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Listed below are the most frequently asked questions about SIGMA 's assessments. If you do not find your answer below click here to ask a question.
Frequently Asked Questions
Personality Assessment Questions
- What is a Standard Score?
- What research has been done with the Personality Research Form?
- How do your tests address the potential problems of faking and motivated distortion?
Aptitude Batteries Questions
- What is the difference between the MAB-II and the MAB?
- What types of scores will the MAB-II provide?
- How are IQ scores interpreted?
- Does a respondent have to take the entire MAB-II to obtain an IQ score?
Personality Assessment Questions
1. What is a Standard Score?
A Standard Score is the respondent's score on a particular measure expressed in relation to the scores of the comparison group, commonly referred to as the normative sample. The most frequently used format for this purpose is a standard deviation distance above or below the group average.
2. What research has been done with the Personality Research Form?
There are over 2000 articles and book chapters reporting research using the PRF. This research can be found using Psychlit or PsychInfo, two psychological databases that provide abstracts and references for most major psychological publications. These research tools are available at most university libraries. There are listed also a number of references in the PRF Research Bibliography on this site.
3. How do your tests address the potential problems of faking and motivated distortion?
In general, most people responding to a personality questionnaire take it seriously and respond purposefully. In some circumstances however, deliberate distortion, passive noncompliance, and general carelessness in following instructions do occur. There are a variety of possible reasons for this. An individual may be rushed to complete the measure and answer the items near the end of the test more or less at random. A respondent who feels coerced into the testing situation may display a lack of motivation by answering randomly. An individual may not understand written English well enough to follow directions and interpret items meaningfully. Simple carelessness is another possibility. A person may, for instance, confuse the number of an item in the booklet with a non-corresponding location on the answer sheet. It is appropriate to make provisions for these possibilities in interpreting the results of psychological instruments. Methods for detecting non-purposeful responding, based on responses to items from our measures are described in detail in the corresponding test manuals.
As well, all of our measures are designed to both detect and avoid faking and motivated distortion. Unlike many other personality measures, special item-selection procedures were used to suppress the social desirability component of each item, thereby reducing the opportunity for 'faking good' or 'faking bad'. SIGMA also serves the business community with specialized assessment techniques designed to overcome the faking that often occurs with job applicants.
Aptitude Batteries Questions
1. What is the difference between the MAB-II and the MAB?
The MAB-II is the revised version of the MAB. The most significant revision is an updated set of norms based on a national sample of 1600 respondents. The MAB-II manual (1998) incorporates new norm tables including percentile values, and updated scale descriptions including suggested occupations that may be relevant to high scores on each subscale. The actual test items in the MAB-II are identical to those in the MAB version.
2. What types of scores will the MAB-II provide?
There are three main scores provided by the MAB-II: a Full scale IQ, a Verbal IQ, and a Performance IQ. The Full scale IQ is based on the sum of the 10 subtests, the Verbal IQ is based on the sum of the 5 verbal subtests, and the Performance IQ is based on the sum of the 5 performance subtests. The MAB-II also provides individual scaled scores and percentile equivalents for each of the 10 subtests. Note that all the above scores are based on appropriate age groups.
3. How are IQ scores interpreted?
An IQ score is a standardized score that has been compared to an age appropriate normative sample. IQ scores have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. IQ scores are more easily interpreted when considering their percentile equivalents. Percentiles express the relative position in the normative sample. The percentile equivalent for an IQ score of 100 is 50. This means that the individual with an IQ score of 100 has a score that is higher than those of 50% of the population. The percentile equivalent of an IQ score of 115 is 84, and that of an IQ score of 130 is 97.7. An individual who has an IQ score of 130 has scored higher than 97.7% of the normative sample.
4. Does a respondent have to take the entire MAB-II to obtain an IQ score?
No. Subtest scores can be prorated to obtain a full-scale score. Including more subtests in the prorated estimate will result in a more reliable IQ score. The more subtests that are included in the prorated estimate, the more reliable the IQ score will be. The procedure for prorating is explained on page 101 of the MAB-II manual.
