A psychometric analysis of the reading the mind in the eyes test: toward a brief form for research and applied settings

Frontiers in Psychology

Sally Olderbak¹ 

关键词: reading the mind in the eyes test;    theory of mind;    psychometric analysis;    emotion perception;    vocabulary;    cognitive empathy;    short-form;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01503

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test is a popular measure of individual differences in Theory of Mind that is often applied in the assessment of particular clinical populations (primarily, individuals on the autism spectrum). However, little is known about the test's psychometric properties, including factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity evidence. We present a psychometric analysis of the test followed by an evaluation of other empirically proposed and statistically identified structures. We identified, and cross-validated in a second sample, an adequate short-form solution that is homogeneous with adequate internal consistency, and is moderately related to Cognitive Empathy, Emotion Perception, and strongly related to Vocabulary. We recommend the use of this short-form solution in normal adults as a more precise measure over the original version. Future revisions of the test should seek to reduce the test's reliance on one's vocabulary and evaluate the short-form structure in clinical populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY