TY - JOUR
T1 - Computerized adaptive personality assessment
T2 - an illustration with the Absorption scale.
AU - Waller, N. G.
AU - Reise, S. P.
PY - 1989/12
Y1 - 1989/12
N2 - This article introduces the theory behind and applications of adaptive personality assessment based on the item response theory. Two adaptive testing strategies were compared: (a) fixed test length and (b) clinical decision. Real-data simulations, based on the item responses from 1,000 subjects who had previously taken the 34-item Absorption scale (Tellegen, 1982) by means of paper-and-pencil format, were used to illustrate these strategies. Results suggest that computerized adaptive personality assessment works impressively well. With the fixed-test-length strategy, a 50% savings in administered items was achieved with little loss of measurement precision. In the clinical-decision testing strategy, individuals who were extreme on the Absorption trait were identified with perfect accuracy using, on average, 25% of the available items. The implications of these results for personality research and assessment are discussed.
AB - This article introduces the theory behind and applications of adaptive personality assessment based on the item response theory. Two adaptive testing strategies were compared: (a) fixed test length and (b) clinical decision. Real-data simulations, based on the item responses from 1,000 subjects who had previously taken the 34-item Absorption scale (Tellegen, 1982) by means of paper-and-pencil format, were used to illustrate these strategies. Results suggest that computerized adaptive personality assessment works impressively well. With the fixed-test-length strategy, a 50% savings in administered items was achieved with little loss of measurement precision. In the clinical-decision testing strategy, individuals who were extreme on the Absorption trait were identified with perfect accuracy using, on average, 25% of the available items. The implications of these results for personality research and assessment are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1051
DO - 10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1051
M3 - Article
C2 - 2614658
AN - SCOPUS:0024823553
SN - 0022-3514
VL - 57
SP - 1051
EP - 1058
JO - Journal of personality and social psychology
JF - Journal of personality and social psychology
IS - 6
ER -