CONNOTATIVELY INCONSISTENT TEST ITEMS

An item is defined as connotatively consistent (CC) or connotatively i nconsistent (CI) when its connotation agrees with or contradicts that shared by the majority of items on a test. This definition is more acc urate than what have been referred to as negative versus positive item s. The study examined the equivalence of CC and CI items using conveni ence samples of college students' responses to the Life Orientation Te st (Scheier & Carver, 1985). Confirmatory factor analysis results show ed that CC and CI items measured correlated but distinct traits. Pract ical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.