Psychological Testing and Assessment-Review 2

factor analytic theories

1. Focus on identifying the ability or groups of abilities deemed to constitute intelligence.

Personality

An individual's unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits

Reaction Range

Genetically determined limits on IQ or other traits

Francis Galton

On the basis of a study of eminence and success in families, this theorist concluded that intelligence is inherited. He also invented the concept of correlation and coined the phrase "nature vs nurture"

Stanford-Binet

The first publishes intelligence test to provide organized and detailed administration and scoring interpretations; employed the concept of IQ, and alternative item (item substituted for a regular item under specified conditions

Creativity

The generation of ideas that are original, novel, and useful

information processing theories

2. Focus on identifying the specific mental processes that constitute intelligence.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A child's mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100

Deviant IQ

A comparison of the performance of the individual with the performance of others of the same age in the standardization sample.

Interactionism

A complex concept in which heredity and environment are presumed to interact and influence the development of one's intelligence (Thurston's primary mental abilities- PMAs)

Percentile Score

A figure that indicates the percentage of people who score below the score one has obtained

Correlation Coefficient

A numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables

Emotional intelligence

A popularization of aspects of Garnder's multiple intelligences, with an emphasis on interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence

Flynn Effect

A shorthand reference to progressive rise in intelligence test scores that is expected to occur on a normed test intelligence from the date when the test was first normed.

Psychological test

A standardized measure of a sample of a person's behavior

Normal Distribution

A symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents the pattern in which many characteristics are dispersed in the population

Routing Test

A task used to direct or route the examine to a particular level of questions

Interpersonal/Intrapersonal intelligence

Ability to understand other people/capacity to form an accurate, veridical model of oneself and to use that model in life

Army Alpha and Army Beta

Administered to army recruits to read, contained tasks as general information questions; Administered to foreign-born recruits with poor knowledge of english or illiterate recruits- mazes, coding, picture completion.

Core and supplemental subtest

Administered to obtain a composite score; optimal subtest thats used for purposes such as providing additional clinical information or extending the number of abilities or processes sampled.

Wechsler

Aggregate and global capacity; intelligence, operationally defined, is the a or gc of the individual to act purposefully. Must take nonintelligence factors into account as well

Simultaneous and successive

Also known as parallel, information is integrated all at one time-synthesized as a whole. Also known as sequential, each bit of information is individually processed in sequence- logical and analytical in nature

Heritability ratio

An estimate of the proportion of trait variability in a population that is determined by variations in genetic inheritance

Method of paired comparison

Asking respondents to indicate which of two statements they agree most with

Cross battery assessment

Assessments that employ tests from different test batteries and entails data interpretation from specified subsets to provide a comprehensive assessment

Basal level

Base-level criterion that must be met for testing on the subtest to continue (xaminee answers two consecutive items correctly) When examinees fail a certain number of items in a row, ceiling level is reached and test is discontinued

Fluid intelligence

Basic reasoning ability, memory capacity, and speed of information processing

CHC Model

Cattell-Horn-Caroll model. Designation of broad abilities like the 2nd stratum level in Carroll's theory that subsume several narrow abilities like the first level. For Carroll, g is a third level stratum subsuming Gf and Gc while the remaining 6 abilities are above it; the Cattell-Horn model has no g.

Group factors

Common factors to a group of activities but not to all

Ipsative Scoring

Comparison of a test taker's score on one scale within a test with another scale within that same test (have a higher need for one subscale on a test vs another)

Binet

Complex measures of intelligence; distinct processes or abilities that could be assessed only be separate tests

Issues in the assessment of intelligence

Cultures and the varied values and beliefs spawn differences in terms of what is deemed intelligent (culture-free tests with no culture vs culture-fair intelligent test for more fair tests)

Convergent and divergent thinking

Deductive reasoning process that entails recall and considerations of facts as well as a series of logical judgments to narrow down solutions and eventually arrive at one solution; Reasoning process in which thought is free to move in many different directions, making several solutions possible

Psychoeducational assessment

Designed to improve the practice of psychological assessments in education by identifying different tests from different batteries that could be used comprehensively

L.L. Thurstone

Disagreed with Spearman's concept of 'g', and his use of factor analysis. Instead, this person believed intelligence should be divided into seven "primary mental abilities" (word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory).

Comparative Scaling

Entails judgments of a stimulus in comparison with every other stimulus on the scale

Test Construction

Entails writing test items as well as formatting items, setting scoring rules, and otherwise designing and building a test

Two factor theory of intelligence

Existence of a general intellectual ability factor (g) is partially tapped by all other mental abilities; remaining portions of variance being accounting for a test that is not general (s). Tests with high positive correlations with other intelligence tests were thought to be highly saturated with g while low tests were s like visual or motor)

Culture loading

Extent a test incorporates the vocabulary, concepts, traditions, knowledge, and feelings associated with a particular culture.

Item format

Form, plan, structure, arrangement, and layout of individual test items (select-response require takers to select responses from set of alternatives [MC, Matching, T/F]; constructed response require takers to supply or create correct answers [Sentence Completion, Short Answer, Essay])

Crystallized Intelligence

Gc; acquired skills and knowledge that are dependent on exposure to a particular culture as well as on formal and informal education (vocab) retrieval of information and application of general knowledge

Fluid Intelligence

Gf; nonverbal, relatively culture-free, and independent of specific instruction such as memory for digits

Reification

Giving an abstract concept a name and then treating it as though it were a concrete, tangible object

Factor analysis

Group of statistical techniques designed to determine the existence of underlying relationships between sets of variables, including test scores

Vulnerable and maintained abilities

Gv(visual) are abilities that declline with age and tend not to return to preinjury levels following brain damage; Gq quantitative processing these do not decline with age

Test Conceptualization

Idea for a test being conceived. What the test is designed to measure, the objective, who will use the test and who will take it. What content is covered, how test will be administered, the ideal format, the benefits, harm, meaning attributed to all scores, etc.

Mental Age

In intelligence testing, a score that indicates that a child displays the mental ability typical of a child of that chronological (actual) age

Screening tool

Instrument or procedure used to identify a particular trait or constellation of traits at a gross or imprecise level

Piaget

Intelligence may be conceived as a kind of evolving biological adaptation to the outside world

Galton

Intelligence was defined via people having the best sensory skills , heritability and intelligence which sparked nature vs nurture debate

Criterion-referenced test

Issue with item development. How person meets the criterion or not; stacked against others. Employs in licensing contexts

Norm-referenced test

Issue with item development. How responses compare to other scores/ compare people- high scorers on the test respond correctly and low scorers on the test tend to respond to that same item incorrectly

Age and point scale

Items are grouped by age versus items categorized in subtests

Likert

Measuring constructing using summated ratings (one of most popular, traditionally five-point, ordinal

Intelligence

Multifaceted capacity that manifests itself in different ways across the life span. Includes the abilities to acquire and apply knowledge, reason logically, plan effectively, infer perceptively, make sound judgments and solve problems, grasp and visualize concepts, pay attention, be intuitive, find the right words and thoughts with facility , cope with and adjust to and make the most of new situations

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing down a list of alternatives to converge on a single correct answer

Extra-test behavior

Observations by the examiner on what the examinee does in regards to thinks not just associated for test

Carol Dweck

Pioneered the concept of a "growth mindset" and proposed intelligence can be cultivated and grown, like working out a muscle.

Class category scoring

Placed in a category based on responses given

PASS model

Planning(strategy for problem solving), attention(arousal. receptivity of info), simultaneous, and successive.

Pilot Work

Preliminary research surrounding the creation of a test prototype (you may ask testtakers questions before and after they have taken target scale) (avoiding double barreled questions, double negative questions, leading questions, social desirability, jargon and long questions as well)

Cognitive Style

Psychological dimension that characterizes the consistency with which one acquires and processes information

Intelligence Tests

Psychological tests that measure general mental ablity

Personality Tests

Psychological tests that measures various aspects of personality, including motives, interests, values, and attitudes

Aptitude tests

Psychological tests used to asses talent for specific types of mental ability

Categorical Scaling

Requires that stimuli are placed into two or more alternative categories that differ quantitatively with respect to some continuum

Item pool

Reservoir or well which items will be drawn or discarded for the final version of the test (subject matter experts, personal experience, and existing literature)

Guttman Scale

Scaling type that assesses construct by presenting items that indicate increasingly more extreme positions that yields ordinal-level measures. Items on it range sequentially from weaker to stronger expressions of belief. All respondents who agree with the stronger statements will also agree with the subsequent moderate statements

Deviation IQ scores

Scores that locate subject precisely within the normal distribution, using the standard deviation as the unit of measure

Cumulative model

Scoring method that entails adding up points of all answers and having total

Test Norms

Standards that provide information about where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores on that test

Factor Analysis

Statistical analysis of correlations among many variables to identify closely related clusters of variables

Intellectual disability

Subnormal general mental ability accompanied by deficiencies in everyday living skills originating prior to age 18

Mental Retardation or Intellectual Disability

Subnormal general mental ability accompanied by deficiencies in everyday living skills originating prior to age 18

Test composite

Test score or index derived from the combination of, and/or math transformation of, one or more subtest scores

Criterion-related validity

Test validity that is estimated by correlating subjects' scores on a test with their scores on an independent criterion (another measure) of the trait assessed by the test

Achievement tests

Tests that gauge a person's mastery and knowledge of various subjects

Validity

The ability of a test to measure what it es designed to measure

Crystallized intelligence

The ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills in problem solving

Mental age

The age level at which individuals appear to be functioning intellectually

Content validity

The degree to which the content of a test is representative of the domain it's supposed to cover

Construct validity

The extent to which there is evidence that a test measures a particular hypothetical construct

Reliability

The measurement consistency of a test (or of other kinds of measurement techniques)

Scaling

The process of setting rules for assigning numbers in measurement (can be categorized in terms of level of measurement(nominal) or purpose(job satisfaction))

Ratio IQ

The ratio of the testtaker's mental age divided by his or her chronological age, multiplied by 100 to eliminate decimals; when IQ was truly a quotient.

Standardization

The uniform procedures used in the administration and scoring of a test

Alfred Binet

This French psychologist devised the first successful intelligence test, which expressed a child's score in terms of mental age

David Wechsler

This person developed the first influential intelligence test designed specifically for adults. He also discarded the intelligence quotient in favor o scoring a scheme based on the normal distribution

Sandra Scarr

This person used the concept of reaction range to explain the interaction of heredity and environment

Robert Sternberg

This person's theory takes a cognitive approach to intelligence. He argues that there are three key facets of human intelligence: analytical, creative, and practical intelligence

Lewis Terman

This psychologist developed the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, which originally described children's scores in terms of an intelligence quotient

Arthur Jensen

This theorist argued that heritability of intelligence is about 80% and that cultural differences in average IQ scores are primarily a product of heredity

Howard Gardner

This theorist argued that there are eight types of human intelligence

Charles Spearman

This theorist concluded that all cognitive abilities share an important core factor. He labelled this factor g for general mental ability

Three stratum theory of cognitive abilities

Top: G Second: 8 abilities and processes: fluid intelligence/gf, crystallized intelligence/gc, general memory and learning/y, broad visual perception/v, auditory perception/u, retrieval capacity/r, cognitive speediness/s, processing and decision speed/t Below: each factor is a level and such they are linked to

Divergent Thinking

Trying to expand the range of alternatives by generating many possible solutions

Test Development

Umbrella term for all that goes into the process of creating a test (Test conceptualization, construction, tryout, item analysis, and revision)

TC writing items

What range of content should the items cover? Which of the many different types of item formats should be employed? how many items should be written?

Hierarchical model

Where a level is subsumed or incorprated in the level above it; three stratum theory of cognitive abilities

Floor and ceiling

lowest level of the items on a subtest; highest