Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Measuring clinical decision making: do key features problems measure higher level cognitive processes?
Gregory M Hurtz1, Roberta N Chinn, Grady C Barnhill
1Department of Psychology, California State University, Sacramento, USA. ghurtz@csus.edu
Abstract:
Reliable and objective assessment of clinical decision-making skills has been a long-standing goal in occupational testing in the allied health professions. With this goal in mind, the key features problem (KFP) format was developed which elicits targeted decisions about key features of clinical scenarios. To build on a small body of empirical evidence evaluating their efficacy, this study evaluates whether KFPs successfully assess higher order cognitive processes. Analysis of objective data (item length and difficulty, item performance, and response times) and subjective data (expert ratings of cognitive complexity) supported the proposition that KFPs tend to be more cognitively complex than conventional multiple-choice questions. Not only were they rated as more complex, but this complexity accounted for some of the increase in time spent responding to these items. Results support the use of KFPs in standardized assessments for measuring higher order cognitive processes such as clinical decision making.
Related Concept Videos
Critical Thinking II
Decision Making
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
Patient-centered Care
Critical Thinking I
Reason and Intuition
Decision Making: Traditional Method
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...
