Development and validation of the Hocus Focus Magic Performance Evaluation Scale for health professions personnel in the United States

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to describe the development and validation of the Hocus Focus Magic Performance Evaluation Scale (HFMPES), which is used to evaluate the competency of health professions personnel in delivering magic tricks as a therapeutic modality. Methods: A 2-phase validation process was used. Phase I (content validation) involved 16 magician judges who independently rated the relevance of each of the 5 items in the HFMPES and established the veracity of its content. Phase II evaluated the psychometric properties of the HFMPES. This process involved 2 magicians using the HFMPES to independently evaluate 73 occupational therapy graduate students demonstrating 3 magic tricks.Results: The HFMPES achieved an excellent scale-content validity index of 0.99. Exploratory factor analysis of the HFMPES scores revealed 1 distinct factor with alpha coefficients ≥0.8 across the 3 magic tricks. The construct validity of the HFMPES scores was further supported by evidence from a known-groups analysis, in which the Mann–Whitney U-test showed significant difference in HFMPES scores between participants with different levels of experience in delivering the 3 magic tricks. The inter-rater reliability coefficients were ≥0.75 across the 3 magic tricks, indicating that the competency of health professions personnel in delivering the 3 magic tricks could be evaluated precisely.Conclusion: Preliminary evidence supported the content and construct validity of the HFMPES, which was found to have good internal consistency and inter-rater reliability in evaluating health professions personnel’s competency in delivering magic tricks.

Contribution of a virtual magic camp to enhancing self-esteem in children with ADHD: A pilot study

“…Pairs of OT students evaluated each other using a validated magic performance evaluation scale to ensure that they were competent in performing the magic tricks to teach the campers. 19 Completion of the peer performance evaluation by students was necessary as part of the course requirements.…”

MAGNITIVE: Effectiveness and Feasibility of a Cognitive Training Program Through Magic Tricks for Children With Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. A Second Clinical Trial in Community Settings

“…; which is a powerful reinforcement. The next step would be to examine whether the program could create a greater impact if it had a broader reach ( Bagienski and Kuhn, 2019 ; Spencer et al, 2019 ), or whether it could spark the child’s motivation to strengthen his/her skills for different tricks so that it could extend in time the benefits of the program with no need for another intervention.…”