Measurement-induced improvement in anxiety: Mean shifts with repeated assessment.
Abstract
Some personality test scores improve on retest. Three studies investigated the role of meaning change in producing this phenomenon. In Study 1 multiple versions of a Manifest Anxiety Scale were administered, with counterbalanced item orders. It was found that measurement-induced improvement (a) occurred within a test as well as between test and retest, (b) was unaffected by participants' anxiety scores, and (c) occurred even when the retest contained different items than the first test. Studies 2 and 3 found that as respondents experience more of a test, they are better able to discern its meaning and to use that meaning to interpret an item. These findings indicate that mean shifts in answers from test to retest also occur within a test along with context-induced shifts in meaning.
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Knowles et al. found a decrease in anxiety scores from test to retest and a decrease for later items even within a test.
“Knowles et al. found a decrease in anxiety scores from test to retest and a decrease for later items even within a test.”
From Common Factors of Meditation, Focusing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Longitudinal Relation of Self-Report Measures to Worry, Depressive, and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Among Nonclinical Students (2015) · cites this paper as Knowles et al. 1996
One plausible explanation for the decreases in symptoms is 'meaning change' induced by the exposure to symptom items.
“One plausible explanation for these decreases is “meaning change” induced by the exposure to symptom items (Knowles et al. 1996).”
From Common Factors of Meditation, Focusing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Longitudinal Relation of Self-Report Measures to Worry, Depressive, and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Among Nonclinical Students (2015) · cites this paper as Knowles et al. 1996
They found that the experience of answering items changed the understanding of the constructs and meaning of single items in light of those constructs.
“They found that the experience of answering items changed the understanding of the constructs and meaning of single items in light of those constructs.”
From Common Factors of Meditation, Focusing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Longitudinal Relation of Self-Report Measures to Worry, Depressive, and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Among Nonclinical Students (2015) · cites this paper as Knowles et al. 1996
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- Authors
- Knowles, E. S., Coker, M. C., Scott, R. A., Cook, D. A., & Neville, J. W.
- Affiliations
- University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1996
- Volume
- 71
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 352-363
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W4236625252
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 2.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Keywords
- anxiety, repeated assessment, mean shift, self-report measures, measurement error
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety Disorders, Female, Humans, Male
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