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Effects of perceived sophistication and test validity on acceptance of generalized feedback
Author(s) -
Diclementi Jeannie D.,
Handelsman Mitchell M.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(198705)43:3<341::aid-jclp2270430307>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - sophistication , psychology , test (biology) , social psychology , interpretation (philosophy) , test validity , personality , personality psychology , criterion validity , psychometrics , psychological testing , developmental psychology , construct validity , clinical psychology , paleontology , social science , sociology , computer science , biology , programming language
Forty‐eight undergraduate females completed a psychological test after they had received instructions that concerned the validity of the test and their sophistication as test takers. Subjects were told that the test was either valuable or worthless in assessing personalities. Subjects also were told that they were either experienced or naive with regard to tests and psychology. Subjects received identical Barnum interpretations, which they rated for accuracy. While the high sophistication subjects rated the interpretation as accurate across validity conditions, the low sophistication subjects rated the interpretation according to the validity instructions they received. These results run counter to previous assertions that validity and sophistication have little or no effect on acceptance of generalized personality feedback.