A computerized adaptive test for enterprising personality assessment in youth - Brief, valid, and precise instrument

Sep 18, 2026

A computerized adaptive test (CAT) was developed to assess enterprising personality traits in youth, addressing the gap that prior tools did not evaluate the relevant combination of specific traits in an adaptive format. A pool of 161 items was administered via stratified sampling to two participant groups (n1=357; n2=2,693). From these, 107 items covering achievement motivation, risk-taking, innovativeness, autonomy, self-efficacy, stress tolerance, internal locus of control, and optimism were selected. Unidimensionality was tested, and the CAT showed high precision across a wide θ range using a mean of 10 items and a relatively low standard error (0.378).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and Aim

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Psicothema 2016, Vol. 28, No. 4, 471-478 doi: 10. 7334/psicothema2016 .68 ISSN 0214 -9915 CODEN PSOTEG Copyright © 2016 Psicothema [www.psicothema.com](www.psicothema.com) A computerized adaptive test for enterprising personality assessment in youth Ignacio Pedrosa, Javier Suárez-Álvarez, Eduardo García-Cueto and José Muñiz Universidad de Oviedo Abstract Backgound: Assessing speciﬁc personality traits has shown better predictive power of enterprising personality than have broad personality traits. Hitherto, there have been no instruments that evaluate the combination of speciﬁc personality traits of enterprising personality inan adaptive format. So, the aim was to develop a Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) to assess enterprising personality in young people. Methods: A pool of 161 items was developed and applied to two sets of participants (n1 = 357 students, Mage = 17.89; SDage = 3.26; n2 = 2,693 students; Mage = 16.52, SDage = 1.38) using a stratiﬁed sampling method. Results: 107 items that assess achievement motivation, risk-taking, innovativeness, autonomy, self-efﬁcacy, stress tolerance, internal locus of control, and optimism were selected. The assumption of unidimensionality was tested. The CAT demonstrated high precision for a wide range of θ, using a mean of 10 items and demonstrating a relatively low Standard Error (0.378) . Conclusions: A brief, valid, and precise instrument was obtained with relevant implications for educational and entrepreneurial contexts. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Assessment, Computerized Adaptive Test, Youth. Resumen Un Test Adaptativo Informatizado para la evaluación de la personalidademprendedora en jóvenes. Antecedentes: la evaluación de rasgosespecíﬁcos de personalidad, respecto a rasgos generales, ha demostrado un mayor poder predictivo dela personalidad emprendedora. Actualmente, no existe ningún instrumento que evalúe el conjunto de rasgos especíﬁcos dela personalidad emprendedora que se consideran relevantes en un formato adaptativo. El objetivo fue desarrollar un Test Adaptativo Informatizado (TAI) que permita evaluar la personalidad emprendedora en jóvenes. Método: se desarrolló un banco inicial de 161 ítems, el cual se aplicó ados conjuntos de participantes (n1 = 357 estudiantes, Medad = 17,89; DTedad = 3,26; n2 = 2.693 estudiantes; Medad = 16,52, DTedad = 1,38) mediante un muestreo estratiﬁcado. Resultados: se seleccionaron 107 ítems que evalúan motivación de logro, toma de riesgos, innovación, autonomía, autoeﬁcacia, tolerancia al estrés, locus de control interno y optimismo, sobre los que se comprobó el supuesto de unidimensionalidad. El TAI desarrollado muestra una elevada precisión para un amplio rango de θ, empleando una media de 10 ítems y presentando un error típico de las estimaciones relativamente bajo (0,378) . Conclusiones: se cuenta conun instrumento breve, válido y preciso con múltiples implicaciones en el contexto educativo y emprendedor. Palabras clave: personalidad emprendedora, evaluación, test adaptativo informatizado, jóvenes. Entrepreneurs play a crucial role in modern economy owing to their ability to offset negative effects of socioeconomic development, to take advantage of new opportunities, and to generate new ideas for business growth (OECD/The European Commission, 2013) . Consequently, research in the area of entrepreneurship has increased signiﬁcantly in recent years (Liñán & Fayolle, 2015) . While economic and social factors play an important role when starting a business (Obschonka et al. , 2015), various explanatory models suggest that individual variables, especially personality variables, are particularly relevant (Baum, Frese, Baron, & Katz, Received: February 22, 2016 • Accepted: June 10, 2016 Corresponding author: Ignacio Pedrosa Facultad Psicología Universidad de Oviedo 33003 Oviedo (Spain) [e-mail: npedrosa@cop.es](e-mail: npedrosa@cop.es) 2007; Brandstatter, 2011). The study of the enterprising personality mayb

FAQs

What is the main objective of the study?

To develop a computerized adaptive test (CAT) that evaluates enterprising personality in young people using an adaptive format.

How was the test developed and validated in the study?

A pool of 161 items was created and administered to two stratified samples. A subset of 107 items was selected, and the unidimensionality assumption was tested.

Which personality traits does the selected item set assess?

It assesses achievement motivation, risk-taking, innovativeness, autonomy, self-efficacy, stress tolerance, internal locus of control, and optimism.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Chloe Bennett