MAClP123 Clinical Psychology Association Method Amity University

Amity University

MAClP123 Clinical Psychology Association Method Amity University

INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE OF RISB
The Rotter’s incomplete sentence blank is an attempt to standardize the sentence
completion method for the use at college level. Forty stems are completed by the
subject. These completions are then scored by comparing them against typical items in
empirically derived scoring manuals for men and women and by assigning to each
response a scale value from 0to6. The total score is an index of maladjustment.
THE SENTENCE COMPLETION METHOD
The sentence completion method of studying personality is a semi structured
projective technique in which the subject is asked to finish a sentence for which the
first word or words are supplied. As in other projective devices, it is assumed that the
subject reflects his own wishes, desires, fears and attitudes in the sentences he makes.
Historically, the incomplete sentence method is related most closely to the word
association test. In some test incomplete sentences tests only a single word or brief
response is called for; the major differences appears to be in the length of the stimulus.
In the sentence completion tests, tendencies to block and to twist the meaning of the
stimulus words appear and the responses may be categorized in a somewhat similar
fashion to the word association method.
DEVELOPMENT OF ISB
The Incomplete Sentence Blank consists of forty items revised from a form used by
Rotter and Willermann (11) in the army. This form was, in turn, a revision of blanks
used by Shor (15), Hutt (5), and Holzberg (4) at the Mason General Hospital. In the
development of the ISB, two objectives were kept in mind. One aim was to provide a
technique which could be used objectively for screening and experimental purposes. It
was felt that this technique should have at least some of the advantages of projective
methods, and also be economical from the point of view of administration and scoring.
A second goal was to obtain information of rather specific diagnostic value for
treatment purposes.
The Incomplete Sentence Blank can be used, of course, for general interpretation with
a variety of subjects in much the same manner that a clinician trained in dynamic
psychology uses any projective material. However, a feature of ISB is that one can
derive a single over-all adjustment score. This over-all adjustment score is of
particular value for screening purposes with college students and in experimental
studies. The ISB has also been used in a vocational guidance center to select students
requiring broader counseling than was usually given, in experimental studies of the
effect of psychotherapy and in investigations of the relationship of adjustment to a
variety of variables.
PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES
1.RELIABILITY
Since the items on an incomplete sentence blank are not equivalent, the odd even
technique for determining reliability is not applicable and would tend to give
minimum estimate of internal consistency. Therefore items on the ISB were divided
into two halves deemed as nearly equivalent as possible. This yielded a corrected splithalf
reliability of .84 when based on the records of 124 male college students, and .83
when based on 71 female students. Inter-scorer reliability for two scorer trained by the
authors was .91 when based on male records and .96 for female records.
2.VALIDITY
The Incomplete Sentence Blank was validated on groups of subjects which did not
include any of cases used in developing the scoring principles and the scoring manuals.
Scoring of the blanks was done “blindly” the scorer never knew whether the test blank
was supposed to be that of a maladjusted or an adjusted subject.
Validity data were obtained for the two sexes separately since the scoring manuals
differ. The subjects include 82 females and 124 males who were classified as either
adjusted or maladjusted i.e., as needing personal counseling or as not needing such
counseling. A cutting score of 135 provided a very sufficient separation of adjusted and
maladjusted students in the data collected above
3.NORMS
A distribution of scores on the ISB for a representative college freshman population
was obtained by giving the Incomplete Sentences Blank to 299 entering freshman at
Ohio State University. A comparison between the median percentile ranks on the Ohio
State Psychological Examination of the sample and of the total freshman population
showed a difference of approximately two percentile points. The agreement between
corresponding first and third quartile points was very close. It was interesting to find
that the correlation coefficient between the Ohio State Psychological Examination
scores and ISB scores for the selected freshman sample was only .11. This is in accord
with a general feeling that a very little relationship would exist between intelligence
and scores on the personality measure such as the Incomplete Sentence Blank
ADMINISTRATION
The printed instructions are given on the page which state complete these sentences to
express your real feelings. Try to do every one. Be sure to make a complete sentence.
No further instructions are given except to repeat the printed instructions if necessary
and to urge subjects to complete all the items. Administration to a group of any
number of subjects is possible. The approximate average time for administration is
twenty minutes.

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