Development and validation of the error propensity questionnaire

Abstract

Introduction. A person quite often makes errors, defined as an unintentional, accidental deviation from correct actions or thoughts, which represents the difference between the expected value and the real one. A fairly large number of studies deal with errors as a phenomenon. However, in the psychological literature, there is a lack of methods that measure erroneous behavior. Therefore, the prevention and correction of erroneous behavior require developing and validating a psychodiagnostic test that reveals a person's propensity for mistakes as a stable behavioral trend (as defined by A. Asmolov). The attitude theory (D. Uznadze) can be used as a methodological basis for such a technique. Aim: the purpose of this paper is to develop and validate the error propensity questionnaire. Materials and methods. The study included 329 respondents (128 women and 201 men aged 18 to 52 years, mean age 31.0 + 8.6 years). The following methods were used: the Revised Neo Personality Inventory (by P. Costa and R. McCrae; adapted by V. Orel, I. Senin); the Cognitive Distortions Scale (by R. Covin; adapted by T. Kryukova et al.); the Ellis’ Irrational Beliefs System (adapted by A. Kamenyukin, D. Kovpak); the authors’ Error Propensity Questionnaire (EPQ). Data processing was carried out with Statistica 10.0, Jamovi, Psych, and Lavaan packages in the “R” computing environment (RStudio 3.6). Results. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the validity of a three-factor EPQ model, which includes the following scales: propensity for operational errors, propensity for target-related errors, and propensity for semantic errors. Internal consistency, discriminatory power, retest reliability, and convergent and external validity were also confirmed. Conclusions. The data obtained demonstrate the sufficient reliability and validity of the Error Propensity Questionnaire, its compliance with psychometric requirements, and its applicability.