Construct validity, Polychoric correlations, Pearson correlation, Factor analysis,

M.E. Smith (1993) obtained event-related brain potentials (ERPs) from subjects performing a recognition memory task using "remember" (R) and "know" (K) judgments, and reported observing in the ERP a "neurophysiological manifestation of recollective experience" as a difference between the positive waveforms elicited by stimuli that yielded R and K judgments. We replicated his experiment and examined the componential structure of the R > K effect in two ways. First, we found that correction for P300 latency jitter eliminated the effect reported by Smith. Second, the application of principal component analysis indicated that the positive waveform elicited by the words in the test list was a P300. These analyses do not support the hypothesis that there is a new component (the "memory-evoked shift") that is a specific manifestation of recollection.

This research is based on previous studies which identified a specific respiratory pattern and inhalation-exhalation ratio, with which we were able to obtain significantly greater reductions in psychophysiological activation than with other respiratory patterns. The present study aimed to check the effectiveness of this respiratory pattern in learning based on biofeedback from the electrical conductance of the skin. The results obtained demonstrated that biofeedback combined with this respiratory pattern produced a significant reduction in psychophysiological activation and improved learning through biofeedback techniques.

Resumen: La evaluación de programas se aplica frecuentemente en ámbi-tos de intervención no estandarizados. Esto conlleva, entre otras, las carencias de: a) modelo teórico validado previamente; b) instrumentos de medida estándares; c) fiabilidad de las medidas. En este trabajo, se plantea que el Análisis Factorial con correlaciones policóricas y el Análisis Multinivel puede ser un procedimiento adecuado hacia el logro de la validez de constructo en contextos no estandarizados de evaluación donde, además, las variables suelen ser no cuantitativas y estar anidadas. El estudio empírico se realiza sobre una muestra de 2754 trabajadores de la Universidad de Sevilla que han respondido a una encuesta de satisfacción elaborada ad-hoc sobre la formación recibida en distintos cursos encaminados a capacitarlos para el correcto desempeño de sus funciones. Cabe destacar la complementariedad entre ambas técnicas de análisis para examinar la variabilidad diferencial aportada por variables explicativas de distinto nivel jerárquico en la predicción de la satisfacción percibida. Palabras claves: Validez; evaluación de programas; satisfacción; Análisis Factorial; Análisis Multinivel.Title: Training program evaluation in non-standardized context: Complementarity across Factorial and Multilevel Analysis to obtain construct validity evidences. Abstract: Program evaluation is usually applied to non-standardized intervention contexts. This implies, among others, deficiencies of: a) validated theoretical models; b) non-standard measurement instruments; c) reliable measures. In this work, we show that Factor Analysis with polychoric correlations and Multilevel Analysis could be an adequate procedure to gain construct validity evidence in non-standard evaluative contexts, where the measures are not quantitative and usually are nested. The empirical study is carried out on a sample of 2754 workers of the University of Seville. They have completed a satisfaction questionnaire about training courses aimed to prepare them for the correct performance of their jobs. We highlight the complementarities between both analytical techniques to study the differential variability provided by explained variables nested in different hierarchical level to predict the perceived satisfaction.