Question

Students in AP US History were recently concerned when their teacher John Bolger burst out in an imitation of John Jay. Initially, they thought it was funny, but soon became frightened and concerned for their own safety. When confronted, Mr. Bolger refused to step out of character. In order to keep his teaching license, the state mandated that Mr. Bolger take a battery of tests. The tests determined that Mr. Bolger does indeed suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder. He scored equally high on Dissociation, which consisted of all of the even questions as he did on the potential to harm others, which was all of the odd questions. What type of reliability and validity does this test demonstrate?

Answer 1

The test taken by Mr. Bolger may have internal reliability due to consistent scores across different item sets, but the validity of the test, particularly concerning predictive and construct validity, is questionable without corroborating evidence.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks about the types of reliability and validity demonstrated by a test taken by a teacher who exhibited unusual behavior. The reliability in this context likely refers to internal consistency, as the teacher scored consistently on both even and odd questions, which assess different constructs (dissociation and potential to harm others, respectively).

Validity, however, is called into question, particularly when considering research that challenges the constructs being measured, such as the works by Pope et al. regarding dissociative amnesia and Piper & Merskey on dissociative identity disorder. Therefore, while the test may show internal reliability, its validity, especially predictive and construct validity, is questionable without further evidence to support the diagnosis and the link between the test results and future behavior.