Ropolo, Liria (2011) Examining the Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility of the Short Booklet Category Test. Coursework Masters thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The Halstead Category Test (HCT) was developed in the early 1940s by Ward Halstead to measure cortical functioning in individuals with brain damage. The original version, which was cumbersome to administer by means of a bulky apparatus and too long, was later reduced to the current 208 items. In 1979, an equivalent and more practical version, the Booklet Category Test (BCT), which required no administration apparatus was developed. In 1987, Wetzel and Boll developed the Short Booklet Category Test (SBCT), a more concise version of the BCT with its own norms, which appeared to have retained most of the psychometric properties of the HCT. Comprising five subtests of 20 items each, it considerably reduced the HCT/BCT administration time. Since very few studies have examined the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the SBCT, this study sought to address some of these omissions by: reviewing the literature on the HCT, BCT, and SBCT; examining the internal consistency of the SBCT and its subtests in a medico-legal sample (n = 137) from a private forensic clinical practice from Brisbane, Australia; evaluating the factor structure of the test based upon groupings of subtest items; and examining the potential of developing an index of cognitive effort for the SBCT. The computed internal consistency was excellent for the SBCT total error score (α = .94) and Subtests II and III (both α = .91); good for Subtests IV (α = .86) and V (α = .87); and inadequate for Subtest I (α = .30). Subtest analysis revealed a potential confound in Subtest III whereby test takers appear to confuse the mapping of quadrants 3 and 4 on to the correct response, suggesting that test takers may be correctly identifying the rule despite providing an incorrect response. A principal component analysis for the 26 stimulus groups across the 100 trials of the test yielded six components, indicating the SBCT’s item content has a greater complexity than suggested in its developmental structure. Attempts to generate an inadequate cognitive effort index proved insufficient to discriminate between those providing adequate or inadequate effort to a necessary minimum standard. However, one of the components (Missing Quadrant) raises the potential for further pursuing this initiative. The implications of the study for generating a more complex system of analysis and interpretation for the SBCT along with caveats and cautions regarding the current use of the test are discussed.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Coursework Masters) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Graeme Senior |
| Qualification: | Master of Psychology (Clinical) |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Nov 2025 00:57 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Nov 2025 00:57 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52709 |
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