Personality Factors, Response Behavior and Performance in an Online Anonymous Vocabulary Test

Generally, the results of an intelligence test are considered an indicator of a certain stable characteristic. However, some authors indicate that it should be also taken as a kind of performance indicator (Eckert et al., 2006; Steinmayr et al., 2014; Torres van Grinsven, in review). According to the expectation-value model of achievement (see for example Eccles & Wigfield, 2002) motivational variables, in addition to cultural and social factors, contribute to academic performance, and not only a person´s aptitude. In line with this model, and considering the result of an intelligence test to be not only an indicator of a stable characteristic, but also a kind of performance (Steinmayr et al., 2014), a person´s performance on a psychometric intelligence test would be influenced by that person´s aptitude, but also other variables, such as personality factors and emotional and motivational factors and the interaction of these with characteristics of the test. In psychometric intelligence testing however, it is commonly ignored that individuals differ among each other concerning extraneous factors, such as these personality factors. This would endanger the usefulness and validity of psychometric intelligence testing. In this study I hypothesize that personality factors have an influence on the performance and thus results in psychometric intelligence testing. Moreover, this influence is mediated by response behaviour. I.e., diversification in personality factors lead to a diversification in response behaviour – in interaction with test characteristics, which in turn leads to a differentiated performance in intelligence testing. Analyses of a secondary data set (n = 7577) of psychometric data indicate that personality factors are correlated with gender, response style and performance in an online anonymous vocabulary aptitude test. References Eccles, J. S., and Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109–132. Eckert, C., Schilling, D., & Stiensmeier-Pelster, J. (2006). Einfluss des Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepts auf die Intelligenz- und Konzentrationsleistung [The influence of academic self-concept on performance in intelligence and concentration tests]. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 20, 41–48. Steinmayr, R., Wirthwein, L., & Schöne, C. (2014). Gender and numerical intelligence: Does motivation matter? Learning and Individual Differences, 32, 140–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.01.001 Torres van Grinsven, V. (2022). Sources of measurement error in pediatric intelligence testing. Methodological Innovations, 15(1), 96–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/20597991221077919