A recurring question regarding Likert items is whether the discrete steps that this response format allows represent constant increments along the underlying continuum. This question appears unsolvable because Likert responses carry no direct information to this effect. Yet, any item administered in Likert format can identically be administered…

A general framework of latent trait item response models for continuous responses is given. In contrast to classical test theory (CTT) models, which traditionally distinguish between true scores and error scores, the responses are clearly linked to latent traits. It is shown that CTT models can be derived as special cases, but the model class is…

Background: Teaching students about race and racism is critical to and relevant in psychology classrooms. Objective: We explored whether direct instruction dismantling ideas that race is genetic affects students' race essentialist and other related beliefs. Method: Undergraduate students enrolled in four social psychology courses completed…

In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the data obtained from the Commitment to Profession of Medicine Scale (CPMS) with 4-point, 5-point, 6-point, and 7-point response sets based on Item Response Theory (IRT). A total of 2150 medical students from 16 different universities participated in the study. The participants were…

Surveys are frequently employed in needs assessment to collect information about gaps (the needs) in "what is" and "what should be" conditions. Double-scale Likert-type instruments are routinely used for this purpose. Although in accord with the discrepancy definition of need, the quality of such measures is being questioned to…

The forced-choice response format is often considered superior to the standard Likert-type format for controlling social desirability in personality inventories. We performed simulations and found that the trait information based on the two formats converges when the number of items is high and forced-choice items are mixed with regard to…

The purpose of the present study was to provide the means to evaluate the "interval-scaling" assumption that governs the use of parametric statistics and continuous data estimators in self-report instruments that utilize Likert-type scaling. Using simulated and real data, the methodology to test for this important assumption is evaluated…

In this study, the assumption of the equality of psychological distance between categories of rating scale was tested based on the number of categories and ability distributions. Category parameters were estimated by using generalized partial credit model. The data sets based on the conditions of categories counts and ability distributions were…

This brief report presents interrater reliability data for the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS-34) between parents, and between parents and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Reliability for all three raters combined was good to excellent across three assessments. Reliability for pairs of raters was variable but generally…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact explicit teaching of metacognition had on preservice teachers' metacognitive awareness and accuracy of whole group discussions using virtual simulations. One class of preservice teachers was randomly assigned to the explicit metacognitive teaching group, while the other class was assigned to…

Extreme response style (ERS), the tendency of participants to select extreme item categories regardless of the item content, has frequently been found to decrease the validity of Likert-type questionnaire results. For this reason, various item response theory (IRT) models have been proposed to model ERS and correct for it. Comparisons of these…

The Caring for Bliss Scale (CBS) is a new measure that assesses an individuals' capacity to cultivate inner joy and happiness. Developed in the United States, its generalizability remains unknown in non-Western contexts. This research explored the scale's cross-national invariance among college students in the Philippines (n = 546) and the United…

This study aims to explore the role of social cohesion, media, higher education, empowerment, and interfaith harmony in good governance of the public universities in Pakistan. Primary data was collected from the public sector universities in Pakistan. Data analysis was conducted by using SPSS and Mplus 8software. Results confirm that social…

The Adult Prosocialness Behavior Scale (APBS) is most often used to measure adult prosociality. We conducted a reliability generalization meta-analysis to compute the average APBS reliability and examine the heterogeneity among reliability estimations and the influence of moderator variables. An exhaustive search identified 74 articles that…

Despite the value of sense of purpose during older adulthood, this construct often declines with age. With some older adults reconsidering the relevance of purpose later in life, the measurement of purpose may suffer from variance issues with age. The current study investigated whether sense of purpose functions similarly across ages and evaluated…