Sentence completion tests
Sentence completion tests are a class of semi-structured projective techniques. Sentence completion tests typically provide respondents with beginnings of sentences, referred to as “stems,” and respondents then complete the sentences in ways that are meaningful to them. The responses are believed to provide indications of attitudes, beliefs, motivations, or other mental states. Therefore, sentence completion technique, with such advantage, promotes the respondents to disclose their concealed feelings.[1] Notwithstanding, there is debate over whether or not sentence completion tests elicit responses from conscious thought rather than unconscious states. This debate would affect whether sentence completion tests can be strictly categorized as projective tests.
A sentence completion test form may be relatively short, such as those used to assess responses to advertisements, or much longer, such as those used to assess personality. A long sentence completion test is the Forer Sentence Completion Test, which has 100 stems. The tests are usually administered in booklet form where respondents complete the stems by writing words on paper.
The structures of sentence completion tests vary according to the length and relative generality and wording of the sentence stems. Structured tests have longer stems that lead respondents to more specific types of responses; less structured tests provide shorter stems, which produce a wider variety of responses.
History
Herman Ebbinghaus is generally credited with developing the first sentence completion test in 1897.[2] Ebbinghaus’s sentence completion test was used as part of an intelligence test.[2] Simultaneously, Carl Jung’s word association test may also have been a precursor to modern sentence completion tests. Moreover, in recent decades, sentence completion tests have increased in usage, in part because they are easy to develop and easy to administer. As of the 1980s, sentence completion tests were the eighty-fifth most widely used personality assessment instruments.[3] Another reason for the increased usage of sentence completion tests is because of their superiority to other measures in uncovering conflicted attitudes.[4] Some sentence completion tests were developed as a way to overcome the problems associated with thematic apperception measures of the same constructs.[4] [5]
Uses
The uses of sentence completion tests include personality analysis, clinical applications, attitude assessment, achievement motivation, and measurement of other constructs. They are used in several disciplines, including psychology, management, education, and marketing.
Sentence completion measures have also been incorporated into non-projective applications, such as intelligence tests, language comprehension, and language and cognitive development tests.[4]
Examples of sentence completion tests
There are many sentence completion tests available for use by researchers. Some of the most widely used sentence completion tests include:
- Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (assesses personality traits; perhaps the most widely used of all sentence completion tests).
- Miner Sentence Completion Test (measures managerial motivations).
- Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) from Jane Loevinger (measures ego development).
Data analysis, validity and reliability
The data collected from sentence completion tests can usually be analyzed either quantitatively or qualitatively.[4] Usually, sentence completion tests can be interpreted in two different ways: subjective-intuitive analysis of the underlying motivations projected in the subject's responses, or objective analysis by means of scores assigned to each completed sentence.[6] Multiple themes can occur in a short test, which gives the examinee multiple opportunities to reveal underlying motivations about each topic during data analysis.Of course, most sentence completion tests are much longer-anywhere from 40 to 100 stems-and contain more themes-anywhere from 4 to 15 topics.
Sentence completion tests usually include some formal coding procedure or manual. The validity of each sentence completion test must be determined independently and this depends on the instructions laid out in the scoring booklet.
Compared to positivist instruments, such as Likert-type scales, sentence completion tests tend to have high face validity (i.e., the extent to which measurement items accurately reflect the concept being measured). This is to be expected, because in many cases the sentence stems name or refer to specific objects and the respondent is provides responses specifically focused on such objects.
References
- ^ Putthiwanit, C. (2012) Investigating consumer insight by using completion techniques: A pilot study of a motorcycle accessory shop in Thailand. International Review of Management and Marketing, 2, 92-8.
- ^ a b Rhode, A.R. (1957) The Sentence Completion Method. New York: The Ronald Press 1957; Lah, M.I. (1989). Sentence Completion Tests. In C.S. Newmark (Ed.), Major psychological assessment instruments, Vol II (pp 133-163). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
- ^ Holaday, M., Smith, D.A. & Sherry, A. (2000). Sentence completion tests: A review of the literature and results of a survey of members of the society for personality assessment. Journal of Personality Assessment, 74, 371-383.; Lubin, B., Larsen, R.M. & Matarazzo, J.D. (1984). Patterns of psychological test usage in United States: 1935-1982. American Psychologist, 39, 451-454.
- ^ a b c d Lawrence C. Soley & Aaron Lee Smith (2008). Projective Techniques for Social Science and Business Research. Milwaukee: The Southshore Press.
- ^ Ebbinghaus invented the method in 1879 to test the mental ability of school children in Germany. He used is test to study his interest in the development intellectual capacity and reasoning ability in children (Hersen, 2003). Carl Jung was the first to look at if sentence completion could be used for personality assessment. He thought the personal meanings of word associations could be used. He popularized the idea that inner notions could be analyzed through people’s associations of different words. In his methods, he would say a list of words to the person being tested and with each word, the client would be asked to say the first thing that came to their mind (Hersen, 2003). The association method was then formalized in the United States by Grace Kent and Aaron Rosanoff who created a Free Association test. Their test differed from Jung’s because it used more everyday and vague words. For example, Jung’s test used mother, father, sex, and work. Kent and Rosanoff’s test used words like table, dark, music, and man (as opposed to father). The word association technique was developed into many different versions with many different words all ranging in different levels of aggressive words (Rhode, 1957). Over time, assessors decided that single word responses to one word stimuli was not reaching the full potential of the method. Something could be done to tap more into an individuals personality. The method gradually developed from one word, to brief phrases, to sentences. Contemporary sentence completion methods began to fully evolve in the late 1920’s (Rhode, 1957). The beginning of using the formal sentence completion method for personality assessment was in 1928 with Arthur Payne. Payne used the tests for guidance purposes in asylums and institutions and to assess career-related personal traits (Schafer, Rotter, Rafferty, 1953). Alexander Tendler used the method to study emotional reactions. With his tests, all his sentences began with I and revealed something about annoyances, fears, aversions, like, interests, and attachments. It has never been validated that these tests can be used in emotional contexts (Schafer et al, 1953). As opposed to Tendler and Payne, Amanda Rhode decided not to focus on specific aspects of personality, but use the measure to develop a general personality test. She developed the first validated personality measure of this kind and discussed abroad range of personal issues and experiences (Rhode, 1957). The purpose of the measure was to “reveal latent needs, sentiments, feelings, and attitudes which subjects would be unable or unwilling to recognize or to express in direct communication” (Weiner & Greene, 2008). Most sentence completion methods today were developed from the basis of Amanda Rhode’s test and theories. One of the most popular of these tests is the RISB, or Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank. The original version of the test was developed in 1950 by Rotter and Rafferty. The main objective of the test was to create a version of the sentence completion method that could be administered and scored easily to permit a widespread use. They also wanted to provide specific diagnostic criteria so the results of the exam could be obtained more quickly. However, the test was not intended to give a full view of personality, but more of a starting point for clinicians to take direction from. The current version of this test has three forms at different levels including High School, College, and Adult. The test is scored on a seven point scale with answers being tagged from a conflict (pessimism, hostility, hopelessness) to neutral (stereotypes, catchphrases, cliches) to positive (humor, optimism, acceptance) rating. It takes about 15 to 35 minutes to complete with scoring ranging in time depending on the familiarity with administering the test. This is the most popular form of the Sentence Completion Method used today (Hersen, 2003).s
- ^ Gregory, J. Robert.,Psychological Testing:History, Principles and App.ications. Ed. 5. Wheaton College. Wheaton,Illinois. Peterson: 2007