Computerized Adaptive Testing In Kinanthropology: Monte Carlo Simulations Using The Physical Self Description Questionnaire

This thesis aims to introduce the use of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) - a novel and ever increasingly used method of a test administration - applied to the field of Kinanthropology. By adapting a test to an individual respondent's latent trait level, computerized adaptive testing offers numerous theoretical and methodological improvements that can significantly advance testing procedures. In the first part of the thesis, the theoretical and conceptual basis of CAT, as well as a brief overview of its historical origins and basic general principles are presented. The discussion necessarily includes the description of Item Response Theory (IRT) to some extent, since IRT is almost exclusively used as the mathematical model in today's CAT applications. Practical application of CAT is then evaluated using Monte-Carlo simulations involving adaptive administration of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) (Marsh, Richards, Johnson, Roche, & Tremayne, 1994) - an instrument widely used to assess physical self-concept in the field of sport and exercise psychology. The Monte Carlo simulation of the PSDQ adaptive administration utilized a real item pool (N = 70) calibrated with a Graded Response Model (GRM, see Samejima, 1969, 1997). The responses to test items were generated based on item..