Preliminary development of an object sorting task for normal adults

This study involved the construction of a new object sorting task, and a scoring system to be used with it. Preliminary standardization or normative data were derived. The ultimate purpose is the creation of a more sensitive and adequate instrument than now exists for measuring or characterizing the conceptual behavior of normal adults. The form of the task was modeled after Rapaport's Revised Object Sorting Test. The scoring system was developed by scaling McGaughran's two dimensions of his conceptual area schema-"order of conceptual classification" and "extent of social agreement." A third dimension of "essentiality" was also introduced. Two potentially equivalent forms of the task, passive phase only, were administered to an adult standardization sample composed of 15 males and 15 females. Data derived from these protocols were analyzed to assess interscorer agreement, equivalence of task forms, independence of scaled dimensions, and the variables of order effect of presentation of task forms, and sex and age. A satisfactory degree of interscorer agreement was achieved, although with extensive collaboration of the judges during scoring. It was found that the order of object groupings in tews ef difficulty, as well as sow of the object groupings within theaselves, need to be rearranged in order to attain greater equivalence of task forms. In their present form, the scaled dimensions are not sufficiently independent.