The Psychometric Credibility of the Zelniker and Jeffrey Modification of the Matching Familiar Figures Test

Abstract

One hundred sixty-nine college undergraduates were given Zelniker and Jeffrey's modification of the Matching Familiar Figures Test. One-half of the items requires analysis of detail, whereas variants in the remaining items differ from their respective standard in some aspect of contour. The study was designed to assess the psychometric credibility of the test and to provide an initial assessment of construct validity for adult problem solvers. Results of reliability analyses indicated that the modified test has improved internal consistency and stability over that of the original test. With respect to validity, examinees categorized as reflectives committed fewer errors than those classified as impulsives on analytic and global items. Reflective subjects also scored higher than impulsives on the Advanced Progressive Matrices and earned higher scores on the composite of five academic tests in the ACT Assessment. The possibility that the construct is tied to general problem solving strategies is discussed.

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