A Researcher Develops a Questionnaire to Assess the Personality Trait

question 93

Multiple Choice

A researcher develops a questionnaire to assess the personality trait of impulsivity among adults.In a journal article,she presents evidence that college students tend to get essentially the same score if they take the test twice,two months apart.She also presents the average score,the highest score,and the lowest score obtained by two large samples: one of 2,000 college students,and one of 750 community-dwelling non-college adults.However,when you look at the sample questionnaire items she included in the article,it seems to you that they relate more to whether a person is sociable,outgoing,and fun than to whether an individual is impulsive.You are questioning the _____ of the researcher's questionnaire.

• A) reliability
• B) validity
• C) sensitivity
• D) reliability and the validity

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Definitions:

Detectably Different

The threshold at which a change in a variable or condition is perceptible or measurable from its previous state.

Fechner's Law

A principle describing the logarithmic relationship between stimulus magnitude and the resultant sensory experience's intensity.

Specificity Theory

The proposal that different sensory qualities are signaled by different quality-specific neurons. This theory is correct in only a few cases (e.g., pain).

Sensation

The process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from the environment.