Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory

Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory

Makena Hofer & Kristine Rogers

Who created it and when?

• 1918: The WPI was created by Robert S. Woodworth who was commissioned by the American Psychological Association during World War I.
• 1920: Buford Johnson revised the test for children ages 10-16
• 1923: Ellen Matthew also adapted the test for children.
• 1923: V. M. Cady used all the questions from the WPI plus Johnson's material for an adolescent audience.
• 1930: The Thurstone Personality Schedule used some items from the WPI.

What is the purpose of this assessment tool?

This test was designed by the US Army during World War I to identify soldiers who may have been at risk for "shell shock" or those who would not be able to handle the stress associated with combat. The test was used as a screening for personality and adjustment problems. The inventory measures one scale - emotional instability.

Shell shock: the term that was used to describe the reaction some soldiers had to the trauma or battle

The average adult answers about 10 questions "wrongly," or as a psychoneurotic person would. Abnormal adults answer 30-40 of the 116 questions unfavorably. Anyone with 20 or more incorrect answers should be suspected of instability.

The original test is accessible to all online and is free to take. However, nowadays the original WPI is not used for anything in specific.

Reliability and Validity

Process of Development

Woodworth first designed a test for the American Psychological Association (APA) which came to be known as the Personal Data Sheet (PDS). This original test was 200 questions and eventually reduced to 116. Woodsworth did not finish the final design of this test until too late in the war, so the PDS was never implemented to screen new recruits as intended.

Woodworth altered the PDS after WWI for use with civilians to be the first widely used personality test. He changed the name to Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory.

The reliability (self-correlation) of the Inventory has been reported as about .90. (2)

However, one study shows that the change in the method of administration results in a considerable percentage of answer reversals. The reliability of the test administered in two settings is greatly reduced by a change in the method of administration.

Target Respondent

Sample Questions

• This test was made in order to locate the individuals most likely to experience difficulties in adjusting themselves to the demands of military life. The assessment was specifically for the men inducted into military service at the time.
• The inventory covers typical symptoms of emotional and temperamental instability (such as those found in hysteria, anxiety neurosis, etc.)
• The revised versions have been widely used to study temperamental and emotional differences in various groups.
• We believe this tool would not be appropriate/reliable/valid for use with a diverse range of individuals across varied ages and other sociodemographic characteristics due to the fact that the questions are tailored toward an audience of younger men.
• Evidence that supports this is the assessment itself. The WPI was created to screen young men before the war.

Yes or no questions. Inventory questions included self-report of fears, sleep disorders, and other "neurotic disorders."

Assessment Administration

Overall Impression of the Assessment

This test was a psychiatric interview administered by pencil and paper that required recruits to respond yes or no to a series of 116 questions.

After WWI, the test was re-designed for civilians and was the first self-report test, as well as the first widely used personality inventory.

Now people are able to access this test online. Therefore, the computer does the administration, and scoring of results. It even provides a brief interpretation of the score received.

Due to the fact that this personality test is 100 years old, the inventory makes references that may not be clear to us taking the test now. We believe that the questions seemed dated. We also felt that the response allowed is too limited for yes and no questions. Also, we don't believe that this is a fair assessment of emotional stability based on the situational type questions.

Sources

• http://personality-testing.info/tests/WPI.php

• The study of the discriminative value of the Woodsworth Personal Data Sheet. Garrett, H. E.; Schneck, M. R. From the Psychological Laboratories of Columbia University. Jan 1928, 459. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221309.1928.9918021?journalCode=vgen20

• The reliability of the psychoneurotic inventory with delinquent boys. Williams, H. M.; Kephart, N. C.; Houtchens, H. M. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, Vol 31(3), Oct 1936, 271-275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0060733

Improvements

The interview method of administration is likely to give the most accurate results in individual cases.

In order to most accurately answer the questions, there should be more options (such as "sometimes.")

This assessment could be updated to current language and situations.