Multiple solutions test Part I: Development and psychometric evaluation

As people outside the context of testing seldom find themselves in situations where they are presented with limited options and a single correct answer, with all others being equally wrong, a modification of traditional intelligence tests (in terms of increasing its flexibility), can potentially provide a more comprehensive and a more valid measure of intelligence. Therefore, the aim of this study is the development and psychometric evaluation of the figural reasoning test in the form of matrices with multiple solutions. Unlike conventional intelligence tests, in this test the subjects are faced with more than one task, i.e., to detect: 1) the best solution - a figure that completes a given matrix best; 2) the second-best solution - a figure that would complete the matrix in the best way if the best answer was absent; 3) the least accurate option - a figure that completes the given matrix in the least accurate way. In the process of test development, an initial set of 80 items was designed and administrated to a sample of 41 participants, with the goal of gaining insight into the quality and the need for adjustments of the initial item pool. Psychometric characteristics of the instrument consisting of 74 items with three types of tasks have been evaluated on a sample of 263 participants, after which the short version of the instrument is proposed. All three tasks within the test and test as a whole have shown good internal psychometric properties (alpha (the best)=.92, alpha (the second-best)=.90, alpha (the least accurate)=.87; alpha (full-scale)=.95) offering a possibility of reliable measurement of intelligence with a brother scope.