Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the English Prosodic Phonology Processing Test (EPPPT): A Multi-Trait Multimethod Approach

Abstract

Most of the prosody perception tests do not capture how listeners perceive and interpret stress, tone, and intonation in the process of listening comprehension. The current study developed the English Prosodic Phonology Processing Test (EPPPT). A sample of 240 Luo speaking high school students were tested using Confirmatory Factory Analysis (CFA) in a multi-trait multimethod matrix. Four traits were measured including word prosody, sentence prosody, juncture, and discourse prosody. Three methods were used including the picture selection task, stress assignment task, and chunking task. CFA confirmed the current taxonomy of the diverse traits of English prosodic phonology: word stress, sentence stress, open and closed junctures, and discourse. The methods yielded statistically significant differences among the discriminant validity of these traits. The model fit was better when the different prosodic traits were specified (convergent validity), while the methods of testing yielded distinguishable, unique types of information about prosodic phonology processing. Using a battery of five tests, the results of EPPPT showed that the traits are quite independent of each other and the method effect is not significant.
 Keywords: reliability, validity, EPPPT, Prosody, MTMM