Deck 16: Rating Scales and Checklists

Question 1

A checklist is a relatively simple, highly cost-effective, and fairly reliable method of describing or evaluating a person.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The reliabilities of checklists are generally lower than those of interviews.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One of the most frequently cited of all problem checklists is the Child Behavior Checklist.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

One of the most popular of all problem checklists is the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R).

Question 5

The reliabilities of rating scales are generally higher than those of checklists.

Question 6

Rating scales are usually viewed as less precise than personality inventories and more superficial than projective techniques.

Question 7

Standard rating scales and checklists for assessing behavioral changes in mentally retarded, autistic, emotionally disturbed, and other special children are commercially available.

Question 8

On a semantic differential, the respondent places a set of descriptive statements into a series of piles ranging from "most characteristics" to "least characteristic" on himself (herself) or an acquaintance.

Question 9

Behaviorally-anchored scales are related to Flanagan's critical incidents techniques.

Question 10

Changes in real self and ideal self resulting from psychotherapy have been assessed by means of Q-sorts.

Question 11

Q-sorts have been used in evaluating the effectiveness of counseling and psychotherapy.

Question 12

The results of the Rep Test are interpreted in terms of the respondent's system of personal constructs.

Question 13

Of particular concern in scoring checklists is the __________ response set.

A) acquiescence
B) frequency
C) oppositional
D) social desirability

Question 14

Two standardized checklists that are described at length in this chapter are the

A) Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Behavior Problem Checklist.
B) Adjective Check List and Multiple Affect Adjective Check List.
C) Personal Experiences Checklists and the Role Construct Repertory Checklist.
D) Personal History Checklists and Personal Problems Checklists.

Question 15

Probably the simplest type of personality assessment device to construct is a

A) forced-choice rating scale.
B) personality inventory.
C) problem checklist.
D) projective technique.

Question 16

The 15 "need scales" of the __________ are based on Henry Murray's need -press theory of personality.

A) Adjective Check List
B) Mooney Problem Check List
C) STS Junior Inventory
D) STS Youth Inventory

Question 17

How many comparisons must be made in order to rank ten people from highest to lowest on a given characteristic?

A) 15
B) 25
C) 35
D) 45

Question 18

Rating scales were first used for research purposes by

A) J. M. Cattell.
B) Francis Galton.
C) Carl Jung.
D) E. L. Thorndike.

Question 19

Which of the following strategies used in selecting items for rating scales relies on empirical research findings based on correlational and factor-analytic methods?

A) criterion-groups
B) internal consistency
C) rational
D) statistical

Question 20

Responses on a seven-category bipolar rating scale are scored

A) 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
B) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
C) -2, -11/2, -1, 0, 1, 11/2, 2.
D) -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3.

Question 21

Rating a young woman "high" in "motivation" simply because she is "high" in "intelligence," "attractiveness," and "sociability" is an example of the

A) acquiescence response set.
B) central-tendency error.
C) halo effect.
D) leniency error.

Question 22

Which of the following types of rating scale is designed specifically to evaluate the intensity of a subjective experience such as pain?

A) behavioral expectation
B) behavioral observation
C) person-to-person
D) semantic differential
E) visual analogue

Question 23

Which of the following types of rating scale is the most popular?

A) forced-choice
B) graphic
C) man-to-man
D) numerical

Question 24

The semantic differential is a type of __________ rating scale.

A) behaviorally-anchored
B) forced-choice
C) graphic
D) numerical

Question 25

A useful technique for investigating the connotative meanings that different concepts have for people is the __________ technique.

A) Q-sort
B) role-construct repertory
C) semantic differential
D) sociometric

Question 26

An item consisting of four descriptions or statements, two of which represent desirable characteristics and two undesirable characteristics, would most likely appear on a __________rating scale.

A) forced-choice
B) graphic
C) man-to-man
D) numerical

Question 27

On one of the most popular types of rating scales, a __________ scale, the rater makes an "X" or check mark on a line containing descriptive terms or phrases pertaining to a certain characteristic or trait.

A) behaviorally-anchored
B) graphic
C) numerical
D) semantic differential
E) standard

Question 28

Which of the following types of rating scales is based on the critical incidents technique?

A) behaviorally-anchored rating scale
B) forced-choice rating scale
C) numerical rating scale
D) semantic differential scale
E) standard rating scale

Question 29

The type of rating scale that is least susceptible to the effects of response sets and other errors in rating, such as the halo effect and the leniency error, is the __________ rating scale.

A) forced-choice
B) graphic
C) man-to-man
D) standard

Question 30

Which of the following types of rating scales is most effective in controlling for constant errors, the halo effect, contrast errors, and the proximity error?

A) behaviorally-anchored scale
B) forced-choice scale
C) graphic scale
D) semantic differential scale
E) standard scale

Question 31

Which of the following is an example of a constant error in rating?

A) contrast error
B) leniency error
C) logical error
D) proximity error

Question 32

Rating according to general impressions rather than specific traits is known as the

A) central-tendency error.
B) halo effect.
C) leniency error.
D) response bias.

Question 33

Q-sorts have been used most extensively in studies of

A) attitudes and prejudices toward minority groups.
B) changes in self-concept resulting from psychotherapy.
C) connotative meanings of different concepts.
D) group structure and morale.

Question 34

"Stars, isolates, and cliques" are terms used to describe features of

A) behavior analysis.
B) semantic differentials.
C) sociograms.
D) Q-sorts.

Question 35

Which of the following techniques has been used in evaluating real -self and ideal-self changes as a result of psychological counseling?

A) critical incidents
B) forced-choice
C) Q-sort
D) role-construct repertory
E) semantic differential

Question 36

Describe at least five different kinds of rating scales, their uses, and their susceptibility to errors in rating.

Question 37

Compare rating scales with checklists in terms of (a) efficiency of construction, (b) information provided, (c) variables assessed, (d) reliability and validity.

Question 38

Describe the process of scoring checklists and rating scales.

Question 39

How reliable are rating scales and checklists? Describe some of the methods used in determining the reliability of these instruments.

Question 40

List and describe at least four applications of checklists and rating scales and the contexts in which they are administered.

Question 41

Distinguish between the rational (deductive), internal consistency (inductive), and criterion-groups strategies of conducting rating scales.

Question 42

Describe the different kinds of errors that occur in ratings, and what can be done to control for them.