This paper presents a systematic review of published data on the performance of sub-Saharan Africans on Raven's Progressive Matrices. The specific goals were to estimate the average level of performance, to study the Flynn Effect in African samples, and to examine the psychometric meaning of Raven's test scores as measures of general intelligence.…

In complex three-dimensional mental rotation tasks males have been reported to score up to one standard deviation higher than females. However, this effect size estimate could be compromised by the presence of gender bias at the item level, which calls the validity of purely quantitative performance comparisons into question. We hypothesized that…

Plants are integral parts of ecosystems which determine life on Earth. People's attitudes toward them are however, largely overlooked. Here we present initial psychometric assessment of self-constructed Plant Attitude Scale (PAS) that was administered to a sample of 310 Slovakian students living in rural areas aged 10-15 years. The final version…

Self-Determination Theory specifies the existence of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The current set of studies (a) provides a narrative review of past research on the Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale, (b) examines its dimensionality which has been assumed but not empirically studied, and (c)…

A scale assessing generalized false self-perceptions (Perceptions of False Self, POFS) was developed and tested across three studies involving a total of 331 adolescents (11-16 years). In Study 1, interviews were conducted to develop items for the scale. In Study 2, psychometric techniques were used to derive a scale composed of 16 items. Study 2…

Extensive research has linked youth depression symptoms to low levels of perceived control, using measures that reflect "primary control" (i.e., influencing objective conditions to make them fit one's wishes). We hypothesized that depressive symptoms are also linked to low levels of "secondary control" (i.e., influencing the psychological impact…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Working Alliance Inventory-Client version (WAI-C) and Working Alliance Inventory-Short and revised (WAI-SR) in a career counseling setting. Moreover, it compared the impact of career versus personal counseling settings based on results obtained using the WAI-SR. Subjects were 188…

The principal objective of this study was to explore the predictive power of thinking styles for metacognition when self-rated abilities were taken into account. As a preliminary step, the study examined the psychometric properties of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). Four hundred and twenty-four university students from mainland China…

Overexcitabilities (OEs) are ways that an individual experiences the world and can be understood as channels of information flow. The current study examined the profile of OEs among a group of Hong Kong children. Participants included 229 non-gifted and 217 gifted children. OEs were measured using the Overexcitability Questionnaire II. Results…

Measures of well-being were created to assess psychological flourishing and feelings--positive feelings, negative feelings, and the difference between the two. The scales were evaluated in a sample of 689 college students from six locations. The Flourishing Scale is a brief 8-item summary measure of the respondent's self-perceived success in…

Despite the popularity of peer assessment (PA), gaps in the literature make it difficult to describe exactly what constitutes effective PA. In a literature review, we divided PA into variables and then investigated their interrelatedness. We found that (a) PA's psychometric qualities are improved by the training and experience of peer assessors;…

CBAL, an acronym for Cognitively Based Assessment of, for, and as Learning, is a research initiative intended to create a model for an innovative K-12 assessment system that provides summative information for policy makers, as well as formative information for classroom instructional purposes. This paper summarizes empirical results from 16 CBAL…

There has been a steady increase in the use of mixed-format tests, that is, tests consisting of both multiple-choice items and constructed-response items in both classroom and large-scale assessments. This calls for appropriate equating methods for such tests. As Item Response Theory (IRT) has rapidly become mainstream as the theoretical basis for…

The "Revised Learning Process Questionnaire" has been part of the development of a conceptual understanding of how students learn and what motivates them to engage in particular tasks. We obtained responses from 329 student volunteers at a mid-sized public university in the southeast United States. While looking at the psychometric…

There has been substantial academic interest surrounding innovation, change management and the individual attributes that permit and promote learning, organisational change and innovative behaviour. This research uses a psychometric tool known as the Instinctive Drives System[R] to measure preferred working styles in 3943 employees from a range of…