Test-retest Procedure Research Articles

Hypothermia-induced amnesia for newly acquired and old reactivated memories: Commonalities and distinctions

A series of six experiments compared the characteristics of hypothermia-induced amnesia for newly acquired and old reactivated memories. Old memory, when reactivated by cue exposure, was disrupted by mild or deep hypothermia treatment, while new memory was impaired only by deep cooling. Mild hypothermia had no disruptive influence on either new or old memories. Old, but not new, learning showed recovery from amnesia in a test-retest procedure. The onset of amnesia was more rapid for an old reactivated memory than for a newly acquired memory. The susceptibility of memory to disruption decreased over time following original learning or cue reactivation, although this decrease was, if anything, more rapid following the cuing procedure. Recovery from amnesia could be induced by a recooling reminder treatment and was similar for both new and old memories. It was suggested that activity of, or access to, memory rather than age per se determines susceptibility to disruption. The process of memory reactivation appears somewhat more sensitive, rapid, and brief than the processes) of memory formation. However, that the underlying old memory remains stable over time was supported by the strong retention when specific implicit or explicit reactivation cues were available.

The Schedule for Schizotypal Personalities (SSP): A diagnostic interview for schizotypal features

The validity and reproducibility of psychiatric diagnosis are crucial to psychiatric research. To establish confidence in assigning schizotypal features, three paradigms estimating the reliability of a new instrument, the Schedule for Schizotypal Personalities (SSP), were tested. The first paradigm considered joint, but independent evaluations made by two raters simultaneously. The second paradigm assessed evaluations on different occasions, with a mean interim time of 5.9 months (test-retest procedure). Both reliability paradigms demonstrated high levels of agreement for all of the scaled items. Ninety percent of the intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.80 or better for the joint evaluations, and 70% were 0.80 or better for the test-retest evaluation. The third paradigm measured the reliability of DSM-III Schizotypal Personality Disorder. The kappa value for measuring diagnostic agreement was 0.88. The authors recommend the use of the SSP as an interview schedule and discuss the implications of their findings for genetic and biological research of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

A proposed reinforcement survey schedule for special needs children

The development of a reinforcement survey schedule for special needs children is described. A reliability study of the two-part scale is presented. Results of the test-retest procedure with 96 children aged five to twelve indicated that the scale wasreliable over a period of seventeen days, with a Kendall correlation of 0.8825 on the Food Reinforcer Scale and 0.8623 of the Non-food Reinforcer Scale (both p<0.001). Suggested uses of the scale include: assessment, clinical settings, home programs and research.

Familism Scale: Revalidation and Revision

A familism scale, published by this author in 1970, was seen to contain two potential weaknesses. First, the scale was constructed, tested, and validated upon the same subjects. This type of recursive validation procedure capitalizes upon error variance. Second, the wording of nine of the scale's 15 items was considered to be too difficult for respondents possessing little or no formal education. These two weaknesses have been remedied by: (1) :cross-validation procedures conducted upon data obtained from interviews with 334 respondents living within three geographical regions of the United States; and (2) a test-retest rewording procedure performed upon the nine difficultly-worded scale items. Results tend to support the scale's validity, as well as the similarity of wording between revised items and their original counterparts. It is suggested that this revised familism scale be used in assessing familistic attitudes among various class and/or regional populations where researchers considerfamilism to be an important variable.

Measuring individuals' priorities for national goals: A methodology and empirical example

This study suggests a methodology for measuring individuals' priorities for national goals on an interval scale and multivariate procedures for interpreting such scale values. The scaling procedure used is a paired comparison paradigm developed by Bechtel. This scaling procedure is outlined and a test-retest procedure developed by Bechtel is discussed. Multivariate analysis of variance, discriminant analysis, and cluster analytic procedures are then outlined for gaining policy insights from the scale value data. Finally, the above methodology is applied to an empirical example carried out in 1970 concerning national priorities for eight possible national goals. Extensions of the technique and further areas of application are proposed.

Construction of a personality inventory through Thurstone scaling of daydreams.

In this study an empirical technique was used to construct a personality inventory. Daydreams were chosen as the medium in which certain personality variables were reflected and the Thurstone scaling method of equal-appearing intervals served as the technique for scaling the daydreams and constructing the inventory. Daydreams were selected from two daydream questionnaires, and this pool of items (279 daydreams) was subjected to a Thurstone-type scaling by expert judges on nine dimensions (Pessimism-Optimism, Moving Toward People-Moving Away From People, Morbid Content-Nonmorbid Content, Self-orientationOther-orientation, Unpleasant-Pleasant, Unrealistic-Realistic, Positive Social Orientation-Negative Social Orientation, Past-Future, Physical Interest-Psychosocial Interest). This scaling resulted in the formulation of a daydream inventory which has nine scales. Reliability and validity of the daydream inventory were then assessed. A test-retest reliability procedure was used with 20 Ss. Only three scales (Past, Unrealistic, and Movement Toward) showed Spearman rho test-retest values equal to or greater than .70. I t was believed that these low reliability values reflected the use of a small and fairly homogeneous sample of students. The validity study atcempted to differentiate two known groups (20 graduate students and 23 prison inmates). The daydream inventory did separate the two groups and with reasonable accuracy on rwo of the nine scales (Past and Morbid). The only other scale that showed any indication of differentiating the groups was the Unrealistic scale. The results of these preliminary studies give some indication of the inventory's potential reliability and validity. The use of expert judges and the wellestablished methodology add evidence for validation, but a more adequate sample is necessary before the reliability and validity of this inventory can be demonstrated empirically.

An unusual example of exercise-induced asthma.

OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of the Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ) in Finnish patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: The reliability of the questionnaire was tested by test-retest procedure. Construct validity was studied by factor analysis and convergent validity by calculating correlations between the Finnish MDHAQ (Finn-MDHAQ) scales and the Finnish Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and the Finnish Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (Finn-AIMS2). Correlations between Finn-MDHAQ and measures of clinical characteristics, disease activity, and functional class were also measured. An item analysis was made of the Finn-MDHAQ scales Function (FN) and Psychological (PS). RESULTS: Internal consistency on the FN scale was 0.92 (95% lower limit 0.89) and 0.66 (0.56) on the PS scale. Reproducibility (95% CI) on FN was 0.93 (0.82 to 0.97) and on PS 0.84 (0.70 to 0.92). Factor analysis identified 2 factors, mobility of upper extremities and trunk, and mobility of lower extremities. Strong correlations were found between the FN scale and HAQ and physical subscales of Finn-AIMS2 and between PS and the psychological subscales of Finn-AIMS2. In item analysis corrected item correlation was high on the Finn-MDHAQ scales, except in one item on the PS scale. CONCLUSION: The Finn-MDHAQ is an applicable, reliable, and valid instrument for the part of the FN scale measuring functional ability in Finnish rheumatic patients. The incongruity in the PS scale structure that produced moderate internal consistency can be overcome with minor modifications.

The development of a female form of the Blacky Pictures.

Summary Some current controversy about the Blacky Pictures has been focused on Ss' perception of the sex of the dog Blacky. A second form of the Blacky Pictures using a cat as the central figure was developed. A test-retest procedure was used with 53 fourteen-year-old public school females. Ss' numerical scores and preferences of “Like” or “Dislike” for the 11 cartoons did not change appreciably whether the same or a different form was used in retesting. The scores of 5s receiving the cat form at the first administration and the scores of subjects receiving the dog form at the first administration differed significantly on six out of 30 scoring dimensions.

Circulating blood volume changes incident to major orthopedic surgery.

Changes in blood volume during major surgery were studied in 37 patients. In each, the blood volume was determined first after induction of anesthesia and again after closure of the skin incision. The method depended on the intravenous injection of a precisely measured amount of radioiodinated serum albumin and the determination of the resultant intensity of radioactivity in the circulating blood. The reliability of the method was determined by a test-retest procedure in three volunteer subjects. The results, corrected to take into account the blood given by transfusion during the operations, showed that major orthopedic surgery involves significant loss of blood. Transfusions were given to 32 patients, and among these there were 5 in whom the deficit of blood would have amounted to more than 1,000 cc., had they not received transfusions. The use of radioactive elements to measure blood volume helps in estimating transfusion needs.

Acute Effects of Smoking on Physical Endurance and Resting Circulation

Abstract The influence of smoking a cigarette or “pseudo-cigarette” on endurance times for a step test to exhaustion was compared for 19 male college students, using a balanced test-retest procedure. Blood pressures and pulse rates were markedly increased by smoking, but individuals classified as “tobacco-sensitive” by this test showed no greater change in endurance than “non-sensitives.” The endurance of the total group was not significantly influenced by smoking. The pattern of cardiovascular changes caused by smoking were similar to the changes reported for epinephrine, suggesting that the total effect is vasodilation, which over-rides the cutaneous vasoconstriction.

Difficulties encountered in measuring changes in intelligence by the test-retest procedure.

Difficulties encountered in measuring changes in intelligence by the test-retest procedure.