Regression, Practice, and Expectation Effects on the Revised Conners Teacher Rating Scale

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of practice effects, regression toward the mean, teachers' expectations, and warm-up procedures on the Revised Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Sixty elementary school teachers viewed videotapes of 3 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered children on two or three occasions. The teachers rated each child on the Revised Conners directly after watching that child's videotaped classroom observation. The teachers were divided randomly into three groups: expectation, control, and warm-up. The data were analyzed by a “doubly” repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results indicated that practice effects, regression, teachers' expectations, and warm-up procedures did not play a significant role in influencing teachers' repeated ratings of the 3 children. There were significant effects for the order of presentation of the children on the tapes at the time of the first rating. On the whole, findings lend support for the validity of the Revised Conners.