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Multistage adaptive testing has recently emerged as an alternative to the computerized adaptive test. The current study details a new multistage test to assess fluid intelligence.An item pool of progressive matrices with constructed response format was developed, and divided into six subtests. The subtests were applied to a sample of 724 college students and their psychometric properties were studied (i.e., reliability, dimensionality and validity evidence). The item pool was calibrated under the graded response model, and two multistage structures were developed, based on the automatic test assembly principles. Finally, the test information provided by each structure was compared in order to select the most appropriate one.The item pool showed adequate psychometric properties. From the two compared multistage structures, the simplest structure (i.e., routing test and two modules in the next stages) were more informative across the latent trait continuum and were therefore kept.Taken together, the results of the two studies support the application of the FIMT (Fluid Intelligence Multistage Test), a multistage test to assess fluid intelligence accurately and innovatively.

Convergent validity of two tests of conscientiousness. The absence of correspondence between objective measurement of behavior and measurement based on self-report along with generalized use of questionnaires as personality assessment instruments raises a problem with regard to the validity of assessment instruments in this area of study. The goal of this work is to obtain a convergent validity measure for an objective assessment computerized task of conscientiousness based on the development of a functional equally but morphologically different task. The features of the designed assessment task are commented upon. The sample was made up of 267 university graduates (194 males and 73 females). The high convergent validity value obtained (r= .638, p.001) is a first step in the validation process of both tasks.

The causes underlying the correlation between working memory and fluid intelligence remain unknown. There are some researchers who argue that the answer can be found on the presumed executive component of working memory. However, the available empirical evidence is far from conclusive. The present study tested a sample of 229 participants. Intelligence, working memory, and executive functioning were measured by one analytic reasoning test (TRASI), a dual task combining a primary task of deductive reasoning with a secondary task of counting, and the Tower of Hanoi task, respectively. All the 3 measures were computer administered. The results indicate that the shared variance between executive functioning and working memory do not account for the relationship between intelligence and working memory. Some theoretical implications are discussed.