The Validity and Reliability of a Performance Test of Interpersonal Communication Proficiency.

A study tested the validity and reliability of a structured interpersonal communication encounter method of assessing interpersonal communication proficiency. Subjects, 13 graduate students in Communicative Disorders, were assessed 2 times within 3 weeks by interacting with 2 different test initiators. Two tests of validity and two tests of reliability were made. Results indicated that both validity and reliability coefficients were limited by the fact that the subjects were above average as interpersonal communicators. It is concluded that findings might have been more pronounced with a larger, or more heterogenous sample. (An interpersonal skills rating form is attached.) (RS)