The Effects of Stem Length and Directions on Sentence Completion Test Responses

THE EFFECTS OF STEM LENGTH AND DIRECTIONS ON SENTENCE COMPLETION RESPONSE

 

      Sentence Completion response is one of the most versatile and highly popular test of all, used by clinical professionals, education, research and the industry. The objective of this test is for the respondent to stimuli the hidden emotion or feelings of the person taking the test this is very much different from multiple choice or fill in the blank which is usually used for academics and not for personality analysis. The data gathered from the test is reviewed and analyze specifically for the benefit of the person for proper psychological evaluation.

      The structure of such test differs from short and long variation. The short one is usually used for advertising or interview that the short structured test leads to a variety of response. While the long structured are used for clinical, educational or management function which usually goes up to a hundred sets of practical question that the respondent may need to fill up, the stem leads to a more specific response because it gives direction to the respondents. The question like;  “The future looks ______”  “My favorite pet is ______” “The most unforgettable experience I ever had is _______” these questions lead you to fill up a more specific and more visual impact of the respondent’s confidentiality that they can think of and this has been its main objectives. 

      The effect of directional questions is focused and the evaluation and analysis cannot be questioned that it is hard to interpret since the answer is direct and emphasized. Unlike multiple choice and fill in the blank which requires a specific answer. The stem length and directions on sentence completion requires personal answer therefore cannot be specific or limited but individualized making it easy to identify and analyze by psychiatrist or personnel because if reflects the reality of the person who are taking the test in its natural form.

      The effects of Stem length and directions on sentence completion response is highly critical in personality analysis for this will show the psychological standing of a person if they are adequate in such manner for example in an industry they would like to apply they will be measured according to attitude of work and handling circumstance using the evaluation taken from the test. Usually the personnel of the company may give a sentence completion test that is easy and senseless on the part of the applicant but in the personnel or clinical perception it is important since it involve the psychological, written, analytical, situational and verbal and non verbal personality of the applicant.

      The importance of the stem length in school is the evaluation of their student assessment and perception about basic ideas and things around them, maybe the school would like to measure their perception of the student or new students applying in their school and this test can highly be used for testing them. Children may feel that it is not a part of academic but a part of their assessment and evaluation as a student and they may not be aware of the question since in their mind it may just be a form of play, while some will find it hard to fill up such questions.

      The following sentence completion test is widely used all over the world depending on their uses. Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank is used for personality assessment for general purpose, Washington University Completion test is another sentence completion test measures the self esteem of the person and can be used in clinical psychology or in schools and Miner Sentence Completion Test is used to test the skills and organizational skills or a person and basically used in the business industry.

      In order to provide a more specific and a more reliable variation and diversity of sentence completion response the effect of instruction, scoring system, interpretation based on structure, stem length and directions has been investigated to mix its diversity in real feelings versus speed and time testing versus clinical and psychological this is done primarily by Cromwell and Lundy in 1954 but the result is the same, the hypothesis generated that the major deficit in literature is the scarcity of system investigation of the effect of varying structure, this means that the discrimination and variation of test in structured may only be different in approach but it may be the same when analyze and interpreted.

      Because of the popularity, superiority, and usefulness in exact measurement of the sentence completion test it has been widely approved by most institutions and find it one of the most effective system test in personality evaluation.         

     

     

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