ABOUT THE LECTICAL DECISION MAKING ASSESSMENT*

"I've worked with the LDMA for almost as long as it's been around, testing hundreds of leaders in more than 6 different cultures, and if you said, "Mike, go to the moon, you can only take one thing"—I'd take the LDMA. Clearly, the LDMA helps us hold candid, transparent, DIFFICULT, yet generative conversations with leaders about where they are, and where they are going."

—Mike Jay

The LDMA is an assessment of workplace decision making skills. It focuses on three aspects of decision making:

perspective taking;
argumentation; and
the decision-making process.

General information

The LDMA is for management students, managers, and individuals who are thinking about moving into management

The LDMA presents a common workplace dilemma that involves conflicting interests, then asks the test-taker—through a series of standard probes—to discuss the nature of the problem, describe two possible solutions, compare these solutions, and describe an ideal decision making process for similar situations.

There are several existing (and tested) LDMA dilemmas, which makes it possible to provide a new dilemma each time an individual takes the assessment. This feature is especially useful if you wish to test the effectiveness of a course or training intervention. Moreover, we can customize dilemmas for particular groups. For example, we have developed special versions of the LDMA for use in legal, medical, and educational contexts.

Sometimes the LDMA is supplemented with a set of survey-like questions. These are designed to examine personal preferences, which helps us to produce more useful reports.

The LDMA must be completed in a single sitting. Please ask clients to set aside an hour to complete the assessment. They should also carefully read the assessment instructions before they begin writing to ensure that they receive their best score and don't accidentally lose their work due to a lost internet connection.

Check it out

You can examine the LDMA by logging on to the DTS site and choosing select an assessment, under the "take an assessment" item in the main menu on the left. You will need to enter information into the starred fields before you will be allowed to move from one page of the assessment to the next. Feel free to cut and paste blocks of random text into the essay fields.

Dilemmas

The essay questions in the LDMA require test-takers to respond to a dilemma. Click on the tabs in the list below to explore avaialble dilemmas. (Note: Test-takers will not be allowed to select a dilemma that they have responded to in the past.)

We strongly recommend—in most cases—that you select the dilemma(s) you would like test-takers to use. There are a number of considerations that could inform your choices. We suggest that you discuss these with us before making your initial selections.

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Reliability and validity

The LDMA, like all Lectical Assessments, reliably distinguishes 8–10 adult developmental phases, where each phase represents 1/4 of a developmental level. All Lectical Assessments have very similar levels of reliability, because they are scored with the same developmental assessment system, the LAS.

Lectical assessments address two broad forms of validity: construct validity and ecological validity. First, like all Lectical Assessments, the LDMA is scored with the LAS, which is (1) based on a strong theory of development called Dynamic Skill Theory, and (2) has been submitted to a number of rigorous tests of its ability to capture the developmental construct described in that theory. These tests have shown that the LAS does a very good job capturing this dimension. To view the evidence, see the refereed papers under the articles tab on the articles page and articles by our colleagues on the decision making references page.

Second, the ecological validity of the LDMA is apparent in the relevance of (1) its content—its dilemmas are like those encountered in the real world; (2) the skills required to complete it—skills for perspective-taking, argumentation, written communication, and decision-making; and (3) the scores and feedback provided in its reports.

To learn more about reliability and validity, see Dr. Dawson's blog.

Reports

Lectical assessments are distinguished by the accuracy of LAS scores and the quality of our feedback. Before we launch a Lectical Assessment, we carefully review the relevant research literature, then study how the skills and concepts targeted by the assessment develop over time, using a research methodology called developmental maieutics. The approach allows us to describe what targeted skills and concepts "look like" in each developmental phase, and to craft feedback and learning suggestions that are specific to each phase of performance.

In addition to general feedback related to the phase of a given performance, each LDMA report includes personal feedback, including comments on strengths and areas for growth, quality of argumentation, the decision-making process, perspective-taking, and recommendations for learning and development.

Reports are generally delivered within 5–7 business days. We send an email notification each time an assessment is finalized.

View sample reports.

Resellers

If you are interested in using the LDMA in your business or practice, please contact us for more information.

*You must be 18 or older to take this assessment without the supervision of a mentor, teacher, counselor, or physician who is registered with DTS.