Assessing Psychopathology Using Structured Test-Item Response Latencies

We examined the relationships between relative standing on dimensions of psychopathology and the speed of processing test items corresponding to each dimension. Using differential response latencies for items on the Basic Personality Inventory, mean decision times for endorsing items correlated negatively with both relevant self-report scale scores and criterion ratings generated by significant others. Mean response latencies for rejecting items correlated positively with both corresponding self-report scale scores and external criteria. Effect size was dependent on the structural homogeneity of the dimension. Results generalized across both samples of students and psychiatric patients and were interpreted as supporting an information-processing model of psychopathology.