{"title":"The Impact of Different Methods to Correct for Response Styles on the External Validity of Self-Reports","authors":"A. Scharl, Timo Gnambs","doi":"10.1027/1015-5759/a000731","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Response styles (RSs) such as acquiescence represent systematic respondent behaviors in self-report questionnaires beyond the actual item content. They distort trait estimates and contribute to measurement bias in questionnaire-based research. Although various approaches were proposed to correct the influence of RSs, little is known about their relative performance. Because different correction methods formalize the latent traits differently, it is unclear how model choice affects the external validity of the corrected measures. Therefore, the present study on N = 1,000 Dutch respondents investigated the impact of correcting responses to measures of self-esteem and the need for cognition using structural equation models with structured residuals, multidimensional generalized partial credit models, and multinomial processing trees. The study considered three RSs: extreme, midpoint, and acquiescence RS. The results showed homogeneous correlation patterns among the modeled latent and external variables, especially if they were not themselves subject to RSs. In that case, the IRT-based models, including an uncorrected model, still yielded consistent results. Nevertheless, the strength of the effect sizes showed variation.","PeriodicalId":48018,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Psychological Assessment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Journal of Psychological Assessment","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000731","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract. Response styles (RSs) such as acquiescence represent systematic respondent behaviors in self-report questionnaires beyond the actual item content. They distort trait estimates and contribute to measurement bias in questionnaire-based research. Although various approaches were proposed to correct the influence of RSs, little is known about their relative performance. Because different correction methods formalize the latent traits differently, it is unclear how model choice affects the external validity of the corrected measures. Therefore, the present study on N = 1,000 Dutch respondents investigated the impact of correcting responses to measures of self-esteem and the need for cognition using structural equation models with structured residuals, multidimensional generalized partial credit models, and multinomial processing trees. The study considered three RSs: extreme, midpoint, and acquiescence RS. The results showed homogeneous correlation patterns among the modeled latent and external variables, especially if they were not themselves subject to RSs. In that case, the IRT-based models, including an uncorrected model, still yielded consistent results. Nevertheless, the strength of the effect sizes showed variation.
期刊介绍:
The main purpose of the EJPA is to present important articles which provide seminal information on both theoretical and applied developments in this field. Articles reporting the construction of new measures or an advancement of an existing measure are given priority. The journal is directed to practitioners as well as to academicians: The conviction of its editors is that the discipline of psychological assessment should, necessarily and firmly, be attached to the roots of psychological science, while going deeply into all the consequences of its applied, practice-oriented development.