QUESTION #1:
Why the Interstrength Cognitive Assessment (ICA)
is presently a Class A psychological instrument:
RESPONSE #1:
Some people might wonder whether human subject
approval is required to administer and return
results of the ICA. In recent years, the insistance
of human subject approval has reached the point
where virtually all psychological research, even
trivial in nature, requires approval. Nonetheless,
there are specific criteria.
The ICA in its beta-form has the following
characteristics, which taken together excuse it
from Class B status:
1. The instrument assesses cognition, not
psychopathology. No *clinical* results are reported
to the participant.
2. The assessment reports multiple results rather
than 1 result. Specifically, it reports 3 "types"
out of 16 and offers the user to browse all 16 types
rather than reporting one "type".
3. The report is designed to be a "self-discovery"
process: there are several pages of text before and
after specific results are given.
4. The administrator is available for questions and
comments.
5. The assessment requests and provides space for
comments and is clearly intended as prelimiary
"research" instrument with results that are not yet
reliable.
6. The assessment is voluntary. A person may opt out
of the process at any time.
7. The two academic journals to which the results may
be submitted do not require human subject approval for
this kind of assessment.
QUESTION#2:
Isn't the assessment designed improperly do the
"double barrel" items?
RESPONSE#2:
The assessment items are fine as they are for several
reasons:
1. It is true that some items contain "and" conjections.
However, "and" logically means "both conditions
must be true." There is no confusion except if a reader
mistakenly believes that "and" means "or." Even if a
reader is mistaken, the Likert-scale format allows the
reader to indicate a partially true fit.
The ALIGNITGROUP research website mentioned says:
"For example, When was the last time you upgraded the memory and storage
on your system? This is a double-barrel question. If you were a potential
respondent, you wouldnt know how to answer the question."
Actually, I know exactly how to answer this question. Is it
asking if I upgraded both.
2. The ALIGNITGROUP website example is also not relevant to
this assessment. Survey questions need to be simple and clear when
they ask specific information such as "how many children do you have?"
However,
psychological assessments, including cognitive ones, do not need
to be clear and logical, because clarity and logic are personal values
or characteristics of the assessment-taker. Instead, the ICA needs
to be "psychologically appealing." Many instruments including the
highly-accepted MMPI are designed this way. The items are irrelevant;
what matters is whether people respond to the items in a way that leads
to an accurate assessment. This is necessary because most people (as
cognitive studies have shown) are neither logical nor consistent. Items
must speak to them on a psychological level.
3. It is true that we might not know which part of an
item a person relates to if there is an "and" conjection
present. However, this is irrelevant. Statistical
analysis will reveal items that do not work well, and
sufficient knowledge of the theory, experience, and linguistics
(which I have) allows the items to be improved.