In large-scale low-stake assessment such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), students may skip items (missingness) which are within their ability to complete. The detection and taking care of these noneffortful responses, as a measure of test-taking motivation, is an important issue in modern psychometric models.…

This study examined the predictors and psychometric outcomes of survey satisficing, wherein respondents provide quick, "good enough" answers (satisficing) rather than carefully considered answers (optimizing). We administered surveys to university students and respondents--half of whom held college degrees--from a for-pay survey website,…

The purpose of the present studies was to test the hypothesis that the psychometric characteristics of ability scales may be significantly distorted if one accounts for emotional factors during test taking. Specifically, the present studies evaluate the effects of anxiety and motivation on the item difficulties of the Rasch model. In Study 1, the…

The Hong Psychological Reactance Scale (HPRS) purports to measure reactance: a motivational state experienced when a behavioral freedom is threatened with elimination. To date, five studies have examined the psychometric properties of the HPRS, but reached different conclusions regarding its factor structure. The current study further investigated…

The Motivation at Work Scale (MAWS) was developed in accordance with the multidimensional conceptualization of motivation postulated in self-determination theory. The authors examined the structure of the MAWS in a group of 1,644 workers in two different languages, English and French. Results obtained from these samples suggested that the…

The authors explored implications of individuals' self-deception (a trait) for their self-reported intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions and their actual learning performance. In doing so, a higher order structural model was developed and tested in which intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions were underlying factors that…

The current research extended the three-factor (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) measure of achievement goals in a work domain to the four-factor conceptualization (in a 2 x 2 framework) by adding items to represent mastery-avoidance goals. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on two independent samples to evaluate…

Herman's Presatie Motivatie Test and Mehrabians's Resultant Achievement Motivation Test were found to be sensitive to systematic response bias. Results indicated that respondents could influence scores systematically on both measures and that the potential influence of external stimuli should be recognized by users of these tests. (Author/JKS)

Hermans' and Mehrabian's tests of achievement motivation were correlated with the achievement via conformance and achievement via independence scales of the California Psychological Inventory. The Mehrabian test was associated only with the achievement via conformance scale, but Hermans' measure was rather strongly related to both scales.…

The Achievement Motivation Scale, a brief, non-theoretical self-report measure, was administered to ten classes of undergraduates at two universities. Results supported other findings suggesting that the scale is useful in predicting college grades even when combined with high school grade point average and a scholastic aptitude test. (Author/JKS)

The moderating effect of sex-role attitudes in relation to the predictive validity of Mehrabian's achievement tendency scale for females is examined. The scale predicts better for academic achievement with females classified as non-traditional in sex-role orientation, and in social achievement for females classified as traditional. (Author/JKS)

Sixty subjects, 30 volunteers and 30 nonvolunteers, participated in an experiment examining pretest sensitization effects. Two interpretations of these effects--the commitment hypothesis and the demand interpretation--are explored. (Author)

The validity of using seperate male and female scales for measurement of achievement motivation, as A. Mehrabian did, is seriously questioned. A variety of data are presented to support the case made against this practice. nAuthor/JKS)