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It is essential that intelligence assessment be integrated with creativity, although no instruments in Brazil do so. This research investigated the item difficulty and validity and reliability of the Bateria de Avaliação Intelectual e Criativa Infantil (BAICI) to address this gap. The first sample consisted of 612 children (54% M) aged 7 to 12 years, and the second sample consisted of 377 students (56% M), some of whom (N = 164) were already identified as exhibiting high skills/giftedness. Item analysis indicated the need to adjust the BAICI items. The results of a MANCOVA indicated that the BAICI exhibits evidence of validity with external variables because the group of gifted children was significantly distinguished from the group of students attending regular schools on tests of vocabulary, speed, logical thinking, and creativity. The study concludes that the BAICI has psychometric qualities that can be used in the psychological assessment of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human figure drawing (HFD) is an instrument widely used in psychological assessment. The aim of this study was to investigate the evidence of validity of emotional indicators in HFD through the Emotional Screening System (ESS). The sample consisted of 310 children, divided into a regular group containing 173 children, a regular group with indicators containing 55 children and a clinical group containing 82 children. The ESS, the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for children and the Positive and negative affect scale, were used. The results showed significant differences for groups in the emotional indicators of the ESS (F=12.140;p<.01). There were negative correlations (p<.01) of the ESS with the Multidimensional Scale of Life Satisfaction in the dimension of the Self, but not significant with the Scale of Affections. There was evidence of validity of the ESS to assess the emotional indicators in HFD and to distinguish children who need care before the problems worsen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate personal variables and contextual factors related to the excellence of researchers of both genders and different areas of knowledge. The sample consisted of 109 researchers, National Scientific and Technological Development Council (CNPq) productivity fellows, who work in higher education institutions in various regions of Brazil. The Online Excellence Profile Questionnaire was used. This questionnaire consists of semi-open questions about personal resources, academic factors and contextual factors. The results obtained indicate statistically significant difference frequency of answers between genders regarding the passion for work face new research projects, use of social support, use of employees to reconcile the personal life of the professional, in the occupation of free time with travel and in family activities. The results suggest a multivariate nature of the phenomenon of scientific excellence, converging in its manifestation personal and contextual factors. Both factors deserve to be considered when seeking to promote their professional fulfillment and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creativity is a construct involving cognitive, personality and social aspects. The aim of this study was to construct the Escala de Perfil Criativo (EPC - Creative Profile Scale) and verify its validity. The validity based on its content was analyzed through blind judges, with an agreement rate of 80%, eliminating three items. Evidence of validity for the internal structure of the EPC was investigated through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), which indicated seven factors. The scale was administered with 442 participants (78.3% females), with ages ranging from 18-75 years (M=38.17; SD=13.31). The reliability through the Cronbach's Alpha produced adequate values for each factor (α=.60 to .75). In conclusion, the validity evidence for the EPC suggests that it can be used to assess creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimism consists of positive expectations about the future and persistence in the face of adversities. Due to the theoretical gaps regarding its evaluation at the national level, this research aimed to develop an optimism scale for adults and investigated their psychometric properties. The participants were 555 adults, aged from 18 to 77 years (M = 33.6; SD = 11.5), most of them women (65.4%). After the development of the scale items, the semantic analysis, the analysis by the judges, and the exploratory factorial analysis were performed and reliability was verified. The semantic analysis and the analysis by the judges indicated evidence of validity based on content. The exploratory factorial analysis indicated a two-factor solution, which explained 47.3% of data variance. Cronbach's alpha values indicated the reliability of the instrument (a = 0.94 - Factor 1 and a = 0.92 - Factor 2). It was concluded that the proposed scale presents evidence of validity based on content, internal structure, and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to analyze the internal structure and the relation of the cognitive abilities evaluated by the Battery of Intellectual Assessment of Adults (BAIAD). The sample consisted of 963 subjects (615 F, 348 M), ages 15-64 years (Median = 21, DP/SD/DS = 8). The BAIAD is composed of seven tests: synonyms, antonyms, analogies, logical thinking, visual spatial thinking, visual-auditory memory and speed of reasoning. Item analysis allowed the reduction of BAIAD and reached the reliability indexes of 0.99. The confirmatory analysis followed the CHC model (crystallized intelligence, fluid intelligence and a general factor -G) and indicated its fit to the data. The network analysis which explored the relationship between the pairs of cognitive indicators and the communities grouping supported the theoretical model. We conclude that BAIAD has validity evidences and adequate reliability to assess adults' intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate personal and contextual variables that influence the production of excellence in Brazilian researchers. For this, 109 researchers were selected from the Lattes Platform, classified as level 1 by the CNPQ agency. The Excellence Profile Questionnaire was administered online and comprised of semi-open questions about cognitive, personality, biographical and contextual aspects. The analysis of the answers by scientific area and gender was made using the chi-square test. Significant differences were found between men and women from the different scientific areas regarding the career interest phase, in adulthood for women and childhood for men. Gender differences were related to the characteristics of persistence and nonconformity, which was more valued by women for a scientific career. The results suggest that gender and the area of knowledge influence personal variables more than contextual variables in scientific excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of psychological assessment in Brazil is found in a scattered way, so there is the need to gather this information as well as to present the milestones of its evolution. Undoubtedly, this evolution has been noticed since the last 20 years, with the foundation of the Brazilian Institute of Psychological Assessment-IBAP and the support from the Federal Council of Psychology which organized commissions for psychological assessment and created the System for Evaluating Psychological Tests-SATEPSI. The results can be observed with the increase of laboratories for test construction and validation, research groups, professional associations as well as publications. We conclude that psychological assessment in Brazil reached a considerable level of maturity and can be considered as an example for other South American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies recognize the importance of creativity for their business and there is a growing interest in hiring creative and innovative professionals. The purpose of this study was to compare the evaluation of creativity in selective processes through the practice most used by companies, Group Dynamics, with standardized psychological evaluation instruments. Participated in the survey 54 subjects, the instruments used were the Torrance Tests and Dynamics Observation Sheet. The results show that the criteria used in the companies (Group Dynamics) are different from the criteria evaluated in the standardized evaluation tests, showing that the usual practice is not effective in the evaluation of creativity. This work demonstrates the importance of using validated psychological tests to guarantee the efficacy of the selective processes, seeking to exempt as far as possible subjective aspects in the evaluation, thus avoiding an evaluation based only on observation and contributing to a more standardized work method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a current need for psychological tests that can assess cognitive functioning through an integrative perspective. The purpose of this study was to collect validity evidence of the adult version of the Battery of Intelligence and Creativity. The sample was composed of 99 students (51 female), with ages ranging between 15 and 17. The battery is composed of five cognitive tests and one creative test. The following tests were used as external criteria: The Reasoning Tests Battery 5; Divided and Alternating Attention Tests and Torrance Tests. The results indicated significant correlations (p..05) between the battery subtests with the intelligence criteria tests (.28 to .52) as well as creativity tests (.26 to .54). This battery was found to be a valid measure to evaluate intelligence and creativity. Il existe un besoin d'outils psychologiques qui evaluent le fonctionnement cognitif de maniere integree. Nous avons etudie les preuves de la validite de la batterie de l'evaluation intellectuelle et creative - adultes (BAICA). 99 etudiants ont participe (51 femmes), ages de 15 a 17 ans. Le BAICA se compose de cinq sous-tests cognitifs et d'un sous-test creatif. Les tests qui ont ete utilises comme criteres externes etaient: la batterie de tests de raisonnement (BPR-5), le test de l'attention divisee (TEADI) et alternatif (TEALT) et les tests de Torrance. Les resultats ont montre des correlations significatives (p > .05) entre les sous-tests cognitifs de BAICA avec des tests d'intelligence (.28 a .52) et de creativite (.26 a .54). Il a ete conclu que BAICA est une mesure valable pour evaluer l'intelligence et la creativite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job crafting is a process of proactive individual actions to redesign work to match individual values, competencies and motivations, or to optimize resources and demands with personal needs and resources. We verified the scientific qualities of the construct measures in four databases between 2001 and August 2017. We identified two different ways of conceptualizing the construct, four different instruments for its evaluation, and seven works to adapt and validate for other contexts. We analyzed 11 selected instruments in terms of validity evidence and accuracy. The most used forms were those with validity evidence based on the internal structure, and those that related external variables and accuracy through Cronbach's alpha. Two measures were validated for Brazil, enabling research on work redesign actions, and we concluded that job crafting is measurable in validity and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programs designed for teachers' training should prepare them to attend to the needs of talented/gifted students in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether future teachers had sufficient knowledge to attend the talented/gifted students. The sample consisted of 170 undergraduate students (145 women, 25 men), who were enrolled in teachers' preparation courses in 2 private and 3 state universities in Brazil. A questionnaire with six open questions about talent/giftedness was administered in a group setting, and answers were classified by content analysis. The results indicated that teachers have several doubts about these concepts and question if they are responsible or the school administrators are responsible to attend to these students. In conclusion, future teachers are not receiving adequate preparation to guide talented/gifted students in their classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Teacher Temperament Styles Inventory (IETP) is a self-report instrument composed of four dimensions: ExtrovertedIntroverted, Practical-Imaginative, Thinking-Feeling, and Organized-Flexible that had its psychometric properties evaluated in two studies. The first one analyzed the evidences based on 40 items designed and included five psychological assessment researchers. The second examined the evidences based on internal structure of IETP, which was assessed by Exploratory Factor Analysis with four factors set, their reliability coefficients (F1=0.77, F2=0.80, F3=0.90, F4=0.70). The latter study included 400 elementary and high school teachers (Mean Age=41.1 years; SD=10.97). The cluster analysis (Two Step Clusters) identified the existence of two profile groups discriminated between Catalyst (59.9%) and Comprehensive (40.1%). On conclusion, the IETP has scientific qualities in order to help teachers assess and improve their teaching style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the increasing number of prominent women in the various sectors of society, this research aimed to investigate their styles of thinking and creativity and to verify differences in the environmental and psychological factors that influence the creative excellence of Brazilian women in different areas. The sample were 20 Brazilian women (11 recognized for creative excellence through awards and 9 not recognized for creative excellence and without awards). The instruments were a Interview Guide, the Thinking and Creating Styles Scale and a Creative Production Analysis Guide. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare differences between women with creative excellence and not creative. As for the interviews, a content analysis was carried out and the Chi-squared distribution was used for the categories of answers. There were significant differences between the two groups of women in the interview content. It was concluded on the importance of knowing the factors that help achieve excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to compare intellectual and creative skills of middle-aged and elderly individuals. Eighty one people (61.73% from 45 to 59 years old and 38.27% over 60) participated in the survey. The tests "Intellectual Abilities for Adults" and "Thinking Creatively with Words and Pictures" were used for data collection and were individually administered. The results demonstrated that verbal, visual processing and creativity tests were significantly influenced by the educational level. Memory tests were also under significant influence of schooling and showed greater decrease at older ages. Intelligence and creativity were significantly correlated. In conclusion, schooling is a significant factor affecting cognitive and creative performance in the middle and old age stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to find validity evidence based on the internal structure of the Scale of Learning Styles in Technology Use Situations, 378 university students, from different institutions of higher education and eight majors, responded to the instrument. Exploratory Factor Analysis, based on the tetrachoric correlations matrix of the items, allowed the identification of four factors: Theoretical-Reflexive, Pragmatic, Individual Active, Interpersonal Active. The scale's accuracy was also estimated using the Cronbach's alpha. Values ranged from 0.70 to 0.80 and were considered adequate. New research studies on the psychometric qualities of the scale are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to analyze the psychological and environmental factors that influence Brazilian women's creative talent in different fields. The sample was composed of six women whose creative talent was recognized by awards. The instrument was an Interview Guide composed by semiopen questions related both to creative process and life trajectory. A content analysis of the participants' responses indicates that some categories are frequently present in their speech: environmental factors favorable to creativity; mentoring; motivation; barriers; personal and professional life management; creative process; personal and cognitive characteristics. In conclusion, it points out that it is important to understand the psychological aspects and the environmental conditions that favor women's creative talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]