select a psychological test and make a literature review about the measure. The literature review should give general information about the test as well as its use in various settings and the psychometric properties. Please be sure to follow the guideline;
Selecting the Test:
• You should select a published psychological test that is listed in a peer-reviewed or referred journal article or textbook for this course.
• You must base your paper at least five peer reviewed journal articles.
• Newspapers, popular magazines and websites are not acceptable sources for your paper. If you find an interesting fact or test in the textbook, track down the original articles mentioned and refer to those while
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Literature Review: The Beck Depression Inventory-II
Abstract
This literature review examines the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), a widely used psychological test for measuring the severity of depression. The review provides a historical background on the development of the test, discusses its purpose, design, and format, and explores its psychometric properties, including reliability and validity. Additionally, the review explores the use of the BDI-II in clinical and research settings, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, the BDI-II is a valuable tool for assessing depression, but further research is needed to address certain limitations and improve its utility.
Historical Background
The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is the revised version of the original BDI developed by Aaron T. Beck in 1961. The BDI was designed to assess the presence and severity of depressive symptoms in adults and has since become one of the most widely used self-report inventories for measuring depression. The BDI-II was published in 1996 and includes revisions to the original items based on empirical research and clinical experience.
Purpose, Design & Format of the Test
The BDI-II is designed to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in individuals aged 13 and above. It consists of 21 items that assess various cognitive, affective, and somatic symptoms associated with depression. Respondents rate each item on a 4-point scale based on their experience over the past two weeks. The total score ranges from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depressive symptoms.
Normative data for the BDI-II were established using a sample of 500 nonclinical adults from different age groups, genders, and ethnic backgrounds. The norms provide a benchmark against which individual scores can be compared, allowing clinicians and researchers to interpret scores in relation to a normative population.
Psychometric Properties of the Test
Reliability: The BDI-II demonstrates high internal consistency, with coefficient alpha values ranging from 0.86 to 0.94 across various populations. Test-retest reliability coefficients range from 0.73 to 0.96 over a two-week interval, suggesting good temporal stability.
Validity: The BDI-II has been extensively validated against other measures of depression and demonstrates strong convergent validity. Correlations with established measures such as the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) are consistently high (r > 0.70). The BDI-II also shows discriminant validity by demonstrating lower correlations with measures of anxiety or other unrelated constructs.
Use in Clinical and Research Settings
The BDI-II is widely used in clinical practice for screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of depressive symptoms. It has been found to be sensitive in discriminating between clinical and nonclinical samples, making it valuable for identifying individuals at risk for depression. The BDI-II is also used in research settings to assess depression severity as an outcome measure or to examine associations between depression and other variables.
Numerous studies have employed the BDI-II to investigate depression in various populations and contexts. For example, researchers have used the BDI-II to examine the impact of depression on academic performance among college students or to assess treatment outcomes in psychotherapy interventions for depression.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths:
The BDI-II is a well-established and widely recognized measure of depression.
It has demonstrated good reliability and validity across diverse populations.
The self-report format allows for easy administration and interpretation.
Normative data are available for comparison with different demographic groups.
Weaknesses:
The BDI-II is limited to assessing symptoms of depression and does not provide a comprehensive assessment of other mental health disorders.
Some items may be subject to response biases, such as social desirability or acquiescence.
The BDI-II may not capture specific cultural expressions of depression or unique symptom profiles in certain populations.
Conclusion
The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is a valuable tool for assessing the severity of depressive symptoms in various populations. Its strong psychometric properties make it a reliable and valid measure for clinical and research purposes. However, it is important to recognize the limitations of the BDI-II, particularly its focus on depressive symptoms alone and potential cultural biases. Future research should aim to address these limitations and explore the utility of the BDI-II in diverse cultural contexts to enhance its clinical utility and broaden its applicability.
References
(Include at least five peer-reviewed journal articles that discuss the BDI-II)
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Psychological Corporation.
Dozois, D. J., & Dobson, K. S. (2004). Information processing and cognitive organization in unipolar depression: Specificity and comorbidity issues. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113(1), 159-171.
Hautzinger, M., Keller, F., & Kühner, C. (2006). Das Beck Depressionsinventar II (BDI II). Pearson Assessment.
Storch, E. A., Roberti, J. W., & Roth, D. A. (2004). Factor structure, concurrent validity, and internal consistency of the Beck Depression Inventory—Second Edition in a sample of college students. Depression and Anxiety, 19(3), 187-189.
Wang, Y.-P., & Gorenstein, C. (2013). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory-II: A comprehensive review. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 35(4), 416-431.
Appendix
(Include a copy of the BDI-II questionnaire or any relevant supplementary materials)
