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of the meaning of stress. Like retention, comprehension may be assessed through exam
items. Comprehension exam items could require students to compare and contrast stres-
sors and strain or major life events and daily hassles. Comprehension exam items could
also require students to explain why it is important to know whether a researcher defines
stress as stressors or as strain.
Step 2. Instrument Components
The second step in this process focuses on the elements that must be included in an instru-
ment designed to measure stress. The instructor provides a general overview of the deci-
sions that must be made when creating an instrument. In addition to determining items
(including item content, valence, and wording), these decisions include identifying the
population for which the measure is intended (e.g., children, adolescents, adults, students,
athletes, employees); the time frame respondents will use when considering the items
(e.g., the past week, month, three months, year); the response format that will be used
(e.g., frequency of stressor or strain, yes/no, Likert scale to indicate impact or intensity,
predetermined item values); how the responses will be scored (e.g., by summing the values
selected, counting the yes responses, multiplying frequency by impact/intensity); and
directions that will be provided so that the respondents will know what to do.
After each instrument component is listed on the board and described, students count off
to form five-member groups. Once in their groups, students prepare a list of group member
responsibilities for the instructor. For example, groups identify which member will lead the
discussion, who will type the measure, and who will post the measure to the virtual learning
environment (e.g., Blackboard and WebCT). Although they are given an hour to create the
measure, most groups need more time to finish generating items and might assign additional
responsibilities such as generating items or editing the typed mea sure before it is posted.
Appleby’s third critical thinking skill, application, is assessed through this task. In order
to demonstrate application, each student must submit a reaction paper that identifies the
definition of stress that is reflected in their instrument and describes the decisions made in
the process of creating the stress instrument.
Step 3. Reliability and Validity Concepts and Biopsychosocial Model
The third step in this process introduces the concepts of reliability and validity as well as
the concept of the biopsychosocial model (an approach to medicine that includes an evalu-
ation of biological, psychological, and social influences on illness and the development of
a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses all three factors). In this step, students
generate definitions of these concepts based on what they have learned in other courses
(e.g., Statistics, Research Methods, Biology, Chemistry, Health Psychology). The instruc-
tor provides definitions for specific types of reliability (e.g., test–retest, split-half, and
interrater) and specific types of construct and criterion validity (e.g., face, content, conver-
gent, discriminant, predictive, concurrent). Students also provide examples of each of the
three components (biological, psychological, social) of the biopsychosocial model.