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A Questionnaire Measure of Individual Differences in Child Stimulus Screening

University of California, Los Angeles

Carol A. Falender

University of California, Los Angeles

The present paper contains reliability and validity data on a new measure of child stimulus screening. "Stimulus screening" characterizes the degree to which an individual automatically and selectively responds to stimulation. Nonscreeners who are less selective process more information and are thus generally more arousable than screeners. A 46-item verbal questionnaire measure of child stimulus screening which employs mother reports was developed over the course of three studies. The scale, which is balanced for response bias with 23 positively worded and 23 negatively worded items, has exhibited a Kuder-Richardson formula 20 reliability coefficient of .92. Child stimulus screening scores based on the questionnaire yielded a statistically significant correlation with mother stimulus screening scores and one approaching significance with father stimulus screening scores. A fourth validational study showed that children who screened less as compared with those who screened more were more aroused and that they demanded and received more attention and care from their mothers—a finding that was interpreted in the context of their greater emotional sensitivity.

Educational and Psychological Measurement, Vol. 38, No. 4, 1119-1127 (1978)
DOI: 10.1177/001316447803800432


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				C. A. Falender and A. Mehrabian The Emotional Climate for Children as Inferred From Parental Attitudes: a Preliminary Validation of Three Scales Educational and Psychological Measurement, December 1, 1980; 40(4): 1033 - 1042. [Abstract]