale (PFI). The scale-scale and scale-facet correlations were similar to…

This article reports on the generalizability, reliability, and construct validity of the Parent Situation Inventory (PSI), a role-play measure of coping skills in parents experiencing problems from an adolescent's drug and alcohol use. Generalizability was robust (.80) and alternate form and test-retest reliability were satisfactory. PSI…

This investigation was conducted to estimate the reliability and validity of scores on the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (D. R. Riso & R. Hudson, 1999a). Results of 287 participants were analyzed. Alpha suggests an adequate degree of internal consistency. Evidence provides mixed support for construct validity using correlational and…

In their comment on K. Rothermund and D. Wentura, A. G. Greenwald, B. A. Nosek, M. R. Banaji, and K. C. Klauer agreed that salience asymmetries can be a source of Implicit Association Test (IAT) effects. The authors applaud this conclusion but point to problems with the other points that Greenwald et al. made. The authors have difficulties…

This article is concerned with characterizing literacy activity as it is practiced in professional workplaces. Its starting point is activity theory, which grew out of the work of Vygotsky and has been subsequently elaborated in Russia and elsewhere. First, the authors propose that existing versions of activity theory are unable to account…