Validating a double-press method for computer administration of personality inventory items

This study describes a double-press method for experimentally controlling item length and reading speed when measuring response latency to computer-administered personality items. Previous research has required several statistical transformations to control for item length and reading speed. Five approaches validated the new, double-press method. First, valid profiles showing reasonable read time and psychological response time resulted in few outliers. Second, read and psychological response times were internally consistent. Third, valid separation of read time from total response time was demonstrated by a positive relationship between read time and item length. Fourth, negatively stated items took longer to understand than positively stated items. Fifth, in accordance with schema research, items that were highly similar or dissimilar to the self-schema were answered more quickly than other items, resulting in an inverted-U effect.