Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank
What is the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB)?
What is the RISB?
- The Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB) is a test that requires respondents to complete a sentence for which the word or words is provided.
- Ex: The happiest time... is when we are young.
- The rationale of the RISB is that it is assumed that individual's responses will reflect their desire, fears, and attitudes based on the sentences he or she inserts.
Development of the RISB
- Developed by Rotter and Rafferty in 1950.
- The development of the RISB was to create a version similar to the sentence completion method that could be scored easily to evaluate.
- The test was viewed as a starting point for clinicians to take direction rather than evaluating personality.
- The RISB today has three versions of the test which include high school, college and adult.
- It is scored on a 7 point scale with answers that include conflict, to positive rating.
-The test takes about 15- 30 minutes to complete.
Purpose
- RISB was developed to consider whether the individual has adjustment or maladjustment.
- Adjustment: relative freedom from prolonged unhappy states. Able to deal with frustrations, and ability to maintain and establish relationships.
- Maladjustment: Prolonged unhappy states, inability to cope with difficulties and/ or inability to start or keep relationships.
- Used for screening individuals for assessments, diagnostics and/or treatment
- Also used clinically in various settings such as
- clinics
- private and state psychiatric hospitals
- veterans and general hospitals
- health organizations
- clinicians private offices
- military and industrial settings
Administration
- The administration of the RISB Is straightforward.
- Administrators do not require any special training. Nonprofessional staff such as paraprofessionals, clinic receptionists, research assistants may administer the test.
- On the front of the response sheet, the instructions, individual’s name, sex and other identifying information’; as well as the first 15 items are included. The remaining 25 questions are on the back side of the response sheet.
- There are no right or wrong answers. Respondents must try to complete all of the items.
- Average time for completion is 20-25 minutes. Completion ranges from 10-40 minutes.
- Alternative methods of variations such as oral administration is appropriate. However, the variation can affect the testing situation and affect individual’s responses.
Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank
- There are 2 scoring manuals; one for males and one for females.
- Each completed sentence is scored on a 0-7 point scale.
- 0 (most positive) - 6 (most conflict).
- The total score of all 40 questions is the overall adjustment score.
- An omission is given to responses that are incomplete or no response was given.
- Ex: What annoys me… is for someone__________________
-
Principles of Scoring
Omissions and Incomplete Response
- Omissions are not scored but the overall adjustment score accounts for them.
- Omissions are seen as signs of maladjustment. They point to areas of concern that the individual does not see or does not express.
- Conflict responses (C) indicate a maladjustment mind. Maladjustment indicators are hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, pessimism, personal fears and or inadequacy.
- Ex: I wish... I were dead.
- Conflict responses range from mild to severe
- C1 = mild conflict 4 Minor problems
- C2 = moderate conflict 5 inferiority, concern over failure,lack of goals
- C3 = severe conflict 6 suicidal thoughts, severe family issues,
Conflict responses
Principles of scoring continued..
Positive Responses
- Positive responses (P) indicate a healthy mind. Indicators of positive responses are humorous, optimistic, positive feelings within themselves and others.. etc
- Ex: The best... is yet to come.
- Positive responses range from mild to strong.
- P1= mild positive 2 postive attitude towards friends, family, school
- P2 = moderate positive 1 generalized positive feelings
- P3 = strong positive 0 clear cut, stngly positive and good natures
Calculating the score
- Overall adjustment score = X (40/N )
- X: total score of complete responses
- 40 is the number of possible responses
- n: number of completed responses
Ex: There are 40 possible responses in an RISB test. An individual completes 30 items with a score of 120.
120(40/30)= 160
Reliability and Validity
Interscorer Reliability
- Original Study of the RISB
- Sample: 50 males and 50 females
- The reliability coefficient was .91 to.96
- Later re-scored by clinical psychologists and the reliability coefficient was .90
- RISB is considered to be very reliable
- Test - Retest Reliability
Short Intervals
- .82 for 120 freshmen college women tested about 1 - 2 weeks apart
Long Intervals
- .38 - .70 for a period of 6 months to 3 years.
Validity
- "Research has shown the RISB to have the most consistent evidence supporting the validity of the RISB score as a measure of adjustment."
- In 1949 in a study conducted by Rotter, the RISB was able to correctly identify the adjustment for women as 78% and 59% for maladjustment. For men, the RISB was able to correctly identify adjustment for men 89% and 52% for maladjusted.
Normative Data for the RISB
- Original norms for the RISB were from a sample of 85 females and 214 male students from Ohio State University during the 1950s.
- Limited geographic diversity
- Most recent normative data is from three studies conducted in 1965, 1970 and 1977
Pros and Cons
Pros
- No special training needed for administration
- There is no right or wrong answer
- Respondent has the freedom to express as he/she feels
Cons
- Judgement is used during scoring. There is no machine scoring, but instead the administrator must use their best judgement for scoring. Administrator must also have the knowledge and skill to interpret personality analysis.
- Because of disguise of purpose, the respondent may be able to keep the evaluator from knowing what he/she does not want to express.
References
History of Projective Testing. (n.d). Retrieved from http://projectivetests.umwblogs.org/popular-tests/sentence-completion-test/
Rotter, J. B., Lah, M. I., Rafferty, J. E. (1992). Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank Manual. San Antonio, Texas: The Psychological Corporation.
The Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB). (n.d). Retrieved from
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