Psych Testing Test 1
Ancient Egyptians
1600 BCE, physicians had knowledge of human anatomy Psychological assessment as well as counseling and psychotherapy fell under the Priest's responsibilities • Trained in much more than religion o Healing arts o Philosophy o Architecture o Math o Astronomy
1st experimental psychology laboratory
University of Leipzig, Germany Wilhelm Max Wundt (1832-1920) Tried to formulate general description of human abilities with respect to variables, such as: • Time • Perception • Attention span Focused on how people were similar, not different (Galton) Viewed individual differences as frustrating source of error • Attempted to control extraneous variables to reduce error Objective: ensure that any observed differences in performance are indeed due to differences between the people being measured and not due to any extraneous variables • Standardization
Henry H. Goddard
(instrumental to Binet's test) chief researcher on project • Raised questions about how meaningful tests are when used with people from various cultural and lingual backgrounds • Found most immigrants from various nationalities to be mentally deficient when tested (controversial) • Wrote about the genetic nature of mental deficiency • Findings due to "hereditary defect" or "apparent defect due to deprivation"? Result of using a translated Binet test that overestimated mental deficiency in native English-speaking populations, let along immigrant populations
Ratio Scales
- In addition to all the properties of nominal, ordinal, and interval measurement, a ratio scale has a true zero point - there exist equal intervals between the numbers on the scale as well as a true or absolute zero point (0 degrees, $0) - In psychology, ratio-level measurement is employed in some types of tests and test items, perhaps most notably those involving assessment of neurological functioning
Interval Scales
- Interval scales contain equal intervals between numbers o Each unit on the scale is exactly equal to any other unit on the scale - Interval scales contain no absolute zero point o Because interval scales contain no absolute zero point, a presumption inherent in their use that no test-taker possess non of the ability or trait (or whatever) being measured - With interval scales, we have reached a level of measurement at which it is possible to average a set of measurements and obtain a meaningful result
Ordinal Scales
- Like nominal scales, ordinal scales permit classification - In addition to classification, has to do with ordering in terms of magnitude; ex: intellectual ability - Ordinal scales imply nothing about how much greater one ranking is than another o Even though ordinal scales may employ number or "scores" to represent the rank ordering, the number do not indicate units of measurement - Ordinal scales have no absolute zero point o Because there is no zero point, the ways in which data from such scales can be analyzed statistically are limited
The Test User
- Psychological tests and assessment methodologies are used by a wide range of professionals - including clinicians, counselors, school psychologists, etc. o Controversy exists about which professionals with what type of training should have access to which tests
The Test Developer
- Test developers and publishers create tests or other methods of assessment - They appreciate the significant impact that test results can have on people's lives - A number of professional organization have published standards of ethical behavior that specifically address aspects of responsible test development and use o Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ("The Standards") - "The Standards" covers issues related to - o Test construction and evaluation o Test administration and use
Nominal Scale
- The simplest form of measurement - These scales involve classification or organization based on one or more distinguishing characteristics - where all things must be placed into mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories - Individual test items may also employ nominal scaling - yes/no responses - Arithmetic operations that can legitimately be performed with nominal data include - o Counting for the purpose of determining how many cases fall into each category o Resulting determination of proportion or percentages -assign a particular group a number (male=1, female=2)
The Test Taker
- We have all been test-takers - On the day a test may be administered, test-takers may vary with respect to numerous variables o Test anxiety o Physical discomfort o Emotional distress o Willingness to cooperate - In the broad sense in which we are using the term "test-taker," anyone who is the subject of an assessment or a evaluation can be a test-taker or an assesse - Even a deceased individual can be considered a test-taker
The Twentieth Century
1900's birth of first formal tests of intelligence (popular among public w/ kids) o The measurement of intelligence 1895, Alfred Binet and Victor Henri: publish articles arguing for the measurement of abilities such as memory and social comprehension • 10 years later, Binet and Theodore Simon: publish 30-item "measuring scale of intelligence" (designed to help identify mentally retarded Paris schoolchildren) • Launched intelligence testing and clinical testing movements
Ethics
a body of principles of right, proper, or good conduct
Score
a code or summary statement, usually but not necessarily numerical in nature, that reflects an evaluation of performance on a test, task, interview, or some other sample of behavior
Portfolio
a file of work products - As samples of one's ability and accomplishment, a portfolio may be used as a tool of evaluation
Histogram
a graph with vertical lines drawn at the true limits of each score (or class interval), forming a series of contiguous rectangular bars - Test scores along the graph's x-axis and the numbers indicative of the frequency along the graph's y-axis
Bar Graph
a graph with vertical lines drawn forming a series of discrete rectangular bars - Numbers indicative of the frequency along the graph's y-axis and reference to some categorization along x-axis
Simple Scoring Report
a listing of a score or scores of a test-taker's performance
Test
a measuring device or procedure
Interview
a method of gathering information through direct communication involving reciprocal exchange - differ with regard to many variables - such as purpose, length, and nature - may be used by psychologists in various specialty areas to help make diagnostic, treatment, selection, or other decisions - A panel interview (also referred to as a board interview) involves more than one interviewer participating in the assessment - The equality, if not the quantity, of useful information produced by an interview depends in no small part of the skills of the interviewer o Pace o Rapport
Standard Score
a raw score that has been converted from one scale to another scale, where the latter scale has some arbitrarily set mean and standard deviation
Case Study (or Case History)
a report or illustrative account concerning a person or an event that was compiled on the basis of case history data
Distribution
a set of test scores arrayed for recording or study
Measure of Central Tendency
a statistic that indicates the average or midmost score between the extreme scores in a distribution - The center of a distribution can be defined in different ways o Mean o Median o Mode
Rapport
a working relationship between the examiner and the examinee
Role Play
acting as an improvised or partially improvised part in a simulated situation
Frequency Distribution
all scores are listed alongside the number of times each score occurred - might be listed in tabular or graphic form - Often, a frequency distribution is referred to as a simple frequency distribution to indicate that individual scores have been used and the data have not been grouped
Alternative Assessment
an evaluative or diagnostic procedure or process that varies from the usual, customary, or standardized way a measurement is derived, either by virtue of some special accommodation made to the assesse or by means of alternative methods designed to measure the same variable(s)
Variability
an indication of how scores in a distribution are scattered or dispersed
Skewness
an indication of how the measurements in a distribution are distributed - described by the nature and extent to which symmetry is absent -- distributions can be characterized by their skewness
Projective test
an individual is assumed to "project" onto some ambiguous stimulus his or her own unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivation • Ambiguous stimuli: o Inkblot o Drawing o Photographs • Ex: Rorschach inkblot test
Consultative Report
an interpretive report, usually written in language appropriate for communication between assessment professionals, providing expert opinion concerning analysis of the data - CAPA (Computer Assisted Psychological Assessment) - CAT (Computer Adaptive Testing)
Collaborative Psychological Assessment
assessor and assesse may work as "partners" from initial contact through final feedback
Before the test
o Ethical guidelines dictate, test users should select and use only the test or tests that are most appropriate for the individual being tested o The test should be stored in a way that reasonably ensures that its specific contents will not be made known to the test-taker in advance o The test user should ensure that a prepared and suitably trained person administers the test properly o The test administer must be familiar with the test materials and procedures and must have at the test site all the materials needed to properly administer the test o The test administrators must ensure that the room in which the test will be conducted is suitable and conducive to the testing
After the test administration
o Test users must safeguard the test protocols to convey the test results in a clearly understandable fashion o Test scorers must score in according to pre-established scoring criteria
Privacy right
recognizes the freedom of the individual to pick and choose for himself the time, circumstances, and particularly the extent to which he wishes to share or withhold from others his attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and opinions • "take the fifth"
Psychological Autopsy
reconstruction of an individual's psychological profile on the basis of archival records, artifacts, and interviews previously conducted with the deceased assesse or people who knew him or her
Francis Galton
• Quantify individual differences between people • Extremely influential in field of measurement • Aspired to "classify" people according to their "natural gifts" and ascertain their "deviation from the average" • Credited with devising/contributing to development of: o Questionnaires o Rating scales o Self-repot inventories • Pioneered the use of the correlation coefficient (r) o Although Karl Pearson (1857-1936) developed the product-moment correlation technique roots traced to Galton
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals
• Use of Bendectin (nausea relief for pregnant women) caused birth defects • Court ruled evidence inadmissible in court, ruled against Daubert • Appealed, ruled against Daubert again • Appealed to Supreme Court o Frye v. United States scientific evidence admissible in court as evidence if generally accepted o Rule 702 allowed more experts to testify regarding the admissibility of the original expert testimony • Supreme Court ruled the case should be retried
Bimodal Distribution
Distribution that contain a tie for designation "more frequently occurring score" can have more than one mode
Psychological Assessment
gathering and integration of psychology-related data for the purpose of making a psychological evaluation that is accomplished through the use of tools such as tests, interviews, case studies, behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatuses and measurement procedures
Privileged information
information that is protected by law from disclosure in a legal proceeding o Have extended to certain relationships: Lawyer-client Doctor-patient Priest-penitent Husband-wife o Not absolute
David Wechsler
introduced intelligence test designed for adults • Intelligence: "aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal ectively with his environment" • Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale Revised= Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) • Revised several times early childhood-senior adulthood • Group Intelligence Test: o Response to military needs (WWI & WWII recruits)
Informed consent
know why one is being evaluated, how the test data will be used and what information can/will be released and to whom
Ancient Greco-Romans
Attempts to categorize people in terms of personality types • Included reference to an overabundance or deficiency in some bodily fluid (ex: phlegm, blood, etc.)
Dementia
loss of cognitive functioning that occurs as the result of damage to or loss of brain cells - may affect reasoning, psychomotor speed, attention, and related abilities, as well as personality - Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia
Behavioral Observation
monitoring the actions of other or oneself by visual or electronic means while recording quantitative and/or qualitative information regarding those actions - Behavioral observation is often used as a diagnostic aid in various settings
Testing people with disabilities
Challenges when testing people with disabling conditions: • Transforming the test into a form that can be taken by the testtaker • Transforming the responses of the testtaker so that they are scorable • Meaningfully interpreting the test data Depends on the nature of the disability "Death with Dignity" -->request by terminally ill for assistance in quickening the process of dying
Issues Regarding Culture and Assessment
o Assessors must be sensitive to the culture of the assessee o Verbal communication o Nonverbal communication or behavior Facial expressions, finger and hand signs, body language, etc. Nonverbal cues are dependent upon ones culture and society Psychoanalysis o Standards of evaluation Judgments related to certain psychological traits can be culturally relative • Ex: behaviors associated with being male or female
During the test administration
Rapport must be established Rapport: a working relationship between the examiner and the examinee Attempts to establish rapport must not compromise any rules of the test administration instructions
Role-Play Test
tool of assessment wherein assesses are directed to act as if they were in a particular situation - assesses may then be evaluated with regard to their expressed thoughts, behaviors, abilities, and other variables - Role play is useful in evaluating various skills - Role play is used especially in situations where it is too time-consuming, too expensive, or simply too inconvenient to assess in a real situation - Outcome measures for some assessment might include ratings related to various aspects of the individual's ability to resolve the conflict - Role play can be used as both a tool of assessment and a measure of outcome
Informal Evaluation
typically nonsystematic assessment that leads to the formation of an opinion or attitude - 'works and plays well with others'
MEAN
The arithmetic mean is denoted by the symbol X̄ - X bar The mean is the most popular measure of central tendency The mean is equal to the sum of the observations divided by the number of observations X̄ = ( Σ (∫X) ) / n
Collectivist Culture
value placed on traits such as conformity, cooperation, interdependence, and striving towards goals • See themselves as part of a larger whole; greater connectedness • Ex: Asian countries, Latin America, Africa, etc.
Minimum competency testing programs
formal testing programs designed to be used in decisions regarding various aspects of a student's education Ex: grade promotions, awarding of diplomas, etc.
Naturalistic Observations
behavior observed in the setting in which the behavior would typically be expected to occur
Normal Curve
bell-shaped, smooth, mathematically defined curve that is highest at its center - From the center it tapes on both sides approaching the x-axis asymptotically (meaning that is approaches, but never touches, the axis) o In theory, the distribution of the normal curve ranges from negative infinity to positive infinity - The curve is perfectly symmetrical and has no skewness - Because it is symmetrical, the mean, the median, and the mode all have the exact same value
Individual culture
characterized by value being placed on traits such as self-reliance, autonomy, independence, uniqueness, and competitiveness • Unique constellation of traits that are stable over time and situation • Ex: United States, Great Britain, etc.
Confidentiality
concerns matters of communication outside the courtroom; privilege protects clients from disclosure in judicial proceedings
Litigation
court-mediated resolution of legal matters of civil, criminal, or administrative nature
Code of professional ethics
defines a standard of care expected of member of that profession • Standard of care
Diagnosis
description or conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and opinion - typically this conclusion is reached through a process of distinguishing the nature of something and ruling out alternative conclusions
Graph
diagram or chart composed of lines, points, bars, or other symbols that describe and illustrate data
Achievement Test
evaluates accomplishment or the degree of learning that has taken place - such as the SAT
Frequency Polygram (Line Graph)
expressed by a continuous line connecting the points where test scores or class intervals meet frequencies - Test scores or class intervals along x-axis and numbers indicate of frequency along y-axis - Graphic representations of frequency distributions may assume any number of different shapes o One graphic representation of particular interest to measurement professionals is the normal or bell-shaped curve
Therapeutic Psychological Assessment
variety of the collaborative psychological assessment - therapeutic self-discovery and new understanding are encouraged throughout the assessment process
Psychological Tests
refers to a device or procedure designed to measure variables related to psychology - A psychological test almost always involves analysis of a sample of behavior - The behavior could be elicited by the stimulus of the test itself or it could be naturally occurring behavior - Psychological tests and other tools of assessment may differ with respect to a number of variables, such as content, format, administration procedures, scoring and interpretation procedures, and technical quality - The content of the test will, of course, vary with the focus of the particular test - But even two psychological tests purporting to measure the same thing may differ widely in content - two test developers might have entirely different views regarding what is important in measuring - Tests differ in their administration procedures o Some tests may require an active and knowledgeable test administrator o Some tests may not even require the test administrator to be present while test-takers independently complete the required tasks - Tests differ in their scoring and scoring interpretation procedures
Self-report
refers to a process whereby assesseess themselves supply assessment-related info by responding to questions, keeping a diary, or self-monitoring thoughts or behaviors (type of personality test) • Advantages: o Respondent best person to provide info about themselves • Disadvantages: o Respondent may have poor insight into themselves o May be unwilling to provide personal info that could put them in a negative light
Dynamic Assessment
refers to an interactive approach to psychological assessment that usually follows a model of (1) evaluation, (2) intervention of some sort, and (3) evaluation
Case History Data
refers to records, transcripts, and other accounts in written, pictorial, or other form that preserve archival information, official and informal accounts, and other data and items relevant to an assesse
Error
refers to the collective influence of all of the factors on a test score or measurement beyond those specifically measured by the test or measurement - there are many sources of error in measurement
Utility
refers to the usefulness or practical value that a test or other tool of assessment has for a particular purpose
Affirmative action
refers to voluntary and mandatory efforts undertaken by federal, state, and local governments, private employers, and schools to combat discrimination and to promote equal opportunity for all in education and employment Seeks to create equal opportunity actively • Alter test-scoring procedures according to set guidelines
Negative Skew
relatively few of the score fall at the low end of the distribution - Higher frequency of scores to the right - May indicate that the test was too easy
Positive Skew
relatively few of the scores fall at the high end of the distribution - Higher frequency of scores towards the left - May indicate that the test was too hard
Interpretive Report
report with including numerical or narrative interpretive statements
Laws
ruled that individuals must obey for the good of the society as a whole; or rules thought to be for the good of the society as a whole o Relinquish freedoms for the good of society o Some are extremely controversial (ex: abortion, capital punishment, etc.) o Ethics
Central Processing
scoring conducted at some central location
Local Processing
scoring done on-site
Truth-in-testing legislation
set of laws; primary objective was to give testtakers a way to learn the criteria which they are being judged Ex: mandate disclosure of answers to postsecondary and professional school administrators within 30 days of publication of test Some require deceptions of • Test's purpose/subject matter • Knowledge and skills the test purports to measure • Procedures for ensuring accuracy ins coring • Procedures for notifying testtakers of errors in scoring • Procedures for ensuring the testtaker's confidentiality
Scale
set of numbers (or other symbols) whose properties model empirical properties of the objects to which the numbers are assigned - There are various ways in which a scale can be categorized - One way of categorizing a scale is according to the type of variable being measured - Measurement always involves error
Culture
socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, and products of work of a particular population, community, or group of people o Language, treatment of elders, ways, values, dispositions, etc. o Teaches what to expect from others and from ourselves
Extended Scoring Report
statistical analysis of a test-taker's performance
Measures of Variability
statistics that describe the amount of variation in a distribution - Measures of variability include - o Range o Interquartile range o Semi-quartile range o Average deviation o Standard deviation o Variance
Raw Score
straightforward, unmodified accounting of performance that is usually numerical - Raw scores may reflect a simply tally, as in number of items correct - Raw scores can be converted into other types of scores - The first step is to organize data by transforming it from a random listing of raw scores into something that immediately conveys a bit more information
Conflict
when groups systematically differ in terms of scores on a test
James McKeen Cattell
• Completed doctoral dissertation that dealt with individual differences in reaction time • Came into contact with Galton: "the greatest man I have known" • Galton inspired him Coined the term mental test (1890) • Instrumental in founding the Psychological Corporation o Named 20 of the country's leading psychologists as directors o Goal: "advancement of psychology and the promotion of the useful applications of psychology."
Vocational assessment
test users are sensitive to legal and ethical mandates concerning the use of tests with regard to hiring, firing, and related decision making Outcome should only be affected by job-related variables Has attracted charges of unfairness and discrimination: • Complexity of assessment confused with conspiracy to use tests to discriminate against individuals or groups Requirements for jobs seen as discrimination
Teleprocessing
test-related data sent to and returned from some central facility via phone lines
Grouped Frequency Distribution
test-score intervals, also called class intervals, replace the actual test scores - The number of class intervals used and the size of width of each class interval are for the test user to decide - made on the basis of convenience
Culture-specific tests
tests designed for use with people from one culture but not from another (search for measure of pure intelligence) Many culturally specific tests were published but were being administered improperly to people from different cultures • Testtakers from minority cultures scored lower • Group whom the test was designed for scored higher
Measurement
the act of assigning numbers or symbols to characteristics of things (people, events, whatever) according to rules - The rules used in assigning numbers are guidelines for representing the magnitude (or some other characteristic) of the object being measured
Accommodation
the adaptation of a test, procedure, or situation, or the substitution of one test for another, to make the assessment more suitable for an assesse with exceptional needs
Tail
the area on the normal curve between 2 and 3 standard deviation above or below the mean
Protocol
the form of sheet or booklet on which a test-taker's responses are entered - may also refer to a description of a set of test procedures
Standard of care
the level at which the average, reasonable, and prudent professional would provide diagnostic or therapeutic services under the same or similar conditions
Scoring
the process of assigning such evaluative codes or statements to performance on tests, tasks, interviews, or other behavior samples - Many different types of scores exist - Tests differ widely in terms of their guidelines for scoring and interpretation o Some tests are self-scored by the test-takers o Some tests are scored by a computer - Tests differ with respect to the psychometric soundness or technical quality o Psychometrics is the science of psychological measurement
Psychological Testing
the process of measuring psychology-related variables by means of devices or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior
Kurtosis
the steepness of a distribution in its center - Platykurtic - relatively flat - Leptokurtic - relatively peaked - Mesokurtic - somewhere in the middle of platykurtic and leptokurtic - Distributions that have high kurtosis are characterized by a high peak and "fatter" tails compared to a normal distribution - In contrast, lower kurtosis values indicate a distribution with a rounded peak and thinner tails
Psychoanalysis
theory of personality and psychological treatment developed by Sigmund Freud; symbolic significance is assigned to many nonverbal acts
Diagnostic Test
tool of assessment used to help narrow down and identify areas of deficit to be targeted for intervention
