Abnormal Psychology Misconceptions Questionnaire (APMQ)

Abstract

The Abnormal Psychology Misconceptions Questionnaire (APMQ; Basterfield et al., 2023) is a specialized survey instrument developed to quantitatively assess the prevalence and nature of inaccurate beliefs regarding mental illness and its treatment. The scale was primarily designed for use with undergraduate students in introductory psychology courses. Acknowledging the need for an updated measure, the APMQ synthesizes common myths drawn from established sources on psychological misconceptions, including the foundational work of Lilienfeld and Furnham.

The APMQ exists in two equivalent forms (Version A and Version B), ensuring robust measurement and counterbalancing of item phrasing. Each version consists of 105 scored items presented in a True/False format, along with eight straightforward validity items included to monitor respondent attention and effort. The initial study administered this measure to a U.S. sample of introductory psychology undergraduates, with subsequent reliability and validity results reported in the source publication.

Keywords

Abnormal Psychology, Erroneous Beliefs, False Beliefs, Inaccurate Beliefs, Mental Illness, Psychological Misconceptions, Mental Health Treatment, Myths, Undergraduate Students.

Authors

Candice Basterfield, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Robin L. Cautin, Dylan Jordan.

Purpose

The central purpose of the APMQ is the comprehensive assessment of the breadth and depth of erroneous beliefs held by individuals—specifically undergraduate students—concerning the nature, etiology, and recommended treatment of various forms of mental illness.

Beyond mere assessment, the scale was developed to provide researchers and educators with data necessary to investigate the prevalence and correlates of these psychological misconceptions, thereby informing instructional strategies and curriculum development in Abnormal Psychology courses.

Construct

The primary psychological construct measured by the APMQ is the level of endorsement of common misconceptions or inaccurate beliefs related to Abnormal Psychology. This construct encompasses false information about diagnosis, symptoms, causes, prognosis, and treatment efficacy for various psychological disorders.

The scale is designed such that high scores indicate a greater propensity to accept and endorse scientifically unsupported or erroneous beliefs about mental health, reflecting a deficit in accurate scientific understanding within this domain.

Validity

The validity of the APMQ was supported by correlating misconception scores with related cognitive and attitudinal measures. Findings indicated that students who demonstrated a higher endorsement of mental illness misconceptions also tended to exhibit significantly weaker critical thinking skills. This relationship suggests that the APMQ effectively taps into a general cognitive vulnerability toward accepting unsupported claims.

Furthermore, scores on the APMQ correlated positively with an inclination toward accepting paranormal claims and negatively with the endorsement of scientific and behavioral perspectives within psychology. These correlations provide evidence for the measure’s construct validity, positioning the APMQ as a meaningful indicator of resistance to evidence-based psychological knowledge.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the APMQ was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, yielding robust coefficients for both versions. Version A demonstrated an alpha of 0.83 (with a mean inter-item correlation, r, of 0.04), while Version B yielded an alpha of 0.84 (with a mean inter-item r of 0.05).

While these alpha values suggest that the questionnaire is internally consistent, particularly considering its substantial length (105 items), the low mean inter-item correlations indicate that the instrument is not highly homogeneous. This lack of homogeneity is expected, as the APMQ is designed to cover a broad spectrum of distinct myths across the entire field of Abnormal Psychology, rather than a single, narrow construct.

Factor Analysis

As reported in the initial source documentation, data regarding the factor structure or dimensionality of the Abnormal Psychology Misconceptions Questionnaire are currently unavailable. Future research may seek to apply exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis techniques to determine if the 105 items cluster into distinct thematic domains of psychological misconceptions.

Instrument

Test Type: Original

Format: Responses are collected using a mandatory True/False format, with no “don’t know” option provided. Items are scored such that higher total scores reflect a greater endorsement of misconceptions. The authors suggest that subsequent research might benefit from employing a Likert-type format to capture varying levels of conviction regarding false beliefs. The initial administration method is paper-based.

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human (Male, Female)

Age Group: Adolescence (13-17 yrs), Adulthood (18 yrs & older), Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs)

Population Details: Respondents constituted a sample of introductory psychology undergraduate students located in the United States.

Test Methodology: Test Validity, Construct Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency

Keywords

Abnormal Psychology, Erroneous Beliefs, False Information, Mental Health Treatment, Myths, Psychometrics, Cronbach’s Alpha, Critical Thinking, Psychological Assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Candice Basterfield: orcid.org/0000-0002-2736-5216

Affiliation Email addresses: Candice Basterfield: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Basterfield, Candice: Emory University, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 1441 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Researchers interested in utilizing the APMQ must contact the Corresponding Author (Candice Basterfield) to obtain necessary permissions.

Fee: No fee is required for the use of this instrument.

Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Basterfield, C., Lilienfeld, S. O., Cautin, R. L., & Jordan, D. (2023). Mental illness misconceptions among undergraduates: Prevalence, correlates, and instructional implications. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 9(2), 115–132. doi:10.1037/stl0000221

Items of the Abnormal Psychology Misconceptions Questionnaire (APMQ)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

• Number of items: This measure consists of 105 scored items and 8 validity items.

• Test Items Available: No file is available.