[Validation study of the implicit theories of intelligence scale].

BACKGROUND: According to several authors, it seems that beliefs about the nature of intelligence have a very powerful impact on behavior in learning situations. These implicit theories of intelligence create a meaning system or conceptual framework that influences the individuals interpretation of school situations. Thus, an entity theory of intelligence is the belief that intelligence is a fixed trait, a personal quality that cannot be changed. Students who subscribe to this theory believe that although people can learn new things, their underlying intelligence remains the same. In contrast, an incremental theory of intelligence is the belief that intelligence is a malleable quality that can increase through efforts. This paper presents the development and the validation of the Implicit Theories Of Intelligence scale (TIDI) for French teenagers. Most of the studies attest the validity of the scales measuring the implicit theories of the intelligence. The instrument used by the authors include 3 items assessing the entity theory. Recently, theoretical debates suggested to measure within a single questionnaire both theories at the same time. Moreover, there is no instrument in French language which measures the implicit theories of the intelligence. Two studies have been conducted. The purpose of the first study was to test the factorial validity and the internal consistency of the scale. The goal of the second study was to test the temporal stability of the instrument. STUDY 1: This study describes the procedures used to create the TIDI, the internal consistency and the factorial validity. This instrument was composed of two subscales of three items assessing incremental theory of the intelligence and entity theory of the intelligence. French teenagers (n=453) aged 11 to 16 years completed the questionnaire during a lecture. Cronbach's alpha was 0.81 for the scale assessing incremental theory and 0.78 for the scale assessing entity theory. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using Lisrel. The fit for this model was: chi2 (8)=24.23, p<0.01, GFI=0.98, CFI=0.98, RMSEA=0.067, AGFI=0.95. All indexes of fit improved. An examination of the output indicated that the range of factor loadings of items on their respective scales was 0.66 to 0.82. These statistical analyses reveal that the TIDI shows an excellent internal consistency and a very good validity. STUDY 2: This second study examines the temporal stability of the TIDI. The sample includes 209 French teenagers aged 11 to 16 years who completed the questionnaire and participated at the second administration of the questionnaire, three months later. The stability coefficient for entity theory was 0.74 and for incremental theory was 0.70. These results indicate that the TIDI is stable over time, thus supporting its temporal stability.

CONCLUSION: The overall results presented in these studies confirm the excellent psychometric properties of the TIDI. These studies also attest that a teenager can subscribe in a simultaneous way to both implicit theories of intelligence. Although a theory is dominant, the opposite theory can be available according to the context. From a theoretical point of view, this questionnaire could be used within correlational studies in order to study the correlation between the implicit theories and the psychopathological variables such as anxiety and depression. From a pragmatic point of view, this questionnaire can be used for the treatment of children with learning disabilities.