Psychometric evaluation of recall and recognition tasks for the measurement of young spectators’ theatrical memory

Abstract

The purpose of this research is the construction and psychometric evaluation of seven categories of recall and recognition tasks for the measurement of young spectators’ theatrical memory, based on the respective theatre codes of a specific performance for young spectators. The aim of those tasks is the evaluation of the young spectators’ mnemonic recordings on a level a) the actors’ representation of the characters on stage (acting), b) the visual frame of the performance, c) the audio code d) the lights, e) the dramatic text, f) the plot/action and g) the Shadow Theatre technique.

The recall and recognition tasks were constructed according to the Classical Test Theory of Question Analysis on a sample of 5th Grade Primary School pupils (i.e. ten-year-old pupils), who had seen this specific performance addressed to young spectators and were evaluated with the Factor Analysis method. For the evaluation of the quality of the questions, we took into consideration the difficulty coefficient of each question, the discriminant coefficient and the evaluation of the correlation level of expert judges. For the psychometric control of the tests we examined the validity of their conceptual construct via inquiry factor analysis and the internal validity coefficient.

The result of the above tasks was the creation of seven reliable and valid measurement tools, in which no gender effect is inferred.