PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH PROGRESS
HISPANIC PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services.
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PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH PROGRESS
HISPANIC PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
VICTOR L. ROJAS AND
MARIA J. RUIZ EDITORS
Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York
Copyright © 2011 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers‘ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Any parts of this book based on government reports are so indicated and copyright is claimed for those parts to the extent applicable to compilations of such works. Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS. Additional color graphics may be available in the e-book version of this book. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Hispanic psychology in the 21st century / editors, Victor L. Rojas and Maria J. Ruiz. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61122-206-7 (eBook) 1. Psychology--Latin America. I. Rojas, Victor L. II. Ruiz, Maria J. BF108.L29H57 2010 155.8'468073--dc22 2010047001
New York
CONTENTS Preface Introduction Treatment of Young Adults With Generalized Social Phobia José Olivares, Ana Isabel,Rosa-Alcázar, Pablo José Olivares-Olivares and Ángel Rosa-Alcázar Social Anxiety Assessment Through Self-Report and Automatic Processing of Emotional Information María Isolde Hedlefs Aguilar, Ernesto Octavio López Ramírez and César Jesús Antona Casas Contingency Contrast in Matching to Sample with University Students Isaac Camacho, Mario Serrano and Claudio Carpio
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Meaning of Life for Mexican University Students with a High Academic Performance in a Private University María de Lourdes Francke Ramm and Rodolfo Bello Nachón
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Psychological Meaning of Values in Students From a University of Veracruz, Mexico Teresa de Jesús Mazadiego Infante and Socorro Mazadiego Infante
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Profile of Vocational Certainty in Public and Private Universities: Personal and Social Variables Daniel González Lomelí and Delisahé Velarde Hernández
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Approaches to Learning Demostrated By Psychology and Accounting and Business Management Students Jesús Enrique Esquivel Cruz, Ma. Concepción Rodríguez Nieto and Víctor Manuel Padilla Montemayor Psychology Students Who Fail Cirilo H. García, Jaime Montalvo and Karina Castro
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Assessment of Reliability of Inventory on Learning Styles and Motivational Orientation (EDAOM) Zaira Vega Valero, Eduardo Peñalosa Castro, Patricia Landa Durán and Carlos Nava Quiroz Effect of Age And Type of School on MMPI-A Scores in a 13-18 Year Old Mexican Adolescent Sample Emilia Lucio, Quetzalcoatl Hernandez-Cervantes, Consuelo Duran and James N. Butcher Risk Sexual Behavior Predictors in High School Students J. Isaac Uribe Alvarado, Patricia Andrade Palos and Ximena Zacarías Salinas Preliminary Construct Validation Study of the Reasons for Discipline and Strategies to Sustain Discipline Scales in Spanish Physical Education Juan Antonio Moreno Murcia, Eduardo Cervelló Gimeno, Celestina Martínez Galindo and Luis Miguel Ruiz Pérez Cooperation and Cohesion in Football Teams in Competition A. Garcia-Mas, A. Olmedilla, E. Ortega, P. Almeida; J. Lameira, C. Sousa and J. Cruz Burnout of Public Schools Teachears in San Nicolás De Los Garza, Nuevo León, México Laura K. Castro, Karla Rodríguez and Cirilo H. García Effects of Couple Therapy on Dysfunctional Family Structure Jaime Montalvo Reyna, Carlos García Mondragón, Israel Velasco Jiménez, Maria Rosario Espinosa Salcido and C. Susana González Montoya Homes and Families: A Preliminary Perspective from Environmental Psychology Jose Gomez Herrera Correlation Between Perception of Family Support and Personality Trait in an University Sample Makilim Nunes Baptista, Thelma Margarida de Moraes dos Santos, Gisele Aparecida da Silva Alves and Mayra Silva de Souza Social Representation of Matrimony in Married Couples in Nuevo León (Mexico) José Moral de la Rubia Model for Hiv/Aids Prevention by Forming Psychosocial Competencies Ariel César Núñez Rojas, Sergio Tobón, Diana Arias Henao and Stefano Vinaccia Stress-Related Situations as Predictors of Adherence-to-Medication Behavior Among Women with Type 2 Diabetes Julio Alfonso Piña López and Angélica Magali Torres Plancarte
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Contents Respiratory Habits, Health and Lifestyle Miguel López Torres Path Analysis Models Versus Latent Variable Models: Examples from Educational and Health Approaches María Noel Rodríguez Ayán, Mónica Teresa González Ramirez, Miguel Ángel Ruiz Díaz Relevant Factors for Objectives Effectiveness Accomplishment in Compensation Payments: The Use of Bonuses as a Payment for Performance Sergio Manuel Madero Gómez and Amaia Arizkuren Eleta Analysis of the Correspondence between Reporting and Doing in a Task of Matching to Sample Hortensia Hickman, Diana Moreno, Olivia Tena, Patricia Plancarte, Rosalinda Arroyo and María Luisa Cepeda Socio-Cognitive Basis of Positive Bias in Evaluating Work Teams Performance Eduardo Infante Rejano, Manuel Marín Sánchez and Eduardo Infante Rejano
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Development of a Scale to Study Differences in Gender in Organizational Socialization Processes Ana Lisbona Bañuelos and Francisco J. Palací
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The Laws of Physics, The Development of Intelligences and their Relationship to Behavior Washington Sandoval Erazo and Eduardo Leal Beltrán
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Factor Structure and Reliability of TAS-20 in Mexican Samples José Moral de la Rubia
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The Questions as an Instrument of Narrations’ Reading Javier González García
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Index
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PREFACE This book presents and reviews research derived from different conceptual models based on any psychological or psychosocial theory. It presents a global forum that exposes scientific studies on psychology, done principally by Spanish-speaking researchers from different countries. It includes the best academic efforts of research as an easy way of communication with non-Latin researchers, propitiating this way a fertile exchange of knowledge and cooperation among scientists of psychology around the world. Chapter 1 - The objective of this study is to determine if the Intervention Program for Young Adults with Social Phobia/Intervención en Adultos Jóvenes con Fobia Social – IPYASP/ IAJFS- (Olivares and Rosa, 2005), is good and effective in treating this disorder. To carry it out, 20 adults, from 18 to 20 years old were selected (average: 18.8, DT: 0.83) who were randomly distributed between two experimental conditions: 1) IPYASP/ IAJFS, and 2) control group - standby. The evaluation was applied before, after and on six and twelve months after the treatment finished. The results show the program efficiency in short and medium terms of all the measurements that directly evaluate anxiety and social avoidance, as well as the correlation of self-esteem, adaptation and social abilities; on the contrary, control group subjects did not have significant statistical improvement in any of the variables measured. Chapter 2 - A sample of 192 university students was divided into two groups. The first group (experimental) comprised those individuals with the highest scores on the ―Fear of negative evaluation‖ (FNE, Watson and Friend, 1969) and the ―Social avoidance and distress‖ scales (SAD, Watson and Friend, 1969). The second group (control) consisted of students who had obtained the lowest scores in both scales. Both groups were required to participate in one affective priming study in order to compare automatic valence recognition latencies using stressful word pairs related to social fear and social phobia, as well as positive, negative, and neutral words. Only the experimental group showed affective priming for social fear and social phobia. The control group showed no priming effect for any experimental condition. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for an integral diagnostic system of social anxiety disorder that takes into account automatic and controlled emotional appraisal of social stressful events. Chapter 3 - To evaluate the effect of the difference in response morphology emitted to sample (SS1 and SS2) and comparison stimuli (COS1 and COS2) on the accuracy index, four groups of university students participated in a successive symbolic matching to sample task.
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The groups were unequal among them by the morphological difference of the response to SS and COS stimuli. The results showed than in the conditions of similarity between SS1-COS1 and SS2-COS2, but with differences between SS1-SS2 and COS1-COS2, the participant‘s accuracy was greatly enhanced as opposed to any other type of difference between the stimuli. Results are discussed by the analysis of the role of the difference in the contingency structures in the development of conditional stimulus control. Chapter 4 - The XXI Century International Commission of Education, created by the UNESCO in 1998 has estimated that education is going to solve future problems, supported on four backbones: learning to know, learning to make, learning to live with others and learning to be. The last one, ―learning to be‖ invites us to think about the influence we have, both parents and teachers, on children and young‘s‘ personal maturity and identity which allow them to make their life worth living for. From this point of view, and considering the study carried out by Magaña and others (2004), we established the following researching goals: 1) To evaluate the ―meaning of life‖ for Mexican students who are granted by any kind of academic scholarship at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey; 2) to explore the results related to personal, academic, professional and familial variables; 3) to compare researching results of the previous study made in Mexico, and 4) to analyze the psychometrical characteristics of the instrument used. The study was carried out in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2005. From a total of 4582 financially aid students, it was obtained a 1515 students sample (31%), between 16 and 27 years old, belonging to 34 different careers. Crumbaugh and Maholick ―Purpose in Live‖ test was applied. It was found that 78.9% of the students show a good meaning of life; a 13.4% is located in an indefinite state; and a 7.7% show a lack of meaning. Chapter 5 - Researchers such as Escamez, 2003; Figueroa, 2000; Grass, 2001; Pereira (2007); Pereira, 2003; Raths, 1967; Ratzlaff, 2000 and the Mexican Association of Psychology, 1998; suggest the educators‘ responsibility of knowing their students‘ values so as to contribute effectively to strengthen them. The objective was to learn about the psychological meaning university students have concerning their values, by using the qualitative technique of semantic networks. The sample comes from 100 Psychology students: 63 women and 37 men; from 19 to 25 years old; from a middle socio-economic level; instrument validated with a sample of 300 university students. The results refer to the analysis of the defining words from both shifts; honesty (100%) is the main word which defines their values. The results coincide with proposals made by Arias, 2000; Diaz Barriga, 2000; Ratzlaff, 2000; Valdez, 2000; Schmelkes, 1996. They proposed personal growth through values, completely aware of respect and tolerance concepts, which are reflected in an ethical, honest and integral behavior in the presence of professional commitment to be practiced. Chapter 6 - The objective of this study was to identify the influence of the social and course of study factors on vocational certainty in a sample that includes 392 third semester students from different Bachelors in public and private universities of the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. It was used the Comprehensive Scale of Course of study Factors (IAFC) of Aguilar et al. (1992) version for colleges. In addition, vocational context indicators were included (Gimeno, Rocabert and Lopez, 1996, in Lopez, 2004); as well as school and sociodemographic data. By structural equations a multifactorial predictive model on vocational certainty is created, in which social and course of study variables explain 23% of the
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vocational certainty variance, getting a good fit. It is suggested the program design of educational orientation through which intervention is developed in socio-labor, academic and personal environments so as to facilitate the academic and professional students‘ elections. Chapter 7 - This research‘s objective was to detect the differences in the learning approach of Psychology students, and Public Accountability and Administration students. The design was non-experimental and descriptive. The Biggs, Kember and Leung‘s Questionnaire of Study Processes (2001) was applied to a convenience sample of 213 students: 100 of Psychology, and 113 of Public Accountability and Administration. The students from both majors showed a preference for a serious approach towards learning and deep motives. Superficial strategies were preferred by Public Accountability and Administration students; and deep strategies, by Psychology students, although the difference in the latter was not significant. The preference of Public Accountability and Administration students for a deep approach was surprising because previous studies consistently show a superficial approach. It was also interesting that these students showed a tendency towards superficial strategies. Results are discussed based on previous studies and theoretical aspects, with the suggestion of further research under this perspective. Chapter 8 - A sample of 249 students from the School of Psychology belonging to a public university was used for this study. From the explanatory failure models used, it was found that using multiple regression analysis, there was no significant or substantial variable that influenced failure. The constructs that did not influence failure were: socio-economic level, parents‘ mean age, family hardiness, record of academic failure in preparatory school and, labor activities. Lastly, it was found that students do not attribute their failure to professors or to themselves. It was concluded that social educational policies must review their programs and actions in the light of results, including non-conforming products, in this case students who have failed and dropped out of the system. More and better research must be done with a series of models, which should incorporate constructs of the social, cultural and psychological type. Chapter 9 - The Learning Styles and Motivational Orientation Inventory (EDAOM, according to its initials in Spanish) is a viable instrument for evaluating learning strategies and motivation for study. Castañeda and Ortega (2004) stated that the reliability of this inventory is high, as well as its concurrent validity. It is known that any instrument of measurement has to have acceptable levels of reliability and validity and, for that reason the object of this paper was to carry out an evaluation of the reliability of the EDAOM with a student sample from Iztacala FES, in order to verify the initial index and establish the inventory‘s subscale index. The results obtained confirm the level of reliability; however, in this application in order to preserve the validity of the instrument, some items were eliminated because they had negative correlations. The data is discussed in the context of the psychometric characteristics of an instrument and items and response choices were proposed. Chapter 10 - The question as to whether the MMPI-A can be appropriately used to assess a 13-year-old adolescent has been addressed in past research on the test. This study was designed to provide information on the adequacy of administering the personality inventory to 13-year-old Mexican adolescents; in addition, the current Mexican MMPI-A norms were examined to determine their validity when using them with this younger group selected according to the same sampling criteria as the normative sample. A sample of 203 13-yearold adolescents (83 girls and 120 boys) was compared with the Mexican normative sample of 4050.
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The participants were obtained from both public and private schools (54% from public senior high schools); all participating schools (public and private) were selected to represent the different geographical and socioeconomic zones of Mexico City. Results indicate that the MMPI-A can be used with 13-year-old adolescents as long as they can understand the test and answer it properly. However, some differences between public and private schools on the MMPI-A validity scales were found. It was concluded that reading and comprehension levels likely differ between some of the Mexican schools. Therefore, it would be important to assure that the adolescent can read and comprehend the items at a 6th grade level in order to produce valid test results. Chapter 11 - The purpose of this work was to identify the factors which predict the risky sexual behavior in intermediate higher studies level undergraduates in public schools. It was applied an instrument to measure individual, social and cultural factors associated to risky sexual behavior (Uribe, 2007). In women, the results show there is a positive and significant correlation 0.05 [0.81]. 6. The more time dedicated to a job, the higher the failure rate (β 0.01, t at 0.12 and significance > 0.05 [0.09]. 7. The older the parents, the higher the rate of failure (β 0.04, t at 0.58 and significance > 0.05 [0.56]. 8. The higher the failure rate, the higher the internal attribution (β 0.16, t at 1.89 and significance > 0.05 [0.06].
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It is clear that the phenomenon of failure at the university level is a very complex one. It is necessary to continue investigating other constructs, such as academic self-concept, locus of control, motivation of achievement, orientation practices towards the dominion goal and belief in the importance of academic activities. It is also convenient for the pedagogical departments of the University to do research on failure in order to design better prevention and recuperation strategies for those unfortunate cases, and in order to reduce the enormous cost of the phenomenon and in order to decrease the percentage of eventual drop outs.
REFERENCES Aguayo Quezada, S. (Ed.). (2002). México en cifras. México: Grijalbo. Albaili, M. A. (1998). Goal orientations, cognitive strategies, and academic achievement of United Arab Emirates college students. Educational Psychology, 18, 195-203. Albaili, M. A. (2003). Motivational goal orientations of intellectually gifted achieving and underachieving students in the United Arab Emirates. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 2, 107-120. Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 261-271. Bertozzi, P. G. (1997). Analysis of year by year grade point averages of students identified as academically gifted. Washington, D. C.: Oficina de Educación (Servicio de Reproducción de Documentos ERIC No. ED 413 691). Bourdieu, P. (1997). Capital cultural, escuela y espacio social. México: Siglo XX1 Editores, S. A. de C. V. Bush, W. J. & Mattson, B. D. (1973). WISC test patterns and underachievers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 6, 54-59. Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256-273. Emerick, L. J. (1989). The gifted underachiever: Another look. Preventing School Failure, 34, 6-9. Emerick, L. J. (1992). Academic underachievement among the gifted: Students´ perceptions of factors that reverse the pattern. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 140-146. Ford, D. Y. (1993). An investigation of the paradox of underachievement among gifted Black students. Roeper Review, 16, 78-84. Freeman, J. (1994). Some emotional aspects of being gifted. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 17, 180-197. Gonzalez, J. & Hayes, A. (1988). Psychosocial aspects of the development of gifted underachievers: Review and implications. The Exceptional Child, 35, 39-51. Gowan, J. C. (1955). The underachieving gifted child - a problem for everyone. Exceptional Children, 21, 247-271. Grotberg, E. (1995). A guide to promoting resilience in children. La Haya: Bernard van Leer Foundation. Guay, F., Boivin, M. & Hodges, E. (1999). Social comparison processes and academic achievement: The dependence of the development of self-evaluations on friends‘ performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 3, 564-568.
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Ibarra Mendivil, J. L. (2005). Foro: Hacia un Compromiso Nacional para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Tecnología, organized by the Comisión de Ciencia y Tecnología of the Congreso de la Unión, february 23, Distrito Federal. Johnson, N. E., Saccuzzo, D. P. & Guertin, T. L. (1994). Understanding gifted underachievers in an ethnically diverse population. Washington, D. C.: Oficina de Educación (Servicio de Reproducción de Documentos ERIC No. ED 368 101). Lau, K., & Chan, D. W. (2001). Motivational characteristics of under-achievers in Hong Kong. Educational Psychology, 21, 417-430. Lebedina-Manzoni, M. L. (2004). To what students attribute their academic success and unsuccess. Education Chula Vista, 124, 4, 699-708. Martínez, J. (2004). Comunicación personal. Monterrey: Academic Vice-dean, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. McCubbin, M. A., McCubbin, H. I. & Thompson, A. I. (2000, third edition). Index of family strength. In Fisher, J. & Corcoran, K. Measures for clinical practice. A sourcebook. Volume 1. Couples, families and children. New York: The Free Press. McInerney, D. M., Roche, L. A., McInerney, V., & Marsh, H. W. (1997). Cultural perspectives on school motivation: The relevance and application of goal theory. American Educational Research Journal, 34, 207-236. Moffitt, T. E. & Silva, P. A. (1987). WISC-R verbal and performance IQ discrepancy in an unselected cohort: clinical significance and longitudinal stability. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 768-774. Nunnally, J. C. & Bernstein, I. H. (1995). Teoria psicométrica. México: McGraw-Hill (Orig. 1994). Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (1997). Exámenes de las políticas nacionales de educación. México. Educación Superior. París OCDE. Peterson, J. S. & Colangelo, N. (1996). Gifted achievers and underachievers: A comparison of patterns found in school files. Journal of Counseling and Development, 74, 399-407. Prawda, J. (1989). Logros, inequidades y retos del futuro del sistema educativo mexicano. México: Grijalbo. Sarason, I. G. (1988). Anxiety, self-preoccupation, and attention. Anxiety research, 1, 3-7. Seeley, K. R. (1993). Gifted students as risk. En L. K. Silverman (Ed.), Counseling the gifted and talented (pp. 263-276). Denver: Love Publishing. Tamez Guerra, R. S. (2005). Sexta Reunión Internacional de Educación a Distancia. Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Van Tassel-Baska, J. (1989). The role of the family in the success of disadvantaged gifted learners. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 13, 22-36. Wentzel, K. R. (1991). Relations between social competence and academic achievement in early adolescence. Child Development, 62, 1066-1078. Whitmore, J. R. (1980). Giftedness, conflict, and underachievement. Boston: Allyn y Bacon. Wigfield, A. (1994). The role of children's achievement values in the self-regulation of their learning outcomes. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational implications (pp. 101-124). Mahwah, NJ.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Zivcic-Becirevic y Anic (2001). Automatic thoughts school success, efficiency and satisfaction of university students. Horizons of Psychology, 10, 1, 49-59.
In: Hispanic Psychology in the 21st Century Ed: Victor L. Rojas and Maria J. Ruiz
ISBN: 978-1-61761-929-8 ©2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
ASSESSMENT OF RELIABILITY OF INVENTORY ON LEARNING STYLES AND MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATION (EDAOM) Zaira Vega Valero1, Eduardo Peñalosa Castro, Patricia Landa Durán and Carlos Nava Quiroz Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
ABSTRACT The Learning Styles and Motivational Orientation Inventory (EDAOM, according to its initials in Spanish) is a viable instrument for evaluating learning strategies and motivation for study. Castañeda and Ortega (2004) stated that the reliability of this inventory is high, as well as its concurrent validity. It is known that any instrument of measurement has to have acceptable levels of reliability and validity and, for that reason the object of this paper was to carry out an evaluation of the reliability of the EDAOM with a student sample from Iztacala FES, in order to verify the initial index and establish the inventory‘s subscale index. The results obtained confirm the level of reliability; however, in this application in order to preserve the validity of the instrument, some items were eliminated because they had negative correlations. The data is discussed in the context of the psychometric characteristics of an instrument and items and response choices were proposed.
Keywords: learning strategies, motivation for study, reliability, validity, psychometrics.
RESUMEN El Inventario de Estilos de Aprendizaje y Orientación Motivacional (EDAOM), es una propuesta viable para evaluar las estrategias de aprendizaje y la motivación al estudio. La fiabilidad presentada por Castañeda y Ortega (2004) de este inventario es alta, así como la validez concurrente. Se sabe que cualquier instrumento de medida tiene que contar con niveles de fiabilidad y validez aceptables, por lo que el objetivo de este trabajo fue realizar una evaluación de la fiabilidad del EDAOM en una muestra de estudiantes de la FES Iztacala, 1
This paper was financed by PAPCA 2006. Address for correspondence: Cynthia Zaira Vega Valero, Bosques de Vincenes 4 casa 15,Bosques del Lago, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Edo. de Méx. CP 54760, E-mail:
[email protected], Eduardo Peñalosa Castro:
[email protected], Patricia Landa Durán:
[email protected], Carlos Nava Quiroz:
[email protected] 102
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para verificar el índice inicial y establecer el de las sub escalas del inventario. Los resultados obtenidos confirman el nivel de fiabilidad, sin embargo, en esta aplicación se eliminaron reactivos por resultar negativos en su correlación, pues esta situación ponía en riesgo la validez del instrumento. Los datos se discuten bajo las características psicométricas de un instrumento proponiéndose reactivos y alternativas de respuesta. Palabras clave: estrategias de aprendizaje, motivación al estudio, fiabilidad, validez, psicometría.
INTRODUCTION Learning styles as motivational orientation for study are very important aspects for understanding processes by which students learn in the classroom, and its measurement is not of less importance since it has been demonstrated that this type of characteristics in students is related to high levels of academic performance (Castañeda, 2004; Weinstein, 1998; Pintrich, 2000). The Learning Styles and Motivational Orientation Inventory (EDAOM) is a viable proposal for evaluating the previous constructs. Although this instrument has been made reliable and validated with a sample of 1500 students on the national level (Castañeda and Ortega, 2004), what we present in this paper is a study on reliability that complements the EDAOM in a sample of first semester students studying psychology in the Iztacala School of Higher Studies (Facultad de Estudios Superiores of Iztacala) of the UNAM. It is known that any instrument of measurement has to have acceptable levels of reliability and validity. In essence, the reliability referred to the non-existence of errors in measurement instruments known as exactness and precision of the measurement procedures (Kerlinger, 1981; Silva, 1992; Coolican, 1997; Namakforoosh, 2000). On the other hand, the validity is the degree to which the test measures what one really wishes to measure. Validity is respect for the instrument and what is required for this is the certainty that it fulfills the purpose for which it was created (Coolican, 1997; Namakforoosh, 2000; Kerlinger and Lee, 2002). The possession of reliable and valid instruments allows for the most adequate explanation of the psychological phenomena of interest. In particular, in the field of education there are different strategies for the evaluation of learning by the student (Winne and Perry, 2000). Many of those strategies consist of inventories that evaluate student learning abilities, motivation, values, goals, different types of knowledge, among others. However, a considerable number of measurement instruments in this area were developed in other languages, under cultural, social, political and ideological logic that is different from ours. For example, Roces, González-Pineda, Nuñez, González-Pumariega, García and Alvarez (1999) translated, checked the reliability and validated the instrument Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) developed by Pintrich, Smith, García and Mckeachie (1991). The translation and adaptation of the instrument into Spanish is called ―Cuestionario de Estrategias de Aprendizaje y Motivación (CEAM)‖. It is a self-information questionnaire that measures student motivational factors and learning strategies. Roces and collaborators (op cit) report that in the original (MSLQ) instrument items were grouped into six motivational scales and nine strategies. The factorial analysis carried out with the Spanish version revealed the existence of six motivational scales and seven learning strategies. However, with the CEAM inventory results were obtained that were similar to those reported
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by Pintrich and colleagues (op cit) for the relationship between motivation, learning strategies and achievement, on different academic levels. Unfortunately, one does not have access to the CEAM since publications to that respect only report the analysis of reliability and factorial analysis but not the translation of the complete inventory. In addition, it is difficult to find studies with extensive use of the same. Since understanding mechanisms responsible for efficient learning continue to be of utmost importance, the Evaluation of Learning Strategies and Motivational Orientation Inventory (EDAOM) (Castañeda, 2004), is a viable alternative for researchers and evaluators in the field of education, not only because it was constructed by and for a Mexican population, but also because it justly evaluates learning strategies and the motivational orientation for studying, which are variables identified as relevant for explaining strategic learning; it has been affirmed that upon understanding this area, this would imply more successful students (Zimmerman and Martínez Pons, 1988), with orientation to better defined goals (Zimmerman and Martínez-Pons, 1986) and with a better designed environment of study (Dembo, Junge and Lynch, 2004). The EDAOM was published by Castañeda (2004) who reported the results of its application on 2995 students and he obtained 0.94 index of reliability. The concurrent validity was evaluated with respect to the general grade average, which resulted in a score of 0.67 and with diverse academic tasks, it was 0.89. In the same manner, he commented that in order to establish the validity of the converging and diverging construct of the subscales, a confirming factorial analysis was carried out with a MRMM co-variance matrix. He found that traits were represented by learning styles and self-regulation of students and methods by the types of processing used in the strategies that make up the styles. Thus, the EDAOM is an instrument that fulfills the desired measurement characteristics of reliability and validity; however, and since it represents a valuable option for investigators in this field, it is convenient to analyze some additional aspects. It is well-known that the measurement characteristics of an instrument are not affected by the particularities of the sample, by its size, by the time it was given, by the investigator who used it, etc. In this case, the study in which the EDAOM was published did not include the report on the indexes of reliability of the sub-scales, an aspect that we consider to be of extreme importance to establish complete reliability. In a preliminary study, the EDAOM was taken by a sample of new undergraduate students registered with a major in psychology at the Iztacala FES – UNAM (Vega, Peñalosa and Landa, 2006) and it was found that the reliability was similar to that reported by Castañeda. However, some inconsistencies were found, such as negative or very little correlation between the items, especially in the section that evaluates the perceived quality of strategies. Due to this, our study‘s objective is to report on the results of a study of reliability carried out to evaluate EDAOM‘s initial index as well as the subscales.
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METHOD Participants 134 students who were in the first semester of their freshman year with a major in psychology at the Iztacala School of Higher Studies, UNAM.
Scenario The instrument was taken in a classroom provided by the school.
Instrument Learning Styles and Motivational Orientation Inventory (EDAOM) (Castañeda, 2004) was applied, which was designed to identify the self-evaluation that students in middle higher and higher education had concerning their learning strategies and motivational orientation to study. The self-evaluations are measured in three areas: a) the frequency with which they use an extensive variety of learning strategies and motivational orientations in their studies; b) the ease or difficulty with which they do it and c) the quality that they report to have with their results. The inventory is formed by 91 Likert type items. For each item, frequency, ease and quality are evaluated and for that reason upon carrying out the analysis of reliability there are 273 items. This inventory contains items that are scored positively, but there are also items that are scored negatively, and instead of adding them, they are subtracted from the score. Those items are: 49, 53, 60, 61, 62, 63, 69, 70, 75, 80, 83, 86 and 90. The response options and scoring are presented in table 1 as follows. Table 1. Response options for any item and score
―X‖ Ítem
A Frequency done by me Always or Half Never or most of the of the almost time time never 2 1 0
B Ease with which I do it Easily With difficulty
2
1
C Quality Very good/positive 2
Very poor/negative 1
On the other hand, the EDAOM is composed of four general scales and 13 subscales. The Styles for Acquiring Information scale evaluates learning strategies on two levels: Selective Acquisition, which includes superficial processing strategies of what is being learned and Generative Acquisition, which considers strategies for deep processing of the information to be acquired. The second scale, Styles for Recovery of Information Learned evaluates two contexts: before different academic tasks and during the exams.
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The third scale, Processing Styles, contemplates two types: the converging style – reproduces the information to be learned – and the diverging style – where students create innovative productions and critically think about that learned. Finally, the Metacognitive and Metamotivational Self-regulation Styles scale is formed by three components: the personal dimension that evaluates the efficiency perceived, internal contingency, perceived autonomy and orientation to external approval; the task dimension that evaluates the orientation of the task itself and that of the achievement of goals and the materials dimension.
Procedure The application of the inventory was during one single 30 minute session. The three persons in charge of applying the instrument received training that consisted of the adequate reading of items and the solution of any doubt concerning the inventory. The tests were applied to a group in a classroom.
Dependent Variable and Analysis of Results Each one of the items was scored. The Cronbach alpha was calculated in order to obtain reliability and at the same time, descriptive statistics were obtained.
Analysis of Results The sample consisted of 106 women and 28 men. The instrument in general obtained a high level of reliability, while that for the subscales were from moderately high to high. The analysis of results considered the evaluation of two of the columns of the EDAOM: that of frequency and that of ease. The third column evaluating quality was discarded for this study, since a great number of items with negative correlations or correlations under .20 and levels of reliability very similar to those reported by Castañeda. The first analysis of reliability of the inventory gave a Cronbach alpha store of .9360, which means that the instrument is 93% reliable. In this first analysis we eliminated 11 items in both columns to obtain a negative correlation or less than .20. These were: 16, 53, 61, 62, 73, 82, 83, 84, 87, 88 and 89. In the second alpha analysis the result was .9656, which implies that it increased its percentage of reliability. On this occasion, no item was eliminated. The final reliability of the inventory was high and the instrument consisted of 80 items that evaluate the frequency and ease of learning strategies and motivational orientation to study. The alpha of the items in the general instrument was higher than .94 (see table 2). The alpha for the selective subscale was .7025 and for the items in this area it was greater than .67. The items that form the selective area are: 2, 5, 13, 17, 25 y 52 (see table 3). For the generative subscale, the reliability was .6274 and for items it was greater than .55 (see table 4). The items in this area are: 20, 23, 26, 55, 56 and 78.
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Ítem 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2 8.1 8.2 9.1 9.2 10.1 10.2 11.1 11.2 12.1 12.2 13.1 13.2 14.1 14.2 15.1 15.2 17.1 17.2 18.1 18.2 19.1 19.2 20.1 20.2 21.1
Alpha .9487 .9486 .9486 .9487 .9486 .9487 .9492 .9488 .9486 .9490 .9483 .9485 .9492 .9488 .9485 .9486 .9482 .9486 .9488 .9489 .9490 .9488 .9492 .9489 .9486 .9488 .9488 .9486 .9478 .9482 .9487 .9489 .9483 .9489 .9487 .9490 .9487 .9486 .9485
Ítem 21.2 22.1 22.2 23.1 23.2 24.1 24.2 25.1 25.2 26.1 26.2 27.1 27.2 28.1 28.2 29.1 29.2 30.1 30.2 31.1 31.2 32.1 32.2 33.1 33.2 34.1 34.2 35.1 35.2 36.1 36.2 37.1 37.2 38.1 38.2 39.1 39.2 40.1 40.2
Alpha .9485 .9485 .9484 .9490 .9485 .9484 .9485 .9486 .9487 .9488 .9486 .9489 .9486 .9486 .9486 .9488 .9487 .9487 .9488 .9489 .9490 .9486 .9489 .9480 .9484 .9490 .9489 .9479 .9484 .9490 .9489 .9490 .9489 .9491 .9490 .9489 .9486 .9487 .9488
Ítem 41.1 41.2 42.1 42.2 43.1 43.2 44.1 44.2 45.1 45.2 46.1 46.2 47.1 47.2 48.1 48.2 49.1 49.2 50.1 50.2 51.1 51.2 52.1 52.2 54.1 54.2 55.1 55.2 56.1 56.2 57.1 57.2 58.1 58.2 59.1 59.2 60.1 60.2 63.1 63.2 64.1
Alpha .9482 .9484 .9484 .9485 .9478 .9482 .9483 .9486 .9489 .9486 .9491 .9487 .9484 .9486 .9487 .9488 .9492 .9490 .9486 .9489 .9490 .9490 .9486 .9486 .9483 .9485 .9485 .9491 .9484 .9486 .9488 .9489 .9484 .9484 .9489 .9490 .9488 .9491 .9488 .9488 .9479
Ítem 64.2 65.1 65.2 66.1 66.2 67.1 67.2 68.1 68.2 69.1 69.2 70.1 70.2 71.1 71.2 72.1 72.2 74.1 74.2 75.1 75.2 76.1 76.2 77.1 77.2 78.1 78.2 79.1 79.2 80.1 80.2 81.1 81.2 85.1 85.2 86.1 86.2 90.1 90.2 91.1 91.2
Alpha .9486 .9485 .9487 .9482 .9485 .9487 .9487 .9486 .9487 .9482 .9486 .9487 .9491 .9484 .9489 .9481 .9486 .9482 .9484 .9490 .9491 .9489 .9486 .9485 .9484 .9486 .9488 .9482 .9487 .9482 .9488 .9480 .9484 .9493 .9490 .9488 .9490 .9483 .9487 .9482 .9486
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Table 3. Cronbach Alphas for the Selective Acquisition Subscale Ítem 2.1 2.2 5.1 5.2 13.1 13.2
Alpha .6795 .6854 .6750 .6843 .6705 .6820
Ítem 17.1 17.2 25.1 25.2 52.1 52.2
Alpha .7025 .6955 .6639 .6564 .6733 .6854
Table 4. Cronbach Alphas for the Generative Acquisition Subscale Ítem 20.1 20.2 23.1 23.2 26.1 26.2
Alpha .6092 .5865 .5886 .5754 .6050 .6077
Ítem 55.1 55.2 56.1 56.2 78.1 78.2
Alpha .6057 .6246 .5680 .5819 .5563 .5770
For the recovery of diverse tasks subscale, the alpha result was .6639 and for the items it was greater than .62 (see table 5). The items in this area are: 3, 7, 28, 31, 34, 79 and 90. For the recovery on exams subscale the reliability was .7145 and for items it was greater than .66 (see table 6). The items in this area are: 14, 29, 59, 64, 65 and 91. Table 5. Cronbach Alphas for the Subscale of Recovery of Different Tasks Ítem 3.1 3.2 7.1 7.2 28.1 28.2 31.1 31.2
Alpha .6129 .6324 .6599 .6511 .6136 .6389 .6413 .6432
Ítem 34.1 34.2 79.1 79.2 90.1 90.2
Alpha .6782 .6503 .6042 .6184 .6324 .6299
Table 6. Cronbach Alphas for the Recovery of Exams Subscale Ítem 14.1 14.2 29.1 29.2 59.1 59.2
Alpha .6951 .6822 .6877 .6715 .6975 .6958
Ítem 64.1 64.2 65.1 65.2 91.1 91.2
Alpha .6640 .6858 .6551 .6693 .6807 .6918
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Regarding the convergent subscale, alpha was .7472 and for the items it was greater than .72 (see table 7). The items in this area are: 6, 8, 15, 19, 72, 74 and 75. For the divergent subscale, the reliability was .7314 and for the items it was greater than .68 (see table 8). The items for this area are: 4, 22, 27, 33, 66 and 70. Table 7. Cronbach Alphas for the Convergent Subscale Ítem 6.1 6.2 8.1 8.2 15.1 15.2 19.1
Alpha .7418 .7473 .7342 .7416 .7269 .7373 .7326
Ítem 19.2 72.1 72.2 74.1 74.2 75.1 75.2
Alpha .7457 .7260 .7423 .7240 .7414 .7507 .7648
Table 8. Cronbach Alphas for the Divergent Subscale Ítem 4.1 4.2 22.1 22.2 27.1 27.2
Alpha .7195 .7093 .6938 .7013 .7203 .7068
Ítem 33.1 33.2 66.1 66.2 70.1 70.2
Alpha .6928 .7031 .6811 .6998 .7359 .7630
Concerning the efficiency perceived subscale the alpha resulted in .7913 and for the items it was greater than .76 (see table 9). The items for this area are: 1, 9, 24, 32, 35, 54 and 59. Considering the internal contingency subscale the reliability was .6322 and for the items it was greater than .57 (see table 10). The items in this area are: 37, 38, 39, 67, 68, 85 and 86. Regarding the perceived autonomy subscale the alpha was .7626 and for items it was greater than .71 (see table 11). The items in this area are: 30, 40, 41, 42, 58 and 63. It was found a negative correlation among the items regarding the external approval subscale. Table 9. Cronbach Alphas for the Perceived Efficiency Subscale Ítem 1.1 1.2 9.1 9.2 24.1 24.2 32.1
Alpha .7785 .7875 .7711 .7812 .7686 .7763 .7904
Ítem 32.2 35.1 35.2 54.1 54.2 59.1 59.2
Alpha .7916 .7679 .7741 .7737 .7783 .7862 .7873
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Table 10. Cronbach Alphas for the Internal Contingency Subscale Ítem 37.1 37.2 38.1 38.2 39.1 39.2 67.1
Alpha .5722 .5879 .5934 .6091 .5728 .5776 .5930
Ítem 67.2 68.1 68.2 85.1 85.2 86.1 86.2
Alpha .6103 .6241 .6044 .5837 .5807 .6140 .6274
Table 11. Cronbach Alphas for the Preceived Autonomy Subscale Ítem 30.1 30.2 40.1 40.2 41.1 41.2 42.1
Alpha .7389 .7402 .7377 .7434 .7360 .7291 .7180
Ítem 42.2 58.1 58.2 63.1 63.2
Alpha .7313 .7378 .7437 .7546 .7490
Table 12. Cronbach Alphas for the Achievement of Goals Subscale Ítem 47.1 47.2 48.1 48.2 49.1 49.2 50.1
Alpha .6470 .6556 .6672 .6574 .7068 .6932 .6656
Ítem 50.2 71.1 71.2 76.1 76.2 77.1 77.2
Alpha .6750 .6386 .6695 .6446 .6546 .6241 .6463
Table 13. Cronbach Alphas for the Task Itself Subscale Ítem 10.1 10.2 21.1 21.2 43.1 43.2 44.1
Alpha .6813 .6779 .6831 .6836 .6554 .6631 .6817
Ítem 44.2 45.1 45.2 46.1 46.2 60.1 60.2
Alpha .6695 .6893 .6849 .6998 .6896 .7125 .7117
Concerning the subscale for the achievement of goals, the alpha was .6984 and for the items it was greater than .62 (see table 12). The items in this area are: 47, 48, 49, 50, 71, 76
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and 77. For the Task Itself subscale, the reliability was .7161 and for the items it was greater than .65 (see table 13). The items of this area are: 10, 21, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 60. Finally, for the materials dimension subscale, the alpha was .5969 and for the items it was greater than .52 (see table 14). The items in this area are: 11, 12, 18, 36, 57, 80 and 81. Table 14. Cronbach Alphas for the Materials Dimension Subscale Ítem 11.1 11.2 12.1 12.2 18.1 18.2 36.1
Alpha .5570 .5489 .5956 .5928 .5582 .5923 .5955
Ítem 36.2 57.1 57.2 80.1 80.2 81.1 81.2
Alpha .5904 .5931 .5725 .5918 .6112 .5230 .5452
In the beginning EDAOM instrument was composed of 91 items, with three columns of evaluation: frequency, facility and quality. After the analysis of reliability, the quality column was completely eliminated, upon discarding many items by negative correlation. From the frequency and facility columns, only 11 items were eliminated, for the same reasons, and the final version was composed of a total of 80 items. From the four general scales: Acquisition of Information (×= 37.56, s = 5.03) Administration of Memory Resources (×= 34.84, s = 5.93), Information Processing (×= 25.89, s = 6.85), and Self-Regulation, this containing at the same time the person dimension (×= 48.06, s = 6.98), task dimension (×= 31.32, s = 6.11), and materials dimension (×= 16.04, s = 6.24), it was found that for all cases the averages implied that students need to reinforce learning strategies or motivational orientation, although they still do not defect.
DISCUSSION In general, the EDAOM had a high level of reliability and a moderately high to high level for the different subscales. The average score indicates that students need to reinforce their learning strategies, as well as their motivation. After the replication of the study of the metric qualities of the EDAOM we obtained levels of reliability similar to those reported by Castañeda (2004). In contrast to that reported by the author, the column that evaluated the quality that students perceived concerning their strategies had to be eliminated, since they do not fulfill the metric criteria necessary to assure reliability, perhaps due to the lack of congruency between the wording of the item and the response option offered: Very good/positive or Very poor/negative. It is probable that since the items are not congruent with the response options, they are difficult to understand and make selection difficult by the person surveyed, causing the internal consistency of the item to decrease and doubtful accuracy in the results (Cadoche, Stegmayer, Burioni, Bernandez, 1998). Eleven items were eliminated from the instrument, four of these belong to the items that are scored negatively, it is probable that the manner in which they are worded and the
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corresponding choice is not correct. On the other hand, the items eliminated were from different subscales of the instrument, and for that reason it did not affect just one subscale. Due to the differences found in the reliability of the inventory of this study and that reported by Castañeda, some modifications are suggested to assure reliability and validity of the same. For example, the response options to evaluate quality could be: ―I do very well‖, ―I do average‖, ―I do very poorly‖. On the other hand, it would be very convenient to develop questions that evaluate metacognitive and metamotivational self-regulation, since this area does not at present form part of the inventory and its evaluation is important since it is medullar in the Pintrich and Zimmerman model. For that reason we propose the following items: 1. In order to better focus myself on my studies, I set my own learning goals. 2. I continuously review to see if I am fulfilling the goals that I have set. 3. When I realize that I am not achieving a goal, I try to convert it into smaller goals to achieve it. 4. When I study I try to do tasks or exercises to be aware of what I am learning. 5. I normally take notes to better understand what I am studying. 6. I do summaries, outlines, diagrams or synopses. 7. The notes I take are clear and understandable. 8. I write down pending activities and homework in an agenda. 9. I check in the agenda to be sure that I have done my tasks. Finally, we feel that the EDAOM is a useful instrument for identifying variables in students that are critical in their study process, and even when some modifications are proposed in this study to use it within our population, it is important to indicate that it provides us with the possibility of classifying samples of the population and of identifying training needs. From the identification of these characteristics, intervention plans could be created to promote strategies and motivation, central aspects that are neglected in our educational system.
REFERENCES Cadoche, Stegmayer, Burioni and Bernandez (1998). Seminary‘s paper on Surveys on Education, Argentina, http://www.uni.edu.ar/fave/sei/encuestas/index.htlm Castañeda, S. (2004). Educación, aprendizaje y cognición: teoría en la práctica. México: El Manual Moderno. Castañeda, S. and Ortega, I. (2004). Evaluación de estrategias de aprendizaje y orientación motivacional al estudio. In S. Castañeda (ed.). Educación, aprendizaje y cognición: teoría en la práctica. México: El Manual Moderno, pp. 277-299. Coolican, H. (1997). Métodos de investigación y estadística en psicología. México: El Manual Moderno. Dembo, M. H., Junge, L.G., and Lynch, R. (2004). Becoming a self regulated learner: implications for web based education. Paper read it at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego.
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Kerlinger, F. (1981). Investigación del Comportamiento. Técnicas y Metodología. México: Interamericana. Kerlinger, F. and Lee, H. B. (2002). Investigación del comportamiento. Métodos de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales. México, McGrawHill. Namakforoosh, M. (2000). Metodología de la Investigación. México: Limusa. Pintrich, P.R. (2000) The role of goal orientation in self-regulated learning. In M. Boakerts, P. Pintrich and M. Zeidner (eds.), Handbook of self-regulation. San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 451-502. Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A., García, T., and Mckeachie, W. J. (1991). A manual for the use of the Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53, pp. 801-813. Roces, C., González-Pineda, J. A., Nuñez, J. C., González-Pumariega, S., García, M. S., and Álvarez, L. (1999). Relaciones entre motivación, estrategias de aprendizaje y rendimiento académico en estudiantes universitarios. Revista Electrónica del Departamento de Psicología. Universidad de Valladolid. 1, 1, pp. 41-50. Silva, A. (1992). Métodos cuantitativos en psicología. Un enfoque metodológico. México: Trillas. Vega, Z., Peñalosa, E., and Landa, P. (2006). Relación entre estrategias de aprendizaje, orientación motivacional al estudio y diversas tareas académicas. Paper read it at the XXXIII Congreso Nacional del Consejo Nacional para la Enseñanza e Investigación en Psicología. Veracruz, México. Weinstein, C. E., Powdrill, L., Husman, J., Roska, L. A., and Dierking, D. (1998). Aprendizaje estratégico: un modelo conceptual, instruccional y de evaluación. In S. Castañeda (ed.), Evaluación y fomento del desarrollo intelectual en la enseñanza de las ciencias, artes y técnicas (pp. 197-228). México: UNAM-Concayt-Porrúa. Wine, P. H. and Perry, N. E. (2000). Measuring self-regulated learning. In M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich, and M. Zeidner (eds.), Handbook of self-regulation, pp. 531-566. Orlando, FL: Academic Press. Zimmerman, B. J. and Martinez-Pons, M. (1986). Developing a structured interview for assessing student use of self-regulated Learning Strategies. American Educational Research Journal, 23, 614-628. Zimmerman, B. and Martínez-Pons, M. (1988). Construct validation of a strategy model of student self-regulated learning, Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 3, pp. 22-63.
In: Hispanic Psychology in the 21st Century Ed: Victor L. Rojas and Maria J. Ruiz
ISBN: 978-1-61761-929-8 ©2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
EFFECT OF AGE AND TYPE OF SCHOOL ON MMPI-A SCORES IN A 13-18 YEAR OLD MEXICAN ADOLESCENT SAMPLE Emilia Lucio ¹, Quetzalcoatl Hernandez-Cervantes1, Consuelo Duran1 and James N. Butcher2 1
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2 University of Minnesota
ABSTRACT The question as to whether the MMPI-A can be appropriately used to assess a 13year-old adolescent has been addressed in past research on the test. This study was designed to provide information on the adequacy of administering the personality inventory to 13-year-old Mexican adolescents; in addition, the current Mexican MMPI-A norms were examined to determine their validity when using them with this younger group selected according to the same sampling criteria as the normative sample. A sample of 203 13-year-old adolescents (83 girls and 120 boys) was compared with the Mexican normative sample of 4050. The participants were obtained from both public and private schools (54% from public senior high schools); all participating schools (public and private) were selected to represent the different geographical and socioeconomic zones of Mexico City. Results indicate that the MMPI-A can be used with 13-year-old adolescents as long as they can understand the test and answer it properly. However, some differences between public and private schools on the MMPI-A validity scales were found. It was concluded that reading and comprehension levels likely differ between some of the Mexican schools. Therefore, it would be important to assure that the adolescent can read and comprehend the items at a 6th grade level in order to produce valid test results.
Keywords: MMPI-A, age, school, effect.
Address for correspondence: Estudios de Postgrado, National Autonomous University of Mexico, E.-mail melg
[email protected], Phone 52(55) 56222318, Fax: 52 (55) 5606-2096, Once Martires 91-Casa 5, Col. Centro, Delegacion Tlalpan, C.P. 14000
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RESUMEN Este estudio fue diseñado con la finalidad de dar información acerca de lo apropiado de aplicar el inventario de personalidad de Minnesota para adolescentes: MMPI-A a adolescentes de 13 años. Además se examina si las normas del MMPI-A de la versión mexicana en español son válidas con un grupo de menor edad. Con esta finalidad se compararon los datos obtenidos con el grupo de estudio con los de 4050 adolescentes de la muestra normativa de entre 14 y 18 años. Los participantes del estudio 203 adolescentes de 13 años (83 muchachas y 120 muchachos pertenecían a escuelas públicas y privadas y fueron seleccionados de diferentes zonas de la Ciudad de México con diferentes niveles socioeconómicos. Los resultados indican que el MMPI-A puede emplearse con adolescentes de 13 años, siempre y cuando entiendan el instrumento y lo respondan adecuadamente. No obstante se encontraron algunas diferencias entre los estudiantes de escuelas públicas y privadas en relación a las escalas de validez. Se concluye que los niveles de lectura y comprensión difieren en las escuelas de la Ciudad de México, por lo que es importante asegurarse que los adolescentes tienen que tener un nivel de lectura de 6o. grado para que los resultados del inventario sean válidos.
Palabras clave: MMPI-A edad, escuela, normas.
INTRODUCTION The use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescents (MMPI-A) has a long history, particularly with youngsters in clinical settings (Baer, 2004). Butcher, Graham, and Ben-Porath (1995) comment on age-related issues concerning MMPI-A studies whereas among the six areas of productive research identified by Archer (1997) we find the establishment of optimal age ranges for use with the inventory. In the development of the MMPI-A in the United States the test developers collected a national sample of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 (Butcher et al., 1992); however, the authors developed norms alone for the 14 to 18 year olds. On whether the MMPI-A may be appropriate to assess 13year-olds, Butcher and Williams (2000) mention that it is possible to do so if they are mature enough to answer the items meaningfully and if they read at a 6th-grade level. The MMPI-A Report authors also pose the question of the age effect on MMPI-A scores and state that when administering the inventory to adolescents 12 or 13 years old clinicians should be aware of its use with an age group that has a higher incidence of difficulty with the assessment and consequently interpretations should be made with caution; they also point out that the inventory is probably developmentally inappropriate for children less than twelve (Butcher and Williams, 2000). Prior to obtaining norms for 13-year-olds and suggesting separate norms for adolescents 14 and under (Archer, 1997), Archer and Gordon (1994) assessed the stability of 70 MMPI-A modified items by comparing item endorsement frequency and item test-retest correlations in a group of 13 to 17 years old. In their results, the authors comment that such item modifications did not result in significant changes in response patterns. Normative equations on a sample of normal girls and boys ages 13 through 17 years were used by Malinchoc, Colligan and Offord (1996) to develop norms for the Optimism-Pessimism (PSM) scale of the MMPI; their results pointed toward PSM suitable reliability and the scale‘s ability to assess
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explanatory style within adolescents. Janus, de Groot and Toepfer (1998) found no significant differences for age in mean T scores of the MMPI-A between 13-year-old and 14-year-old inpatients; nevertheless, they did find a strong multivariate effect when using Archer‘s MMPI-A norms resulting in lower T-score values in contrast to using the standard MMPI-A norms, and that univariate differences based on norms were found in almost all scales for boys and girls. Another study evaluated the effects of psychopathology and demographic characteristics on MMPI-A scores using multiple linear regression analyses with the U.S. standardization sample (Schinka, Elkins, David and Archer, 1999). Their results show that the Infrequency (F) and Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN) scales were influenced most by demographic variables; that there was no influence on the content scales except for the Bizarre Mentation (BIZ) scale, and no demographic variable influence for supplementaryscale scores. Gumbiner, Arriaga and Stevens (1999) compared scores of juvenile delinquents on the MMPI-A using the current U.S. norms, the Marks-Briggs adolescent norms, and the MMPI-2 adult norms reporting that in general, the MMPI-A scale elevations were lowest, followed by the Marks-Briggs norms while MMPI-2 T-score means were the most elevated. There are other studies with the inventory where 13-year-olds have been included in MMPI-A norms use or development. Imhof and Archer (1997) examined the concurrent validity of IMM based on a residential treatment sample of 66 adolescents aged 13-18 years. Findings evidentiated concurrent validity of the scale as well as a number of correlate descriptors by means of the other instruments employed, such as the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-2nd Revision and other standardized measures. In the Russian translation of the instrument (Atlis, 2004), a group of 344 students ages 13-18 from different public schools completed the Russian-language MMPI-A; when scored against American norms average group profiles were within normal limits for basic validity, clinical and content scales. There are few studies addressing this issue among Hispanic population. Negy et al. (1997) studied MMPI-A performance in a Mexican-American adolescent sample of 120 thirteen to 18-year-olds; findings from this study indicated that scores on all scale groups of the inventory differed minimally from the U.S. normative group‘s performance, and that Mexican-American profile varied due to acculturation levels and socioeconomic status. In a related study, Gumbiner (1998) analyzed Hispanic adolescent MMPI-A profiles examining parents‘ education and employment relationship to scale elevations; among other results, the author mentions that boys‘ dislike for school and low aspirations were related to lower education and employment of their fathers compared to those for the normative U.S. sample. More recently, Mendoza-Newman (2000) studied level of acculturation, socioeconomic status (SES), and MMPI-A performance in a non-clinical Hispanic adolescent sample finding no relationship between acculturation and SES and the Lie (L) or 5 scales (MasculinityFemininity) whereas Calderon (2002) examined how bilingual Mexican adolescents performed on the MMPI-A when comparing their levels of acculturation to mainstream U.S. population emphasizing that Mexican-American adolescents do differ from national standardized norm group‘s performance on selected clinical and validity scales once these levels are taken into account. Furthermore, Scott et al. (2002) assessed the Hispanic MMPI-A generalizability in five Spanish-speaking countries recommending further studies to determine appropriateness for adequate norms usage or adaptation.
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The MMPI-A has been standardized with Mexican adolescents (Lucio et al., 1999) and exhibits high test-retest reliability and high alpha coefficients in most of the scales (Farias, Duran and Gomez-Maqueo, 2003). When normative data were obtained in the standardization of the MMPI-A for Mexico (Lucio et al., 1998), the original sample comprised a group of 13year-old student adolescents who were at the end of the process left out to comply with the range of 14 to 18 years old established by the MMPI-A Project Committee (Butcher et al., 1992). There is deep interest in identifying specific adolescent psychopathology since serious emotional problems, such as depression, suicidal ideation and attempt (Gonzalez-Forteza et al., 2002; Mondragon, Borges and Gutierrez, 2001), drug addiction and antisocial conduct tend to emerge earlier in Mexican adolescents (Juarez-Garcia et al., 2005;Villatoro et al., 2005). In addition, 13-year-olds represent a significant group in Mexican junior high schools thus an increasing demand for assessing younger at-risk adolescents within clinicians and school psychologists (Barcelata, Lucio and Duran, 2004). Therefore, the need to evaluate if current Mexican MMPI-A norms would then apply to this younger group which also fulfilled the same sampling criteria as the normative sample did. On the other hand, given the developmental tasks and sociocultural contexts of a diverse and heterogeneous adolescent population in Mexico, there was an interest to assess if there was an effect of age and/or type of school (public or private) on the scores of a composite sample that would integrate the 13-year-old group to the normative sample. Therefore, the purposes of this exploratory study are (1) to examine if 13-year-old adolescents can understand the MMPI-A properly and hence generate a valid profile, and (2) evaluate the effects of age and type of school on the MMPI-A scores in a Mexican adolescent composite sample: the normative sample plus this excluded younger group.
METHOD The research questions are as follows: 1) is the MMPI-A profile produced by a 13-yearold subgroup valid and reliable? 2) Are there mean differences in the MMPI-A scale groups associated with differences in age or type of school in the composite sample? 3) Does change in the MMPI-A scores over levels of age depend on the type of school? 4) If there are significant differences for one or more of the main effects or interactions, which MMPI-A scales are changed and which are unaffected by age or type of school?
Variables For profile validity and reliability, the independent variable is the subgroup‘s age (13 years old) and the dependent variable the MMPI-A profile. For the MANOVA analyses there are two independent variables, age (13 to 18) and type of school (junior high public and private; senior high public and private); dependent variables are the scores on all MMPI-A scale groups: Validity, Clinical, Content, and Supplementary.
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Participants To assess profile validity in the 13-year-old subgroup 203 youngsters participated: 83 girls and 120 boys. As noted before, these adolescents attended the same public and private schools from where the Mexican normative sample was drawn. The composite sample used to assess age and school effect was conformed by these 203 13-year-olders plus the 4050 adolescents from the Mexican normative sample, resulting in a final study sample of 4,253 students from 13 to 18 years old.
Instruments Demographic data were gathered through an ad-hoc form which was completed by all participants. The official translated, adapted and standardized version for Mexico of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for Adolescents (MMPI-A) by Lucio et al. (1998). The translation procedures for the Mexican version followed a strict methodology and most of the scales exhibited alpha coefficients equal or higher than those of the United States normative sample (Lucio et al., 1999).
Procedure Consent was granted from each school‘s authorities and subsequently participants‘ parents. All of the students were given the choice of voluntary participation and were administered the test at their schools in groups of no more than 25 students each. There were at least two administrators in each group to ensure that the adolescents followed instructions properly and to answer any questions on the meaning or phrasing of items. Descriptive and frequency analyses were used with demographic data. To assess profile validity and reliability with the 13-year-old group, the MMPI-A interpretive system developed by Archer (2000) was used along with the corresponding Mexican inventory norms. To evaluate age and type of school effects in the composite sample, MANOVAs were carried out for each MMPI-A group of scales (Validity, Clinical, Content, and Supplementary), calculated separately for boys and girls and using raw scores. All statistical procedures were performed with SPSS version 15.
RESULTS Demographic Characteristics A composite sample of 4,253 Mexican student adolescents was used for the several statistical analyses (48% boys and 52% girls; X=15.5, SD=1.35). Most of the participants were from public senior high schools (54%); all participating schools (public and private) were selected to represent the different geographical and socioeconomic zones of Mexico City. The most common fathers‘ reported occupation was ―employee‖ (35%) whereas mothers‘ occupation was ―homemaker‖ (47%). Almost 40% of the students reported living
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with both parents and siblings. Age and sex sample distribution, and other demographics are presented in Table 1. Table 1. Demographics of the Mexican MMPI-A adolescent composite study sample Boys
Girls
Total
n
%
n
%
N
%
2024
47.6
2229
52.4
4253
100
13
120
5.9
83
3.7
203
4.8
14
412
20.3
511
22.9
923
21.7
15
502
24.8
649
29.1
1151
27.0
16
400
19.8
464
20.8
864
20.3
17
372
18.4
380
17.1
752
17.7
18
218
10.8
142
6.4
360
8.5
Public junior high
381
18.8
488
21.9
869
20.4
Public senior high
1084
53.5
1225
55.0
2309
54.3
Private junior high
323
16.0
289
13.0
612
14.4
Private senior high
236
11.6
227
10.2
463
10.9
Age
Type of school
Profile Validity and Reliability To assessMMPI-A profile validity and reliability with the 13-year-old subgroup the Mexican norms were applied to score the inventory and then interpretive reports were obtained separately for boys and girls (Archer, 2000). The Welsh Code for the male profile was 8970136/245: FL/K: with a mean clinical scale elevation of 50.4 (T-score); for the female profile the resulting Welsh Code was 95768140/32: FK/L: with a mean clinical elevation of 50.5 (T-score). Configural validity and scale interpretation of the MMPI-A for both girls and boys indicate that this group of 13-year-old adolescents has produced a consistent MMPI-A response pattern in agreement with acceptable values on validity scales ―Variable response inconsistency‖ (VRIN) and ―True response inconsistency‖ (TRIN). Both ―Infrequency 1‖ (F1) and ―Infrequency 2‖ (F2) are below T-score values of 53, reflecting adequate profile validity. The ―Infrequency-Lie-Defensiveness‖ (F-L-K) validity scale configuration suggests that the group responded to the MMPI-A in a valid, accurate, and cooperative manner The alpha coefficient of the 13 years old group are very similar to those of the Mexican and North-American normative sample, some of these coefficients are even higher in the 13 years old (tables 2 and 3). Furthermore, the validity scale features produced by these youngsters are typical of normal adolescents at the same time as the configural clinical scale interpretation indicates that the profile is within normal limits and presents no evidence of clinical levels of psychopathology.
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Table 2. Reliability statistics for MMPI-A Basic scales in the Mexican 13 years sample Scale
N of items
F1 F2
33 32
Cronbach‘s Alpha Boys (n=120) Girls (n=83) .56 .55 .70 .75
F
66
.78
.81
L K
14 30
.53 .68
.66 .71
1 Hs
32
.47
.35
2D 3 Hy
57 60
.67 .67
.66 .58
4 Pd 5 Mf
49 44
.69 .55
.62 .52
6 Pa
40
.72
.71
7 Pt
48
.82
.80
8 Sc
77
.85
.86
9 Ma
46
.66
.74
0 Si
62
.74
.72
Table 3. Reliability statistics for MMPI-A Content and Supplementary scales in the Mexican 13 years sample Scale
N of items
ANX
21
Cronbach‘s Alpha Boys (n=120) Girls (n=83) .61 .56
OBS
15
.67
.74
DEP
26
.63
.57
HEA ALN BIZ
37 20 19
.60 .57 .66
.39 .55 .74
ANG CYN CON LSE
17 22 23 18
.62 .70 .64 .64
.66 .71 .73 .66
LAS
16
.52
.47
SOD FAM SCH
24 35 20
.52 .56 .56
.30 .59 .60
TRT
26
.72
.73
MAC ACK PRO IMM
49 13 36 43
.67 .56 .43 .60
.68 .58 .37 .66
A R
35 33
.87 .54
.87 .57
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Means by Type of School Means by type of school are presented (figures 1 to 4) with respect to gender and the different scales group. The means are very similar and all of them are very near to T 50, as could be expected. With respect to clinical scales Sc (8) is the only scale 5 points higher to the normal mean and only in boys.
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
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121
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Effect of Age and Type of School Four 2 x 2 between-subjects multivariate analyses of variance were performed on each of the MMPI-A scale groups: Validity, Clinical, Content, and Supplementary (dependent variables). Independent variables were age (six levels: 13 through 18) and type of school (four levels: public junior and senior highs; private junior and senior highs). Raw scores were
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used separately for boys and girls; order of entry of the independent variables was age then type of school. There were no univariate or multivariate within-cell outliers at p < .001; results of evaluation of assumptions of normality, linearity, and multicollinearity were satisfactory. Using Wilks‘ criterion, all combined dependent variables in the four MMPI-A scale groups were austerely affected by type of school but neither by age nor their interaction; moreover, relatively higher values are observed for the girls than for the boys in the four scale groups. Estimates for effect size (partial Eta squared) are rather small suggesting reduced associations between type of school and the combined dependent variables; as for age, associations were even less substantial. For the first group ―Validity Scales‖ type of school has a relatively stronger effect on girls‘ scores, F (18, 6237) = 6.51, p < .001 partial η2 = .02, than on boys‘, F (18, 5651) = 4.16, p < .001 η2=.01 (Table 4a); univariate analysis on this first group of scales shows that the highest school effect values are for the Infrequency (F) scale in the boys, F (5, 20) = 11.1, p < .001) and for the Infrequency 2 (F2) scale in the girls, F (3, 18) = 14.8, p < .001 (Table 4b). Within the Clinical scales group, the obtained values are more alike for girls, multivariate F (30, 6461) = 2.43, p SG PA=> PP PC => LG GP=> ¨PP GP => PC GP =>
5.45*** .29** .49* .26*** .53*** .03* -.06**
.20 .17 .13 .26 .54 .11 -.13
2.46 .11 .102 .16 .44 .003 -.098
PAVariance
14.0%
2.99
NE .44*
E .15
8.45 .46 .88 .38 .62 .05 -.02
.54*** .21** .08 .29*** .48*** .08 -.14*
.24 .18 .09 .29 .64 .09 -.14 15.6%
GP Variance 33.60% 44.50% Note NE = non standardized; E = standardized; PP = previous performance; LG = learning goals; SG= success goals; PA = perceived ability ; GP = global performance. a Grouping method values (item parceling) balanced according to loadings. * p Self-efficacy
-.48
-.33
-.61
-.35
-.18
-.32
Stress => Social support
-.16
-.19
-.24
-.09
-.07
-.20
Emotional exhaustion => Stress
.62
.54
.52
.72
.78
.64
Symptoms => Stress
.09
.16
.03
.15
.08
.17
Symptoms => Emotional exhaustion
.20
.39
.14
.25
.19
.51
Symptoms variance
24.30%
39.40%
Emotional exhaustion variance
29.40%
40.90%
Stress variance
41.80%
Note: NE= Non standardized; E = Standardized.
47.50%
All were significant parameters.
Path Analysis Models Versus Latent Variable Models
293
Table 2.3. Comparison of models for explaining psychosomatic symptoms Model
Χ2
df
Χ2/gl
GFI
AGFI
RMSEA CI 90%
NFI
CFI
Path
17.213
6
2.869
.985
.946
.033 –.112
.973
.982
.924
.876
.073 –.100
.903
.926
Latent 179.394 48 3.737 variable Note: df = degrees of freedom.
Discussion Goodness of fit indexes show that both models (path model and latent variable model) are acceptable; differences in fit are affected by the degrees of freedom. The model explained 39.4% of psychosomatic symptoms variance when using latent variables, against 24.3% explained by the path model. The variance percentage increases when using error-free measurement variables. The latent variable model parameters for co-variances between self-esteem and selfefficacy, self-esteem and social support, self-efficacy and social support, and stress effect over symptoms are included inside the confidence intervals of the path model parameters, indicating that estimates, and in consequence the effects variables over other ones have not changed substantially. Only in the case of exogenous effects (self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support) over stress, and stress over emotional exhaustion, the structural variable models estimates fall outside the corresponding 95% confidence intervals of the path model estimates, keeping the direction in each one of the proposed relations. Likewise, the stress effect over symptoms are both, direct and indirect; in the path model, the standardized value for total effect is 0.369 (0.158 direct effect, and 0.211 indirect effect); meanwhile in the latent variable model, the standardized value for total effect is 0.491 (0.167 direct effect, and 0.324 indirect effect). Based on the goodness of fit indexes, it is concluded that both models (path model and latent variables model) are acceptable, even though they are better in the path model. Additionally, in this case the individual adjustment of each one of the models is acceptable, and the increase in the number of variables to be explained is reflected in the corresponding increase in the degree of freedom for the latent variable model.
GENERAL DISCUSSION In this study, the objective was to compare structural models partially disaggregated (using item parcels as indicators of latent variables) with path models. In order to comply with the objective, two study results were showed. After the analysis showed, we can conclude that the results, when comparing latent variable models versus path models, may be related to the aggregation level used (partially vs. totally aggregated models), and not to the constructs which compose the model. Our findings are aligned with those reported by Coffman and MacCallum (2005). In this regard, we can conclude that the use of item parceling instead of path models results in the
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increase in the absolute value of the estimated parameters and a residual variance reduction, which is reflected in a tantamount increase of the variance explained by the model. On the other hand, the goodness of fit indexes of the path models show values nearer to the ideal than in latent variables models. This is influenced by the number of parameters to be calculated, this is to say by the degrees of freedom. A possible explanation of the phenomenon is the fact that the variance-covariance matrix of the latent variables model contains a higher number of observed variables (it is of higher dimension), hence it is more difficult that the structural model parameters will reproduce accuratedly such observed relationships, specially when the covariance between measurement error terms has not been allowed in the model. Considering the above, we recommend that those studies in which only one of structural model types is fitted should consider these aspects for interpretation. In this way, path models may result in a better fit and a lower percentage of explained variance. Meanwhile, latent variable models will achieve a higher percentage of explained variance, but they will loose fit since the number of parameters to be estimated is higher, as well as the number of observed covariances to be reproduced. Making a decision on the type of structural equation model to use is an appropriate strategy only when it is possible to include indicators. There are situations in which the observed variables have their own meaning and their composing elements can not be separated. Examples of this are physiological measures (blood pressure) in the case of health psychology studies, or the average obtained in an academic course, in the case of educational psychology. Finally, we recommend that the process for evaluating a structural equation model should start using path models, until arriving to the most parsimonious model and with best fit; further on a latent variable model should be fited (at least with respect to the endogenous variables). We suggest, when selecting the indicators of such constructs, to assess the convenience of using item parceling versus using all the items that compose each dimension (see Little et al, 2002). In latent variable models, it must be evaluated if the relations between variables preserve the same direction, and if the estimates lie within the CI of the path model parameters. Thus, results can show both types of structural models, indicating the fit and percentage of variance explained in each case, which will provide the reader with a better view of the phenomenon under study.
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In: Hispanic Psychology in the 21st Century Ed: Victor L. Rojas and Maria J. Ruiz
ISBN: 978-1-61761-929-8 ©2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
RELEVANT FACTORS FOR OBJECTIVES EFFECTIVENESS ACCOMPLISHMENT IN COMPENSATION PAYMENTS: THE USE OF BONUSES AS A PAYMENT FOR PERFORMANCE Sergio Manuel Madero Gómeza and Amaia Arizkuren Eletab a
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Mexico b Universidad de Deusto, San Sebastián, Spain
ABSTRACT This study describes and explains how the interest of companies in paying performance bonus (PPB) and information of the current process has an impact on the payment objectives‘ effectiveness (POE). The research was carried out between 419 persons who are executives (11.5%); managers (41.1%), and administrators (47.5%), from which 213 do receive performance bonus (50.8%), and 206 do not receive it (49.2%). Regarding sex, the sample is divided into 66.6% male and 33.4% female. Concerning age, 202 persons are under 30 years old; 141 persons are between 31 and 40 years old, and the other 76 are over the age of 40. The object of the article is to find out if POE shows significant differences between people who do receive the PPB and those who do not. By using variance analyses, there were found significant statistical differences between variables. In addition, to test the hypotheses presented, the results obtained are analyzed from their management‘s point of view.
Keywords: Compensation, Performance Compensation, Human Resources.
Bonuses,
Monetary
Incentives,
Variable
INTRODUCTION A relevant factor for reaching compensations objectives‘ effectiveness: Performance bonus. In the XXI Century, a great number of companies are realizing the structures, objectives and methods used for their operation were designed in a historical time which is coming to an end. Time for supporting companies has started, so that they may be highly competitive, improve their processes and be prepared to face the inherent challenges of the new millennium.
300
Sergio Manuel Madero Gómez, and Amaia Arizkuren Eleta
The environment in which businesses participate at this time is focused on competitiveness, fulfillment and accomplishment in results, as well as efficiency, diversity in the use of tools for improvement1, for correct use of technology (Ulrich, 2000), for environment concern and consciousness of the importance of social responsibility2. For that reason, we feel that now is the right time. It is a great opportunity for compensation area specialists to propose, create and develop clear, efficient, novel, applicable and innovative administration structures that can be adapted to current market demands, which has been called ―the employee decade‖ (Jamrog, 2002). Compensations‘ administration has undergone a series of changes and questions that have been very relevant throughout history, having, in some cases, a strategic perspective as indicated by Gomez- Mejia and Welbourne (1988); Gomez-Mejia and Welbourne (1991), upon comparing several factors related to payments‘ structure, questioning if it is the position or the person that should be rewarded; the performance or experience that should be taken into account for evaluating the achievement of certain goals; if programs are designed for individual or team incentives; if internal equity or external competitiveness are important or not, or if fixed or variable payments need to be focused on. Taking into account the need to know about and design variables in programs for human resources management in the enterprises -such as payments based on yields, also known as monetary incentives, since they are related to performance, productivity and quality- we have been led to reflect and confirm the importance of investigating and knowing what are the most relevant factors in compensation management, so as to take them into account and use them in the best possible manner. In order to develop this article, we have considered that PPB refers to a variable reward based on the evaluation of the performance a person receives at work. Under this wide variety of changes, of enterprising strategies, of the use of different tools for business administration, of intercultural and generation aspects, of attitudes, values and interests, companies are understanding that variable payment systems implementation is becoming more and more commonly used in the daily practice of human resources management (Deckop, Merriman and Blau, 2004).
THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYMENTS In the world of business, very concrete changes have occurred concerning different forms for personnel rewarding, which today are developed in our reality, causing a deep transformation in the payment systems management. For that reason, it is important to analyze and review, in detail, the different applications of performance payments. The goal is to support individual and/or team growth, so as to achieve the objectives. Taking into consideration the fact that compensation management is a key and essential element for the good run of the business, without allowing for the industrial activity, or size, it is important to point out ―an appropriate salary structure reflects the company‘s philosophy on rewards‖, since it shows the importance that must be given to a company‘s salary system. (Stoskopf, 2002), 1 2
http://www.spri.es/aSW/web/cas/servicios/publicaciones/index.jsp, revised on December 12, 2007 http://cemefi.org/spanish/content/view/632/19/, revised on December 12, 2007
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The ways to reward people in companies must be focused on developing a pleasant and positive work atmosphere; its implementation must be designed to bring about constant communication between those involved in the process, from both, employer‘s and employees‘ points of view. Of course, the efficient use of compensations has a basic and important role in the structure of company‘s culture, since it changes the way of doing things, of working and even the way of being and thinking. According to Fusco (2003), presently, business administrators need five tools related to personnel administration. We can mention three of them: (1) ―To access to information related to payments which reflect the current market value situation of company‘s positions; (2) To make the necessary decisions to keep internal equity and external competitiveness; (3) To develop an incentive program to reward work teams for improving the critical objectives of the company‖.
Payment Programs for Performance There is a series of authors showing which payment practices based on performance have been used recently, Aguilar Pastor (2000); Allen and Helms (2001); Ivancevich (2005); Lawler (2003); Scott, McMullen, Wallace and Morajda (2004); Van Neck and Smilko (2002), among which can be pointed out: (1) individual compensations incentives; (2) work teams or groups incentives, standing out those who share savings or benefits obtained from workers‘ active participation in any specific process improvement, also known as gain sharing‖; and (3) those common awarded incentives, reached for all the workers of the company such as: profit sharing obtained in a determined period of time called ―profit-sharing‖; there are also plans for stocks purchasing or acquisition, both, for executives- ―stock-options‖- and for any hierarchical level employees, ―employee stock-ownership‖; and, lastly, non-monetary recognition. In a compensations study carried out in Latin America, Uzcategui and Diez (2005) mentioned that Mexico is the country which awarded the most short-term incentives in 2001 and 2002; it also shows there are different elements interacting in compensations management, having different implications. For example, in a country level there are economic, political and socio-cultural aspects, while on a company level there are corporate culture and organizational challenges. Table 1, showed in the attachments, presents a series of aspects involved in performance measurement process, which are a relevant part of performance bonus payment system. In such model, the importance of keeping a close relationship between performance measurement and incentives programs implementation can be observed. (Rynes, Gerhart and Parks, 2005; Werner and Ward, 2001).
Sergio Manuel Madero Gómez, and Amaia Arizkuren Eleta
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Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the sample
Less than 30
Between 30 & 40
More than 40
Less than 5
Between 6 & 10
More than 10
Antiquity in the company (years)
Feminine
Age
Masculine
Gender
Receive PPB
213 51%
146 52%
67 48%
79 37%
88 41%
46 22%
105 49%
62 29%
46 22%
Not PPB
206
133
73
123
53
30
124
43
39
49%
48%
52%
60%
26%
15%
60%
21%
19%
419 100%
279 140 67% 33% 0.746 1 0.388
202 141 48% 34% 21.529 2 0.000
76 18%
229 55% 5.476 2 0.064
105 25%
85 20%
Receive PPB Not receive PPB TOTAL Chi Square df Probability level
213 51% 206 49% 419 100%
161 76% 168 82% 329 79% 3.056 2 0.217
35 16% 29 14% 64 15%
the
More than 10
Between 6 & 10
Less than 5
Antiquity on position (years)
17 8% 9 4% 26 6%
Hierarchic Level
33 15% 15 7 48 11% 44.83 2 0.000
Administrative
Chi Square df Probability level
Management
TOTAL
High Direction
receive
113 53% 59 29% 172 41%
67 31% 132 64% 199 47%
In the performance evaluation schemes it is necessary to first include measurements or indicators of performance and later, to keep in mind a very clear idea of the process to be followed for different payment schemes implementation. Regarding performance process evaluation, we can mention the importance of a clear and transparent development of the basis used in measuring, as well the procedure to be followed, the personnel involved and responsible to carry it out. It is also necessary to take into account the main factors to be
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evaluated as well as their respective indicators. In addition, it is always convenient to keep in mind the communication processes used in performance measurement, since they are the core in boss-collaborator relationship when evaluation is carried out, or when pertaining feedback is given for each worker. We find that communication plays a very important role in the development of the process, since it has direct impact on different levels of the company with respect to the action plans that can come forth; it can also affect improvement programs or programs for professional development. Furthermore, it must have performance evaluation method; for example, if evaluation is made under 360 ° scheme, or under 180° methodology, or of it is a unidirectional evaluation3. Today, monetary rewards strongly influence job‘s appeal for a person. That is why, there are many companies which partially base their compensation systems on salary incentives, as a way to motivate their employees to reach a greater yield and efficiency. Because of that, (Zingheim and Schuster, 2001) state that in the near future it will be possible to find a good relationship between companies and workers in order to help compensation systems be the motor of the success formula. Companies will offer better working conditions and a series of challenging activities, while workers will develop abilities and competencies to be considered during hiring and developing processes, giving them the possibility to perform, in the best possible way, the roles assigned them in different company‘s positions.
THE OBJECTIVES OF COMPENSATIONS Bohlander, Snell and Sherman (2001); Ellig (2002); Fay and Thompson (2001); Lawler (1995); Newman and Krzystofiak (1998); Werther and Davis (2000) point out so as to design compensation systems, there must be certain main objectives: (a) to maintain and retain personnel; (b) to motivate personnel to a better performance in order to achieve their goals; (c) to improve procedures and activities so as to achieve goals and commitment; and (d) to achieve the employee growth to link payments to the development of abilities and knowledge‖. The objectives considered to be analyzed in this article are: (1) to improve labor performance, Werner and Ward (2001); (2) to help in developing competencies and abilities, Lawler and Ledford Jr.(1987); Levy-Leboyer (1997); Murray and Gerhart (1998); St-Onge, Haines III and Klarsfeld (2004); and (3) to help worker labor careers, Judge, Cable, Boudreau and Bretz Jr. (1995). The effectiveness of compensation objectives (POE) will be considered according to associates‘ perception based on the help they received to fulfill each one of their objects from the payment they have. Table 2, from attachments, shows the model used to develop his research.
3
Levy-Leboyer (2000) presents how 360º evaluations can be developed and implemented. On the other hand, Alles (2002) works on his own, by considering competence performance.
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Table 2. Affective / Attitudinal Commitment variable analysis Variables / Questions
Affective / Attitudinal Commitment
1.- I feel like ―part of the family‖ in the organization. 2.- The organization has a great personal significance for me. 3.- I feel emotionally attached to the organization. 4.- I have a great sense of membership in the organization.
Receive bono1 Alpha Cronbach: 0.945 Factor loading -0.775740 Factor loading -0.889943 Factor loading -0.893725 Factor loading -0.879225
Not receive bono2 Mean
F ratio
Significance
3.889671 s=0.0738
3.665049 s=0.0750
4.56
0.033375**
3.821596 s=0.0793
3.650486 s=0.0806
2.29
0.130874
3.948357 s=0.0780
3.771845 s=0.0793
2.52
0.113436
3.849765 s=0.0799
3.587379 s=0.0813
5.30
0.021802**
3.938967 s=0.0815
3.653659 s=0.0831
6.01
0.014638**
1
n=213 2 n=206 *significant at a level of 0.01% **significant at a level of 0.05%
METHOD Next, we will focus on demonstrating the activities from a methodological point of view that are related to the development of this work. The research carried out is not an experimental one; the population includes all those people working in high management, intermediate and administrative positions4, of companies belonging to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Metropolitan zone, in Mexico. They are from commercial, industrial and service sectors. Without taking into account if they receive or not performance bonus, a favorable sample was taken. Information was obtained by filling out a questionnaire. The scales used to score each variable is Likert scale, from 1 to 5, where ―1‖ pertains to the phrase ―I totally disagree with‖, and ―5‖ pertains to ―I totally agree with‖. 213 questionnaires were answered by people who do receive PPB, which is 50.8% of our sample, and 206 questionnaires were answered by people who do not receive PPB, being 49.2% of the sample; a total of 419 questionnaires.
Participants We immediately analyze the data for the people who answered the instrument, which was given to 419 persons, pointing out that 66.6% are male and 33.4% are female. On the other hand, 48.2% are under 30 years old, 33.6% are between 30 and 40 years old, and 18.1% are older than 40. On respect to the experience or seniority, 54.6% have been working in the company for less than 5 years; 25.1% for 6 to 10 years, and at last, 20.2% for more than 10 4
―High Management‖ pertains to ―General Management‖ of the business and ―Operational Management‖ (including hierarchical second level). ―Intermediate hierarchy‖ are those depending on High Management ; they belong to the third or fourth hierarchical level.
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years. Regarding position seniority, 78.5% has less than 5 years in the position; 15.3% has been in the same position for 6 to 10 years, and the rest, 6.2%, has been during more than 10 years. Concerning position level, 11.5% belong to High Management; 41.1% is hired in Operational Positions, and 47.5% belongs to Administrative level. The comparison allows observing differences expected due to the population. Regarding gender, both groups are predominately male; those who do not receive bonus are younger (60% under 30 years old) than those who do receive it (37%). Concerning seniority, the proportion is the same as age, since personnel who do not receive bonus (60%) have less than 5 years in the company, meanwhile, those who do receive it (49%) have more than 5 years. In addition to seniority in the position, the number of people who do not receive bonus is higher (82%) having less than 5 years than those who do receive it (76%). Fifteen percent of High Management personnel receive the bonus, and 7% do not receive it. This data can be observed in Table 3 in the attachments. Table 3. Continuative / Calculative Commitment variable analysis Variables / Questions
Continuative
/
Calculative
Commitment
1.- In this moment, being a member of the organization is a necessity, not a
Receive bono1
Not receive bono2 Mean
F ratio
Significance
Alpha Cronbach: 0.743
2.728873 s=0.0642
3.199029 s=0.0653
26.39
0.000000*
Factor loading
2.957747 s=0.0861
3.446602 s=0.08762
15.82
0.000082*
2.29108 s=0.0874
2.737864 s=0.0889
12.82
0.000383*
2.784038 s=0.0851
3.398058 s=0.0865
25.59
0.000001*
2.882629 s=0.0869
3.213592 s=0.0884
7.13
0.007868*
0.579454
desire. 2.- I feel I have low possibilities of having another job if I leave the
Factor loading 0.693384
organization. 3.- I consider that one of the serious causes of not leaving the organization are
Factor loading 0.813691
the few alternatives of getting another job. 4.- It is going to be very difficult to leave the organization in this moment; even
Factor loading 0.487776
though I would like to do it. 1
n=213 2 n=206 *significant at a level of 0.01% **significant at a level of 0.05%
RESULTS For each one of the items used in reward objectives measurement, a confirming factorial analysis was carried out to simplify the variables used in the instrument, with factorial loads > than 0.80 which allows us to group them into a new variable, which is POE, resulting in a .9176 Cronbach alpha. The first factor in our model is related to monetary compensation, that
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Sergio Manuel Madero Gómez, and Amaia Arizkuren Eleta
is, a performance bonus payment received by the workers in a company, for which GomezMejia, Balkin and Cardy (2001) mention that there are 3 elements upon considering a total reward package that people have when they provide their services for a company, which are: basic salary, benefits and incentives. The first hypothesis of the research establishes that there is a significant difference in the POE between people who do receive a performance bonus and those who do not. POE average indicator for people who do receive PPB is 3.374 compared with the one of those who do not receive it, which is 3.029. That is why we observe there is a difference between both populations, and according to the F statistics (9.54) and p