Beyond reflective verbal self-reports: Development and validation of the Meditation Pictographic Inventory (MPI) through a multi-source framework
Abstract
Single-item measures are increasingly used to capture constructs that are impractical to assess with multi-item scales, yet their reliability is difficult to estimate and validity evidence is rarely combined across sources. Meditation-related states, which are embodied and often hard to verbalize, illustrate this challenge. The aim of this study is to present a multi-source framework and apply it for developing and validating a Meditation Pictographic Inventory (MPI), a 23-item inventory of single-item measures to assess meditation-related states. The study followed two phases. Phase 1 aimed to develop and refine the pictographic items through qualitative interviews with 10 meditation experts. Phase 2 aimed to validate the MPI. Adults (N = 378) from the general population were randomized to one of four conditions: three brief meditation practices (counting breath, loving-kindness, decentering) or an active control. Validity evidence covered content, response processes, sensitivity to change, relations with other variables, incremental prediction, and internal structure via network analysis at pre- and post-meditation. Reliability was examined through test-retest, criterion-based, and generalizability analyses. Results showed that MPI items clustered into positive, negative, and heterogeneous experiences, with a moderately stable structure and no detectable structural change from pre- to post-meditation. However, nine items were sensitive to meditation effects, including both general (e.g., body boundaries) and practice-specific effects (e.g., warmth after loving-kindness). Items correlated with related self-reports as expected and predicted post-meditation outcomes, but not beyond baseline levels. Single-item reliability was modest. Positive and negative cluster scores showed adequate generalizability, whereas time- and self-related items require further revision. The study was preregistered, the MPI and all materials are openly available, and the framework offers a template for validating other single item inventories.
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BibTeX
@misc{delia2026beyond,
title = {{Beyond reflective verbal self-reports: Development and validation of the Meditation Pictographic Inventory (MPI) through a multi-source framework}},
author = {Ylenia D'elia and Oscar Lecuona and Rocío Herrero and ROSA MARIA BAÑOS RIVERA and Maja Wrzesien and Ausiàs Cebolla},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/4xez7_v2},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/4xez7_v2/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Beyond reflective verbal self-reports: Development and validation of the Meditation Pictographic Inventory (MPI) through a multi-source framework
AU - Ylenia D'elia
AU - Oscar Lecuona
AU - Rocío Herrero
AU - ROSA MARIA BAÑOS RIVERA
AU - Maja Wrzesien
AU - Ausiàs Cebolla
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/4xez7_v2
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/4xez7_v2/
AB - Single-item measures are increasingly used to capture constructs that are impractical to assess with multi-item scales, yet their reliability is difficult to estimate and validity evidence is rarely combined across sources. Meditation-related states, which are embodied and often hard to verbalize, illustrate this challenge. The aim of this study is to present a multi-source framework and apply it for developing and validating a Meditation Pictographic Inventory (MPI), a 23-item inventory of single-item measures to assess meditation-related states. The study followed two phases. Phase 1 aimed to develop and refine the pictographic items through qualitative interviews with 10 meditation experts. Phase 2 aimed to validate the MPI. Adults (N = 378) from the general population were randomized to one of four conditions: three brief meditation practices (counting breath, loving-kindness, decentering) or an active control. Validity evidence covered content, response processes, sensitivity to change, relations with other variables, incremental prediction, and internal structure via network analysis at pre- and post-meditation. Reliability was examined through test-retest, criterion-based, and generalizability analyses. Results showed that MPI items clustered into positive, negative, and heterogeneous experiences, with a moderately stable structure and no detectable structural change from pre- to post-meditation. However, nine items were sensitive to meditation effects, including both general (e.g., body boundaries) and practice-specific effects (e.g., warmth after loving-kindness). Items correlated with related self-reports as expected and predicted post-meditation outcomes, but not beyond baseline levels. Single-item reliability was modest. Positive and negative cluster scores showed adequate generalizability, whereas time- and self-related items require further revision. The study was preregistered, the MPI and all materials are openly available, and the framework offers a template for validating other single item inventories.
ER -