A psychometric study of the Adult Attachment Interview: Reliability and discriminant validity.

The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) stimulates Ss to retrieve and evaluate attachment-related autobiographical memories and has increasingly been used to predict the quality of parent–child interactions and infant–parent attachment relationships. Its reliability and discriminate validity, however, have not yet been examined. In this study, 83 mothers were interviewed twice, 2 mo apart, by different interviewers so that the instrument's test–retest reliability and potential interviewer effects can be evaluated. To examine the AAI's discriminate validity, tests were administered for autobiographical memory, intelligence, and social desirability. The reliability of the AAI classifications was quite high over time (78% on the level of the 3 main categories κ?=?.63) and across interviewers. The unresolved category was less stable. The AAI classifications turned out to be independent on non-attachement-related memory, verbal and performance intelligence, and social desirability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling Age and Retest Processes in Longitudinal Studies of Cognitive Abilities.

Mixed effects models were used to examine the separate effects associated with age and retest on changes in various cognitive abilities. Individuals (N > 800) ranging in age from 40 to 70 years at the 1st measurement occasion were assessed with measures of memory, spatial abilities, and speed on 4 occasions. All cognitive abilities showed decline associated with increased age and improvement across the 4 measurement occasions. The age-related effects were similar across variables, but the practice effects were largest for memory and smallest for speed. When retest effects were not included in the models, the age-related effects were underestimated, with the magnitude of bias depending on the size of the ignored retest effects. It is suggested that both age and retest should be modeled simultaneously when analyzing longitudinal data because part of the change across occasions may be attributable to practice or reactive effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initial validation of a computer-administered Addiction Severity Index: The ASI–MV.

The Addiction Severity Index—Multimedia Version (ASI–MV) is a CD-ROM-based simulation of the interview-administered Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Clients in treatment (N ?=?202) self-administered the ASI–MV to examine the test–retest reliability, criterion validity, and convergent–discriminant validity of the ASI–MV. Excellent test–retest reliability was observed for composite scores and severity ratings. Criterion validity, tested against the interviewer-administered ASI, was good for the composite scores. For severity ratings, variable agreement was observed between the ASI–MV and each interviewer, suggesting poor interrater reliability among interviewers. This conclusion was bolstered by a finding of superior convergent–discriminant validity for both composite scores and severity ratings compared to the standard ASI. The ASI–MV is a viable alternative to the expensive and potentially unreliable interviewer-administered version. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing normal older people three or four times at 1- to 2-year intervals: Defining normal variance.

Normative data were presented that defined the upper and lower standards for deciding if cognitive abilities show reliable change over 2 or more testing occasions when retesting occurs at 1- to 2-year intervals. The Mayo Cognitive Factor Scores (MCFS; G. E. Smith et al., 1994) were analyzed because they permit the quantitation of overall functioning in 5 clinically important cognitive domains: established verbal knowledge, nonverbal reasoning, attention and concentration, new learning, and delayed memory. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of both group-level and individual-level data analyses derived from a respectably sized sample of normal persons who have been tested 3 or more times at clinically common test–retest intervals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of brain injury and age on prospective memory self-rating and performance.

Assessed internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the Prospective Memory Questionnaire (PMQ) developed by R. Hannon et al (1990). PMQ self-ratings of 15 college students (mean age 31.8 yrs) with brain injury were compared with 114 younger and 27 older noninjured adults (mean ages 28.4 and 73.4 yrs, respectively). Internal consistency of the PMQ was .92, and test–retest reliability was .88. Groups differed significantly on only one PMQ subscale. Actual prospective memory performance was significantly worse for Ss with brain injury and older Ss than for younger Ss on 2 of the 3 sets of summary measures. PMQ self-ratings were significantly but weakly correlated with short-term task performance, but not with long-term task performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test–retest reliability and differential patterns of score change on the Group Embedded Figures Test.

Examined retest reliability of the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) under 3 different intervals between test and retest, all with an interpolated cognitive task. 159 18–51 yr old undergraduates served as Ss in 3 experiments. Despite a significant increase in the group mean score from test to retest in all 3 experiments, retest reliability coefficients were high, .78–.92. There was also a suggestion that reliability increased with duration of delay. Examination of individual patterns of test–retest score change revealed 4 patterns: consistent field dependent (FD), consistent field independent (FI), unclassifiable, and latent field independent, whose retest scores took them from the FD range to the FI range. The latter 2 patterns accounted for the significant retest improvement. Relative frequencies of Ss in each pattern were relatively constant over the 3 experiments. Ss in the pattern categories also differed with respect to score on number series completion tests, suggesting that the 4 patterns reflect more general individual differences in analytic ability. It is concluded that the GEFT is a reliable test, but suggestions for a more error-free classification procedure based on a test–retest score pattern is proposed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test–retest reliability study of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

The WAIS is one of the most widely used means for assessing intelligence, yet data on test–retest reliability are scarce. The test–retest IQs of 50 psychiatric patients (mean age 44 yrs) were correlated. The patients were not from any specific diagnostic group. They were included in the sample only because they had been given the WAIS before. The interval between test and retest averaged almost 2 yrs. All test–retest correlations were .90 or over. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive function following long-term spinal cord injury.

Although age-related changes in cognition are well documented, little is known about the effect of chronic disability on memory performance. This study investigated age differences between younger and elderly adults with long-term spinal cord injury, using a variety of measures of memory and self-assessments of cognitive abilities. Advanced age was associated with poorer memory performance, but neither level of injury on the spinal cord (cervical versus thoracolumbar lesions) nor duration of the injury predicted memory test scores. The two age groups were similar in their self-ratings of many attentional and memory abilities, as well as activity and affective level, consistent with good adjustment over long periods of disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnosis as a retrieval cue in posthypnotic amnesia.

Tested the effectiveness of hypnosis as a retrieval cue in a group of 80 highly hypnotizable college students who demonstrated posthypnotic amnesia on an initial recall test. The 40 Ss who received a reinduction of hypnosis showed a significant improvement in memory on a retest; there was a significant loss of memory on a 3rd test following termination of the 2nd hypnosis and a more substantial recovery on a 4th test following administration of a prearranged reversibility cue. Another 40 Ss, who merely relaxed before the 2nd test, showed a similar improvement in memory on the retest but no subsequent memory loss. The amount of trial-to-trial improvement in memory shown by Ss was unaffected by explicit instructions to maintain amnesia until the reversibility cue had been given. It is concluded that posthypnotic amnesia is not a case of state-dependent retention, nor does hypnosis provide retrieval cues that can lead to the emergence of previously unrecalled memories. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repeating items to estimate the test-retest reliability of task inventory ratings.

Little is known about the test–retest reliability of task inventories. Because they typically take hours to complete and require rating hundreds of job tasks, repeating an entire inventory after a short interval is unlikely to produce motivated raters; conversely, increasing the time interval between administrations may result in actual changes in job content that would underestimate the true reliability. By repeating only a portion of the inventory with a very small test–retest interval, rater motivation should not be seriously affected, and changes in job content can be ruled out as a determinant of the results. The repeated item approach was used on 207 respondents and 3 task inventories. For most of the rating scales studied, reliabilities were slightly lower (.70s to .80s) than those reported in a previous study (.90s). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mathematics anxiety: Some basic issues.

Investigated 4 considerations about mathematics anxiety (MA): (a) the degree of MA experienced by men and women, (b) the internal consistency and test–retest reliabilities of 3 MA measures, (c) the relationship of MA instruments to each other, and (d) the relationship of MA to test anxiety and its worry and emotionality components. 769 college students' MA was measured by the Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS), the Anxiety Toward Mathematics Scale (ATMS), and the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS). Ss also completed the Test Anxiety Inventory. Results indicate nonequivalent internal consistency and test–retest reliability coefficients for the 3 MA measures, with the ATMS having the lowest coefficients. Small but significant gender differences were found on the MARS and MAS. The MA measures were moderately related to each other, and almost invariably, they were more closely related to each other than to test anxiety and its components. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

(+)-Eburnamenine-14-carboxylic acid (2-nitroxyethyl) ester (VA-045), a putative cognitive enhancer, facilitates recovery from concussive brain injury-induced learning and memory impairments in mice

We characterized alterations in the ability of concussive brain injury (CBI) models to perform a water-finding task and examined effects of (+)-eburnamenine-14-carboxylic acid (2-nitroxyethyl) ester (VA-045), a novel apovincaminic acid derivative, on post-traumatic impairments in latent learning and memory processes. Two types of CBI-induced amnesia (retrograde and anterograde) were produced by means of post- or preacquisition head impact using a simple weight-drop device. Profound impairments of latent learning and memory processes related to retention and retrieval were observed in the CBI mice. In the CBI-induced retrograde amnesia model, VA-045 (0.5-4.0 mg/kg) significantly ameliorated impairments of latent learning and retention in both the retention test and the retest. In the CBI-induced anterograde amnesia model, the protective effects of the compound on impairments in latent learning and retention or retrieval were significant in both the retention test and the retest. These results suggested that VA-045 may be a novel cognitive enhancer for attenuating or protecting against the learning and memory dysfunction associated with CBI.     

Prospective memory and self-reports of memory abilities in older adults.

Investigated age differences in prospective memory, and the relations among metamemory, reported use of memory aids, and actual performance on prospective memory tasks. Ss were 83 males and 145 females, aged 30–99 yrs, (with approximately equal numbers in each of the age ranges of 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and 70+ yrs) who completed a metamemory questionnaire and 2 prospective memory tests. Findings of the metamemory task show an age-related increase in reported memory problems. The pattern of correlations revealed that metamemory scores and prospective remembering performance were often negatively correlated (especially for the 30-yr-old people). The correlations indicated either that people have poor knowledge about their own memory abilities or that their concept of memory is different from that of the psychologist. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of age on phenomenology and consistency of flashbulb memories of September 11 and a staged control event.

In two studies, the special status of flashbulb memories was investigated by contrasting the effects of age on the phenomenology and consistency of flashbulb memories of September 11, over a 2-year delay period, with those of a mundane staged control event: participants learning that they had not won a small prize. Flashbulb memories produced no significant age effects for either phenomenological characteristics or test–retest consistency, as predicted by Mather's (2004) emotional compensation hypothesis. By contrast, the control event resulted in significant age effects for phenomenological characteristics (e.g., specificity and the amount of detail recalled) but not for test–retest consistency. Furthermore, in both age groups, memories of September 11 were significantly more vivid, detailed, and consistent than control memories even though the test–retest interval was twice as long for flashbulb memories. In addition, correlations between consistency scores and ratings of rehearsal were positive for control memories but negative for flashbulb memories. The theoretical implications of these findings for research on cognitive aging and flashbulb memories are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interviewers' perceptions of person–organization fit and organizational selection decisions.

Amodel of person–organization fit and organizational hiring decisions is developed and tested, using data from 38 interviewers making hiring decisions about 93 applicants. Results suggest that interviewers can assess applicant–organization values congruence with significant levels of accuracy and that interviewers compare their perceptions of applicants' values with their organizations' values to assess person–organization fit. Results also suggested that interviewers' subjective person–organization fit assessments have large effects on their hiring recommendations relative to competing applicant characteristics, and that interviewers' hiring recommendations directly affect organizations' hiring decisions (e.g., job offers). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised factor scores across time.

This study was designed to assess the stability of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) factor scores across time. Information provided in the manual (D. Wechsler, 1981) on 2 subsets of the standardization data was used to estimate sample stability in Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, and Memory/Freedom from Distractibility scores. For both samples, and across all factors, estimated test–retest correlations were high. In addition, test–retest scores of 39 individuals with IQs     

Reliability and validity of the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire.

The development and psychometric properties of the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ), a self-report measure of memory ability (Self-Efficacy Level) and confidence (Self-Efficacy Strength), are described. The MSEQ was rationally constructed using 50 memory items with face and content validity. The MSEQ and its alternate versions were examined in three experiments with younger and older adult samples. Satisfactory estimates of internal consistency and test–retest stability were obtained. Canonical correlation analyses provided preliminary support for the MSEQ's criterion and construct validity. Although additional psychometric work is needed, this initial investigation of the MSEQ suggests that it may be a useful tool for research on memory self-evaluation in adult age groups. Reliability and validity are strong, the questionnaire shows expected adult age differences in self-evaluation, and the theoretical framework of self-efficacy provides useful hypotheses regarding developmental changes and individual differences in self-evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in cross-sectional and 3-year longitudinal memory performance across the adult life span.

Reports individual differences analyses of performance on list and prose memory tasks for 250 men and 258 women (aged 55–84 yrs). Being retested, higher reasoning and vocabulary scores, and female gender predicted better prose recall and list recognition performance. For list recall, retest status, age, years of schooling, and gender, as well as reasoning and vocabulary, were reliable independent predictors. After 3 yrs, 106 men and 121 women returned for a retest. Analysis of individual differences in 3-yr performance indicated that, once Time 1 performance had been partialed, individual change could be predicted by age or reasoning, but neither variable uniquely accounted for change. Analysis of data of individuals who experienced considerable decline or improvement in 3-yr scores indicated that decline was consistently associated with advanced age. Ramifications for theoretical models in memory research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors that influence the temporal stability of personality by questionnaire.

Analyzed test–retest reliability data gathered from 106 sources (89 independent samples), using a multiple-regression method in an attempt to estimate the effects of several factors on questionnaire stability. We examined 8 self-report inventories: the High School Personality Questionnaire, the 16PF, the MMPI, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, the CPI, the Guilford–Zimmerman Temperament Survey, the EPPS, and the OPI. Samples ranged in size and encompassed a wide range of Ss divergent on status and age. We found S's age and status, number of test items, test interitem correlation, and test–retest interval to be significant predictors of reliability. Variables representing general adjustment were found to be less predictable than extraversion variables, and short-term reliability was more predictable than long-term reliability. S's sex and specific questionnaires were not found to have a significant effect on reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)