Resumen Se presenta el proceso de construcción de una escala para medir la faceta De-presión según el Modelo de los Cinco Factores. Se realizó una revisión de las definiciones teóricas y operacionales de autores relevantes de este modelo. Luego se elaboraron 15 ítems iniciales, 3 de los cuales fueron eliminados por jueces expertos. Los ítems conservados se administraron a 1222 adultos de población general residentes en el área metropolitana de Buenos Aires, Argentina (50.8 % mujeres, edad media = 33.2 años y DE = 11.8 años). Se seleccionó aleatoriamente un 35% de casos para depurar el instrumento con un análisis factorial exploratorio. El 65% restante se utilizó para corroborar la estructura interna con un análisis factorial confirmatorio y para ajustar el Modelo de Respuesta Graduada de la Teoria de Respuesta al Ítem. Los resultados muestran que los 10 ítems de la versión definitiva conforman una estructura unidimensional con adecuada consistencia interna. Se aportan evidencias de validez concurrente con EPQ-RA y SCL-90-R. La Función de Información revela que la escala mide con precisión elevada y constante en un rango extenso del rasgo. Se concluye que la escala permite valorar de manera satisfactoria las diferencias individuales en la tendencia a experimentar afectos depresivos.

Abstract The process of constructing a scale to measure the Depression facet, according to the Five Factors Model, is presented. A review of the theoretical and operational definitions of relevant authors of this model was carried out. Then, 15 initial items were elaborated, 3 of which were eliminated by expert judges. The retained items were administered to 1222 adults of the general population residing in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, Argentina (50.8% women, mean age = 33.2 years and SD = 11.8 years). A random selection of 35% of cases was made to reduce the instrument with an Exploratory Factor Analysis. The remaining 65% was used to corroborate the internal structure with a Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and to fit the Graded Response Model of the Item Response Theory. The results show that the 10 items of the final version form a one-dimensional structure with adequate internal consistency. Evidence of concurrent validity is provided with EPQ-RA and SCL-90-R. The Test Information Function reveals that the scale measures with constant high reliability over a wide range of the trait. It is concluded that the scale allows a satisfactory assessment of individual differences in the tendency to experience depressive effects.

Abstract This study seeks to update Argentine psychometric studies. A Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) was developed from a Verbal Analogies Item Bank (IB); it was programmed with FastTEST Pro version 2.0. A sample of 108 undergraduate students was assessed. Results were compared according to three different CAT termination criteria (fixed length of 32 items, variable length when reaching an estimation error of less than or equal to .40 and to .30). Significantly high correlations were obtained (r > .90; p < .001) between the level of trait estimated from the BI and each of the three CAT variants. Given the BI characteristics, the fixed-length of 32 items for the CAT presented the optimal balance between precision and length.

Résumé Ce travail cherche à actualiser les études psychométriques en Argentine. Un Test Adaptatif Informatisé (TAI) a été développé à partir d’une Banque d’Items (BI) d’Analogies Verbales et a été programé en FastTEST Pro version 2.0. On a travaillé avec une échantillon de 108 étudiants universitaires. On a comparé les résultats obtenus à partir de trois critères d’arrêt du TAI (longitude fixe de 32 items, longitude variable au moment d’atteindre un erreur de .40 et de .30). Les trois variantes ont obtenu des corrélations significativement élevées (r > .90; p < .001) avec le niveau de trait à partir de la BI. Vu les caractéristiques de la BI, le TAI de longitude fixe de 32 items a présenté le bilan optimal entre précision et longitude.

Resumen Este trabajo busca actualizar los estudios psicométricos en la Argentina. Se desarrolló un Test Adaptativo Informatizado (TAI) a partir de un Banco de Ítems (BI) de Analogías Verbales y se programó con FastTEST Pro versión 2.0. Se contó con una muestra de 108 estudiantes universitarios. Se compararon los resultados obtenidos a partir de tres criterios de finalización distintos del TAI (longitud fija de 32 ítems, longitud variable al alcanzar un error de .40 y un error de .30). Las tres variantes obtuvieron correlaciones significativamente altas (r > .90; p < .001) con el nivel de rasgo estimado a partir del BI. El TAI de longitud fija de 32 ítems presentó el balance óptimo entre precisión y longitud dadas las características del BI.

Resumo Este trabalho busca atualizar os estudos psicométricos na Argentina. Um Teste Adaptativo Informatizado (TAI) foi desenvolvido a partir de um Banco de Itens (BI) de Analogias Verbais e programado com FastTEST Pro versão 2.0. Participaram da pesquisa 108 estudantes universitários. Os resultados obtidos foram comparados a partir de três critérios de parada diferentes do TAI (comprimento fixo de 32 itens, comprimento variável quando atingiu um erro de 0,40 e um erro de 0,30). As três variantes obtiveram correlações significativamente altas (r > .90; p < .001) com o nível de habilidade estimado a partir de BI. O TAI de comprimento fixo de 32 itens apresentou o equilíbrio ideal entre precisão e comprimento, dadas as características do BI.

Resumen Se aplicó el Modelo de Crédito Parcial (MCP) de la Teoría de Respuesta al Ítem al análisis de ítems de la adaptación española escala Distorsión del Big Five Questionnaire. Esta escala evalúa la tendencia de los individuos a ofrecer un perfil distorsionado. Participaron 1592 adultos de población general (55% sexo femenino). El análisis de los datos se realizó con Winsteps. El ajuste del MCP fue adecuado para todos los ítems; no obstante, un porcentaje considerable de evaluados no presentó un patrón de respuestas acorde a las expectativas del modelo. Cinco ítems presentaron inversiones en el orden esperable para los valores estimados de parámetros de umbral. Los resultados revelaron las debilidades que presenta la escala y orientan sobre posibles modificaciones futuras.

Abstract The Partial Credit Model (PCM) of the Item Response Theory was applied to the Spanish Lie Scale adaptation of the Big Five Questionnaire. The scale measures individuals’ tendency to provide a distorted profile. The sample comprised 1592 adults from the general population (55% females). All analyses were performed by means of Winsteps software. The PCM exhibited satisfactory goodness-of-fit for all items. However, a considerable proportion of respondents had incongruent response patterns which were not in agreement with the model’s expectations. Five items presented inversions in the order expected for the estimated values of threshold parameters. These findings show the scale weaknesses and yield useful information to guide possible changes in future research.

Abstract: The way that individuals solve syllogisms is an important topic of deductive reasoning studies. Item response theory permits to select items that maximize information for estimating accurately ability levels. In this work, the two-parameter logistic model was applied to obtain the information functions of categorical syllogisms in order to select the subset that maximized them. A test of 26 syllogisms was administered to 405 students of psychology. BILOG-MG program was run iteratively by applying the two parameter logistic model. The test information function was examined at each iteration, and items with low discrimination were excluded. The process ended when the information function reached the maximum. Six syllogisms were kept that gave their greatest information at the 1.123 difficulty level, which is a medium-high level. The maximum test information was 7.594 and its reliability was 0.744, which may be considered good taking into account the small size of the subset. Every syllogism had valid conclusion. The method allowed finding a core of syllogisms without losing information that might constitute a short test keeping accuracy when estimating ability. It is useful to have a statistical criterion to select items for a briefed test and, thus, avoid the fatigue.

Resumen: El modo en que los sujetos resuelven silogismos es interesante en el estudio del razonamiento deductivo. La teoría de respuesta al ítem permite seleccionar ítems que maximicen la información para estimar con precisión los niveles de habilidad. En este trabajo se aplicó el modelo logístico de dos parámetros para obtener las funciones de información de silogismos categóricos y seleccionar el grupo de los que la maximizaban. Se administraron 26 silogismos a 405 estudiantes de psicología. Con el programa BILOG-MG se realizaron sucesivas corridas del modelo. En cada iteración se examinaba la función de información y se eliminaban los ítems de baja discriminación, culminando al encontrar un subconjunto cuya función de información alcanzó el máximo. Quedaron seis silogismos dando mayor información en el nivel de dificultad 1,123; esto es, de dificultad medianamente elevada. La información máxima fue 7,594. La confiabilidad del conjunto fue 0,744, buena atendiendo la breve longitud del conjunto. Todos los silogismos fueron de conclusión válida. El método permitió hallar un núcleo de silogismos que podrían constituir una prueba abreviada sin perder información; es decir, manteniendo la precisión al estimar la habilidad. Es útil contar con un criterio estadístico para reducir una prueba y evitar la fatiga.

El razonamiento silogístico es parte importante del razonamiento deductivo. El análisis de las fuentes de error en la resolución de silogismos originó, dentro de la psicología cognitiva, explicaciones como el efecto atmósfera, el sesgo de la figura y la conversión ilícita. En este trabajo se ajustó el modelo LLTM de Fischer para identificar componentes de dificultad de silogismos y estimar sus efectos. Se administraron 46 ítems con un diseño de enlace a tres grupos, con un total de 1074 estudiantes universitarios. Para cada par de premisas se debía escoger un esquema de conclusión y completarlo con los términos extremos o reconocer la falta de conclusión válida. El modelo de Rasch se ajustó sobre un subconjunto de 20 silogismos y se aplicó el modelo LLTM de Fischer. Se identificaron, aumentando la dificultad, cuatro componentes: efecto atmósfera y sesgo de figura (cuando éstos están en dirección contraria a la conclusión o no hay conclusión válida), figura II y figura III. El carácter reversible de la conclusión (modos universal negativo y particular afirmativo) y la falta de conclusión válida fueron componentes facilitadores. La correlación entre las estimaciones de los parámetros de dificultad bajo el modelo de Rasch y el LLTM fue 0,96.

Syllogistic reasoning is an important part of deductive reasoning. In cognitive psychology, the analysis of error sources in solving syllogisms produced explanations such as the atmosphere effect, figure bias and wrong conversion. The Fischer Linear Logistic Test Model (LLTM) was fitted on a set of syllogisms in order to identify their difficulty components and estimate their effects. Forty six items were administered with a link design to three groups of 1074 university students. The task consisted in choosing, for each pair of premises, one conclusion scheme and complete it with the suitable terms, if a valid conclusion existed; otherwise, examinees had to select the option of no valid conclusion. The Rasch model was fitted to a subset of 20 syllogisms on which Fischer's LLTM was applied. Four components were identified that increase syllogistic difficulty: atmosphere effect, figure bias (when they follow the opposite direction of the conclusion or when there is no valid conclusion), figure II and figure III. Two components were found that make the task easier: reversibility of conclusion (universal negative and particular affirmative modes) and lack of valid conclusion. Linear correlation between the estimates of difficulty parameters obtained with Rasch and LLTM models was .96.

This study aims to present the findings obtained from the application of an Item ResponseTheory model (IRT) to the reactive of a Will-to-Work Measuring Test (WW). WW is defined as the individuals' tendency to generate efficient volatile processes that allow them to commit themselves to starting a task and to persisting in its execution by overcoming obstacles until they achieve its materialization with precision and without procrastination. WW is a personality trait that describes the predisposition of an individual to assume duties in a responsible, self-motivated and prompt manner even when such duties may be unappealing. The scale measuring the WW comprises 9 items in polychromous response format (four-point rating scale), with the response options graded. Accordingly, one of the IRT most widely used models was applied for the monetization of ordered polychromous responses: Samejima's Graded Response Model (GRM). The GRM is a generalization of the Two Parameter Logistic Model of Birnbaum. In GRM, a person's probability of responding in category j to a specific item i, Pij(θ), is obtained by subtracting the probability of responding in or below category j-1 from the probability of responding in or below category j.Through the Item Response Category Curves, the GRM allows for the representation of an individual's likelihood to choose each of the item categories based on the level of the latent trait measured. The data from this psychometric test was obtained from a sample of 1,141 university students. The one-dimensional assumption required by the GRM was corroborated through an exploratory analysis of the data factor structure. The local independence assumption was considered to be satisfied after proving the scale one-dimensionality. All analyses based on the IRT were performed by operating the MULTILOG software program. The GRM parameters estimation was carried out through marginal maximum likelihood procedures. A discrimination parameter (a) and three location parameters (b1, b2 and b3) corresponding to thresholds separating the 4 response categories were estimated for each item. The model's goodness-of-fit was studied on an item basis by examining the residue of observed and expected proportions for each of the ordered response categories. The residue obtained was the same as or lower than .01, which led to the conclusion that the model adjustment to the data was satisfactory for all reactive. Despite this, one of the items showed inappropriate behavior. The value of its location parameters turned out to be very different from the expected one and showed high estimation errors when compared against the values obtained for the rest of the items. Most of the location parameters showed midlow WW values and discrimination parameters showed mid-high values (0.73 - 1.73). The instrument's reliability was acceptable if we consider the.75 marginal reliability coefficient obtained from IRT. However, local accuracy measures showed that the test is less reliable when measuring the WW highest levels. In other words, the measure error increases as we attempt to discriminate strongly willful individuals. This means that the WW scale is useful to measure mid-low levels of WW, but less accurate when it comes to individuals whose trait level is higher. It is therefore concluded that it is necessary to raise the number of WW scale items to optimize the instrument quality. It is particularly important to identify construct indicators allowing for a more accurate detection of the highest trait levels. The shortage of the application of IRT models to personality tests as well as the difficulty that the achievement of their exigent assumptions were discussed. The findings showed the problems posed by the WW scale and allowed us to obtain useful information to guide the building of new items.

Se presentan los resultados obtenidos con la aplicación de un modelo de la Teoría de Respuesta al Ítem (TRI) a los reactivos de una prueba que mide la Voluntad de Trabajo (VT). La VT es un rasgo de la personalidad que describe la tendencia de un individuo a asumir sus obligaciones con responsabilidad, automotivación y sin dilaciones, aun cuando estas pudieran no ser de su agrado. La escala que mide la VT se compone de 9 ítemes con formato de respuesta ordenada de 4 valores. Se aplicó el Modelo de Respuesta Graduada (MRG) de Samejima a datos provenientes de la administración de la escala de VT a una muestra de 1.141 universitarios. Previamente se verificó la condición de unidimensionalidad de los ítemes, requerida por el MRG. El análisis de los datos se realizó operando el programa MULTILOG. La estimación de los parámetros de este modelo se efectuó por máxima verosimilitud marginal. Sólo uno de los ítemes mostró un comportamiento inadecuado. La mayoría de los parámetros de localización tendieron a ubicarse en niveles medios bajos de la escala. Los parámetros de discriminación adoptaron valores entre moderados y altos. La Función de Información del Test evidenció que la escala es más precisa para discriminar individuos con niveles medios-bajos del rasgo evaluado. Los resultados revelaron los problemas que presenta la escala de VT y permitieron obtener información útil para orientar la construcción de nuevos reactivos.

The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is a questionnaire that allows the assessment of behavioral problems and social competences of children and adolescents. Although it was developed on the basis of the classical approach of the Test Theory, recent investigations have revealed the usefulness of applying the Item Response Theory (IRT) to model the variables of CBCL. This paper revises the considerations made by the respective authors in order to meet the demands of the IRT models. The information provided by the Characteristic Curves of Items is described as well as the manner in which the analysis thereof might contribute to optimize the administration period of CBCL. Furthermore, the invariance of the measures obtained through transcultural adaptations of this questionnaire is analyzed and the results are summarized.

El Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) es un formulario que permite registrar problemas comportamentales y competencias sociales de niños y adolescentes. Si bien se construyó desde el enfoque clásico de la Teoría de los Test, investigaciones recientes mostraron la utilidad de aplicar la Teoría de Respuesta al Ítem (TRI) para modelizar las variables del CBCL. El desarrollo de este trabajo revisa las consideraciones que se vieron obligados a tomar los respectivos autores para cumplir con las exigencias de los modelos de la TRI. Se describe la información que brindan las Curvas Características de los Ítems y cómo su análisis podría contribuir para optimizar el tiempo de administración del CBCL. Asimismo, se sintetizan los resultados alcanzados en relación con el estudio de la invarianza de las medidas obtenidas a través de adaptaciones transculturales de este formulario.

The Will to Work (WW) describes the tendency by which a person devotes himself / herself to his / her duties with responsibility, self-motivation and accuracy. With a view to gathering evidence for the construct validity, an initial 12-item questionnaire to evaluate the WW was administered to 1,123 psychology students of the University of Buenos Aires. Through the classical item analysis, an unidimensional 10-item scale was obtained with a Cronbach's Alpha of .71. Positive correlations were found with the Perseverance and Dynamism subscales of the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ). The correlation with the former was moderate, whereas the correlation with the latter was lower. These findings allowed for a deeper study of the construct and served as evidence of its validity.

La Voluntad de Trabajo (VT) describe la tendencia por la cual una persona se aboca a sus obligaciones realizándolas con responsabilidad, automotivación y precisión. Con el objetivo de recabar evidencias acerca de la validez de constructo se administró un cuestionario inicial de 12 ítems que evalúan VT a 1,123 estudiantes de Psicología de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Mediante el análisis clásico de ítems se obtuvo una escala unidimensional de 10 ítems con un Alfa de Cronbach de .71. Se encontraron correlaciones positivas con las subescalas Perseverancia y Dinamismo del Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ). La correlación con la primera fue moderada y con la segunda fue de magnitud inferior. Estos resultados permitieron profundizar el estudio del constructo y aportaron evidencias para establecer su validez.

The objective of this work is to obtain the profile of students of Psychology regarding their Will-to-Work in order to enrich the discussion of teachers with respect to students responsibility. Will-to-Work is characterized as the tendency of an individual to discharge duties with responsibility, self motivation and without procrastination. An 8-item questionnaire type Likert (α = .685) was administered to 1,141 students of the second year of the Psychology School, University of Buenos Aires, who tended to score highly. The adults (aged 30 or more) scored over young people (aged 18 -29). Interaction between Gender and Work was found; the men who do not work scored lower. On the contrary, no differences were observed between women who do not work and women and men who work. Different explanations for these findings and the possible influence of both social desirability and the standards of exigency on the bias observed in the score distribution are discussed.

Se presenta el perfil de los estudiantes de psicología en Voluntad de Trabajo para enriquecer la discusión de los docentes con respecto a la responsabilidad de los alumnos. Por Voluntad de Trabajo se entiende la tendencia a asumir las obligaciones con responsabilidad, automotivación y sin dilaciones. La escala Voluntad de Trabajo consiste de 8 ítems Likert (α = .685) y se administró a 1,141 estudiantes de segundo año de Psicología, UBA, quienes tendieron a puntuar alto. Los adultos (30 años o más) presentaron una media mayor que los jóvenes (18 a 29 años). Se observó interacción Género x Trabajo; los varones que no trabajan puntúan más bajo, no habiendo diferencias entre mujeres que no trabajan y mujeres y varones que trabajan. Se ensayan distintas explicaciones para estos hallazgos y la posible influencia de la deseabilidad social y de los estándares de exigencia en el sesgo de los puntajes obtenidos.

One of the advantages of the Item Response Theory (IRT) compared to the Classical Test Theory is the possibility of building measurement instruments with properties independent to the subjects to be measured with them. Within IRT it is verified that the difficulty and discrimination item parameters remain invariant no matter which subject population is used. An item bank is a set of items which measure the same variable and whose parameters are calibrated, that is estimated, in a common scale. Whenever an item bank is available, administrations of adaptive tests become possible; this means the bank offers the possibility of choosing those items which assess each subject more accurately. Also, it allows designs of tests with pre-established characteristics according to the measurement objective. The application of the IRT is still incipient in Argentina and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) studies have not been known so far. The aim of this work is to show the development of a Bank of Verbal Reasoning Items according to the IRT. This theory, as well as its application to the elaboration of item banks, are here in presented. These items measure the ability to identify and discriminate relationships among words. Such ability is related to the ideative factor of the verbal comprehension, which is common to all tasks of deductive, serial and probabilistic reasoning, classification and problem solution. Therefore, it is one of the main factors to get the intellectual aptitude profile of students. Each item consists of a pair of basic words with some relationship existing between them and four alternative pairs of words. The instruction commands to choose the pair with the most similar relationship to the one existing between the words in the basic pair. The construction of this bank has involved an iterative process of invention-calibration of the items. In the invention stage, the items have been selected and improved through successive pilot trials. In the selection processes, some classical statistics procedures were considered such as the question evaluation index. The calibration stage has been developed in two main phases: the initial phase and the current one. In the initial phase the calibration was done with samples from different student populations. Although some of them had responded different item sets, the calibration was done in a simultaneous running of the program BILOG-MG TM in order to obtain the estimates in a common scale. The assumption of unidimensionality was checked through a scree plot implemented by MicroFACT TM. The current phase consists of adding new items to the bank until it has a substantial number of them. Before calibration, DIF analysis have been done in both phases. Taking into account the different subjects of the corresponding samples, it is necessary to manage the items together with a small group of already calibrated ones. These items serve as a link so that the parameter estimates of the new items result in the same scale as the one of the rest of the bank. Link items have been chosen with difficulty parameters representing different levels of ability and high discrimination parameters. DIF analysis have been based on the normal test of the difference between the difficulty parameters, which has been obtained from BILOG-MG TM. This software as well as XCALIBRE TM have been used to calibrate the items by fitting the three-parameter logistic model. Stout's test of essential unidimensionality analysis has been done by using DIMTEST. After removing those items which present DIF or where the model does not fit, 93 items have been remained for the bank.

El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar el desarrollo de un banco de ítem de razonamiento verbal a partir de la Teoría de Respuesta al Item (TRI). Se presenta la TRI y su aplicación en la elaboración de bancos de ítem que posibilitan el diseño de tests adaptativos. Los ítem son de elección múltiple y miden la habilidad para reconocer y discriminar relaciones entre palabras. Un banco de ítem es un conjunto de ítem que miden una misma variable y cuyos parámetros están calibrados (estimados) en una misma escala. La construcción de un banco es un proceso de creación-calibración de ítem que se realiza en sucesivas etapas. Como los sujetos de las muestras son diferentes en cada etapa, los ítem a calibrar deben ser administrados junto con un pequeño grupo de ítem calibrados en etapas anteriores, los cuales sirven de enlace para que todas las estimaciones resulten en la misma escala. La estimación de los parámetros se lleva a cabo por el método de máxima verosimilitud marginal ajustando el modelo logístico de tres parámetros con el programa XCALIBRE TM. Los análisis del funcionamiento diferencial (Differential Item Functioning - DIF) se basan en el test normal para la diferencia de los parámetros de dificultad, dicha diferencia con sus errores estándar para cada ítem es proporcionada por BILOG-MG TM. Se eliminan aquellos que no ajustan al modelo y los que presentan DIF. El banco cuenta hasta el momento con 93 ítem.