Analysis of the theorical model of the situational test for measuring the development of basic employability competences: the workers’ perspective

The aim of this study is to analyse, from the workers’ perspective, the employability model developed by the research group IARS linked to the Situational Test for measuring the Development of Basic Employability Competences (Test Situacional de Desarrollo de las Competencias Básicas de Empleabilidad). The hypothesis was that basic employability competences proposed by this model are necessary to attain, remain and be promoted within the labour market regardless of the economic sector, sex, age and work experience. A questionnaire was completed by 255 workers from different professional sectors. They evaluated the need for eight basic employability competences proposed in the model to obtain and retain their position and also to be promoted: self-organization; training-career plan; decision-making; teamwork; communication; flexibility; perseverance; responsibility/co-responsibility. The competences were perceived to be very necessary to attain, maintain and to be promoted within the position, although the competences were considered progressively more relevant as workers’ progress along their professional career. All competences were assessed as necessary for different jobs independently of the professional sector, sex, age, and difficulties accessing the labour market after being unemployed. Only some nuances with small size effect were detected. To initially obtain their first job, flexibility is the competence most valued by women and young people, whereas for workers aged 25 to 54, it is the construction of a training-career plan. With regards to maintaining a position, perseverance is most valued by workers who have experienced more difficulties accessing the labour market or have been unemployed. Regarding promotion, teamwork is seen as key by those who have remained at the same company for the longest time. The results endorse the validity of the model and allow for advances to be made in constructing psychoeducational instruments for developing the employability basic competences from an early age.

Rasch Measurement of the Brief Situational Test of Emotional Management in a Large Portuguese Sample

Emotional management (EM) is a crucial skill for achieving relevant biopsychosocial goals, and there has been an increased demand for the effective measurement of EM ability. The current study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the brief Situational Test of Emotional Management (STEM-B) using the item response theory in a sample of 899 participants. The global fit indicated the model had a good adjustment, with most items aligning vertically across the logit scale and presenting an adequate range of item difficulty and fit. Differential item functioning analysis showed no differences in difficulty between genders, but some items differed according to the education level and age-groups. Overall, findings suggest the STEM-B is a psychometrically sound measure for specific testing of EM skills that has the potential to be used across cultures and fields.

The Impact of Situational Test Anxiety on Retest Effects in Cognitive Ability Testing: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

When a cognitive ability is assessed repeatedly, test scores and ability estimates are often observed to increase across test sessions. This phenomenon is known as the retest (or practice) effect. One explanation for retest effects is that situational test anxiety interferes with a testee’s performance during earlier test sessions, thereby creating systematic measurement bias on the test items (interference hypothesis). Yet, the influence of anxiety diminishes with test repetitions. This explanation is controversial, since the presence of measurement bias during earlier measurement occasions cannot always be confirmed. It is argued that people from the lower end of the ability spectrum become aware of their deficits in test situations and therefore report higher anxiety (deficit hypothesis). In 2014, a structural equation model was proposed that specifically allows the comparison of these two hypotheses with regard to explanatory power for the negative anxiety–ability correlation found in cross-sectional assessments. We extended this model for usage in longitudinal studies to investigate the impact of test anxiety on test performance and on retest effects. A latent neighbor-change growth curve was implemented into the model that enables an estimation of retest effects between all pairs of successive test sessions. Systematic restrictions on model parameters allow testing the hypothetical reduction in anxiety interference over the test sessions, which can be compared to retest effect sizes. In an empirical study with seven measurement occasions, we found that a substantial reduction in interference upon the second test session was associated with the largest retest effect in a figural matrices test, which served as a proxy measure for general intelligence. However, smaller retest effects occurred up to the fourth test administration, whereas evidence for anxiety-induced measurement bias was only produced for the first two test sessions. Anxiety and ability were not negatively correlated at any time when the interference effects were controlled for. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Assessment of Emotional Management ability: a Rasch Model Analysis of the brief Situational Test of Emotional Management (STEM-B)

The current study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the brief Situational Test of Emotional Management (STEM-B) using Item Response Theory (Rasch Model) in a sample of 899 participants from the general population.

Assessment of Emotional Management ability: a Rasch Model Analysis of the brief Situational Test of Emotional Management (STEM-B)

The current study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the brief Situational Test of Emotional Management (STEM-B) using Item Response Theory (Rasch Model) in a sample of 899 participants from the general population.