David M. McCord

Equivalence of standard and computerized versions of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test

The present study examined the equivalence of the computer administered version of the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) with the standard paper-and-pencil administered version of the RSPM. In addition, the effects of state and trait anxiety as well as computer anxiety were investigated. Fifty undergraduate volunteers were administered the RSPM twice under one of four conditions: computer–computer, standard–standard, computer–standard, or standard–computer. No significant differences were found between mean scores and standard deviations across administrations or formats. Rank-order correlations revealed similar ranking across formats. Tentative support for the equivalence of the computerized version of the RSPM was found. Analyses revealed no significant differences in anxiety across formats and no significant correlations between anxiety and RSPM performance. Explanations and implications for further research are discussed.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the M5-50: An Implementation of the International Personality Item Pool Item Set

Goldbergs International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg, 1999) provides researchers with public-domain, free-access personality measurement scales that are proxies of well-established published scales. One of the more commonly used IPIP sets employs 50 items to measure the 5 broad domains of the 5-factor model, with 10 items per factor. The M5-50 (McCord, 2002) is a specific ordering and presentation of this 50-item set. Using data from a sample of 760 faculty, staff, and students at a midsized university, the authors assessed the reliability and construct validity of the M5-50. Cronbachs alphas on the 5 scales ranged from acceptable to excellent. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated reasonably good model fit. Researchers who wish to measure personality would be well advised to consider using the M5-50.

Evaluating the College Sophomore Problem: The Case of Personality and Politics

ABSTRACT College sophomores feature prominently in social scientific research but are frequently criticized for providing unrepresentative, invalid, and unreliable data. Using the case of personality and politics, the present authors evaluated those critiques, concluding that college sophomores are not representative of the general adult population on all 5 factors of personality. Despite this limitation, analyses show that the relationship between personality and political opinions is virtually identical for college students and a comparison group of adults. Further, a range of reliability statistics suggests that college students provide reliable data on personality. College students are not a panacea for the problems of participant recruiting, but they should not be discounted as unreliable and invalid, either. In many cases, the so-called “college-sophomore problem” is not a problem.

Measuring Social Competence with the Wechsler Picturei Arrangement and Comprehension Subtests

Authors tested the traditional assumption that the WAIS-R and WISC-R Picture Arrangement and Comprehension subtests are interpretable as measures of social competence. Although this assumption has existed for over 50 years, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this contention. Performance on Picture Arrangement and Comprehension were correlated with Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) FACTOR II: Social Incompetence and Social Skills Scale scores for 136 males and 64 females ranging from 6 to 20 years of age. Correlations between Picture Arrangement and Comprehension scaled scores and PIC measures of social deficiencies were not significant for either the WISC-R or WAIS-R. However, ipsative scatter analyses revealed that participants with relatively strong Comprehension performance were rated as experiencing fewer social problems than other participants. Interpreting Picture Arrangement and Comprehension subtests as indicators of social competence is cautioned.

Relative practical utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 Restructured Clinical Scales versus the Clinical Scales in a chronic pain patient sample

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI–2) Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales comprise the core of the new MMPI–2 Restructured Form. They were developed to retain the familiar clinical descriptive characteristics of the original basic scales while correcting a number of major psychometric shortcomings. The resulting scales are intended to be more unidimensional and unique, with improved convergent and discriminant validity. These improvements should be most evident in client samples where the traditional scales yield global and diffuse elevations, interpretively very challenging to the clinician. In the present study the RC Scales were compared to the traditional Clinical Scales in differentiating depressed (n = 239) versus nondepressed (n = 77) neuropsychology outpatients, all of whom experienced chronic pain, and most also reported other syndromes. Multiaxial diagnoses were assigned by practicing clinicians using a variety of data sources, including MMPI–2 Clinical Scales but not the RC Scales. Whereas both sets of scales achieved good overall classification rates of about 85%, the RC Scales did so using significantly fewer scales, yielding a more focused, efficient, and clinically useful profile. In the depressed group, 7 of the 8 basic scales (which exclude Scales 5 and 0) were clinically elevated, whereas only 2 of the 8 RC Scales were elevated (in addition to the demoralization scale RCd). These findings offer significant implications for the psychological assessment of chronic pain patients.

Taking Personality Seriously: The Five-Factor Model and Public Management

This study documents the use of personality assessment in public administration and examines the relationship between personality and job outcomes among public managers. The limitations and problems with the most popular personality assessment framework, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, are discussed. The authors then present the five-factor model of personality as an empirically verified, theoretically sound framework that is widely accepted within the field of psychology. Using a survey of public administrators in three states, it is demonstrated that public managers are aware of personality assessment, use it in their jobs, and are generally convinced of its efficacy. The authors also present the results of personality profiles of public managers demonstrating the usefulness of all five domains of the five-factor model of personality for understanding key outcome measures such as job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors.

Brief Measures of the Animal Attitude Scale

ABSTRACT There is increasing interest among social and behavioral scientists in brief measures of attitudes and personality traits. Based on factor analysis and using an existing data set (n = 400 adults), we constructed a 5- and a 10-item version of the widely used animal attitude Scale (AAS). Both versions were highly correlated with the original 20-item AAS (rs > 0.95, p < 0.001), and both versions demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity. The AAS-5 and the AAS-10 have excellent psychometric properties and offer alternatives for researchers who need convenient and short measures of attitudes related to animal welfare.

Empirical Correlates and Expanded Interpretation of the MMPI-2-RF Restructured Clinical Scale 3 (Cynicism)

The recent release of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2—Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) has received much attention from the clinical psychology community. Particular concerns have focused on Restructured Clinical Scale 3 (RC3; Cynicism). This article briefly reviews the major criticisms and responses regarding the restructuring of Clinical Scale 3. The primary purpose of the article is to provide expanded interpretive perspectives on RC3 by correlating it with a selection of external variables that are conceptually related. Forty undergraduate volunteers completed the MMPI-2-RF as well as measures of Machiavellianism, alienation, faith in people, and locus of control. Results showed strong correlations between RC3 and Machiavellianism (.47) and alienation (.60), with item-level information that may extend existing interpretive statements to include, not just a cynical view of others, but a willingness to intentionally lie, cheat, deceive, and manipulate (i.e., Machiavellianism).

Personality and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from a Sample of Street-Level Bureaucrats

Job satisfaction is an important component of bureaucratic success. In this article, we build on the emerging literature on the five-factor model of personality and argue that basic personality characteristics can help us understand why certain employees are more satisfied with their jobs than others. Multivariate analysis of personality and job satisfaction data from over 1,000 public servants supports this argument. We conclude with a discussion about how personality can add to our theoretical understanding of public personnel management, and help public managers identify applicants who are likely to be satisfied with work in the public sector.

Castration, gonadal hormones and Sidman avoidance acquisition.

Abstract The effects of hormones on the acquisition of a leverpress Sidman avoidance task were investigated. Rats were assigned to six groups: (a) castration with estradiol treatment; (b) castration with estradiol plus progesterone treatment; (c) castration with progesterone treatment; (d) castration with testosterone treatment; (e) castration with saline treatment; (f) sham castration with saline treatment. Shocks, responses and interresponse times were recorded during a two-hour acquisition session. Following acquisition, blood was drawn and serum hormone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. Consistent with previous reports, estradiol-treated rats showed a nonsignificant trend toward superior acquisition of the task. Estradiol, relative to sham treatment, produced a significant reduction in individual variation in the acquisition of the avoidance task.