From scientific management to human relations movement, from cottage industries to craft guilds, from the industrial age to the informational society, the issues that have dominated the field of Industrial, Work and Organizational (IWO) Psychology have changed over the years. In the 21st century, IWO Psychology is becoming a global science and an arena for professional practice. In editing these two volumes, our objectives were (1) to cover recent research on work and organizational psychology by leading experts around the globe and (2) to develop a psychology of work principles that are applicable across international boundaries. Volume 1 primarily focuses on individuals in organizations and covers personnel psychology issues.

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Handbook of Industrial, Work & Organizational Psychology

Item response theory (IRT) and related latent variable models represent modern psychometric theory, the successor to classical test theory in psychological assessment. Although IRT has become prevalent in the measurement of ability and achievement, its contributions to clinical domains have been less extensive. Applications of IRT to clinical assessment are reviewed to appraise its current and potential value. Benefits of IRT include comprehensive analyses and reduction of measurement error, creation of computer adaptive tests, meaningful scaling of latent variables, objective calibration and equating, evaluation of test and item bias, greater accuracy in the assessment of change due to therapeutic intervention, and evaluation of model and person fit. The theory may soon reinvent the manner in which tests are selected, developed, and scored. Although challenges remain to the widespread implementation of IRT, its application to clinical assessment holds great promise. Recommendations for research, test development, and clinical practice are provided.

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The Value of Item Response Theory in Clinical Assessment: A Review

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights some foundational and statistical issues involved in validity theory and validation practice It discusses several foundational issues focusing on several observations about the current state of affairs in validity theory and practice, introducing a new framework for considering the bounds and limitations of the measurement inferences It also discusses the distinction between measures and indices The chapter deals with two statistical methods—variable ordering and latent variable regression—and introduces a methodology for variable-ordering in latent variable regression models in validity research Measurement or test score validation is an ongoing process wherein an evidence to support the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the speciﬁc inferences made from scores about individuals from a given sample and in a given context is provided The concept, method, and processes of validation are central to constructing and evaluating measures used in the social, behavioral, health, and human sciences because without validation any inferences made from a measure are potentially meaningless, inappropriate, and of limited usefulness

3 Validity: Foundational Issues and Statistical Methodology

The authors compared the fit of the 2- and 3-parameter logistic models (2PLM; 3PLM) on 15 unidimensional factor scales derived from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--Adolescent item pool. Log-likelihood chi-square deviance tests indicated that a 3PLM provided an improved fit. However, residual statistics indicated that the difference in fit between the 2 models was negligible. An unexpected finding was that from 10% to 30% of the items had substantial lower asymptote parameters (c > or = .10) when the scales were scored in the pathology or nonpathology directions. The authors argue that the large lower asymptote parameters are attributable to item-content ambiguity possibly caused by item-level multidimensionality. These findings suggest that the direction of scoring can critically affect an item response theory analysis.

How many IRT parameters does it take to model psychopathology items

The present study investigated potentially biased scale items on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D). The 20-item CES-D was scored using two binary methods (presence and persistence) and one ordinal method. Gender differential item functioning (DIF) was explored using Zumbo’s OLR method with corresponding logistic regression effect size estimator with all three scoring methods. Gender DIF was found with the CES-D item “crying” for the ordinal and presence methods of scoring. The persistence scoring method identified two DIF items (effort and hopeful); however, this scoring method appears to be of limited use due to low variability on some items. Overall, the results indicate that the scoring method has an effect on DIF; thus, DIF is a property of the item, scoring method, and purpose of the instrument.

Differential Item Functioning Results May Change Depending On How An Item Is Scored: An Illustration With The Center For Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale:

Roskam conjectured in 1985 that a general interpretation can be made for the a-parameter (slope) in an item response theory (IRT) analysis of personality inventories. That is, Roskam suggested that steeper slopes (and hence higher item-total correlations in classical test theory) will be found with more concretely worded items, whereas lower slopes will be found with more abstractly worded items. The authors tested this conjecture using item-total correlations and both two- and three-parameter IRT models with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and were unable to support Roskam's proposed interpretation.

Jackie E. Watson

Papers

An Empirical Test of Roskam's Conjecture about the Interpretation of an ICC Parameter in Personality Inventories