Testing

Psychological Tests Tests abilities, interests, creativity, personality, behavior Must be standardized, reliable, and valid Timing, instructions, scoring standards, and conditions should be the same No matter when you take it and who scores it, the score should be the same.

Standardization & Norms Psychometrics: Measurement of mental traits, abilities, and processes Psychometricians: focus on methods for acquiring and analyzing psychological data; mental traits, abilities, and processes Constructs (behaviors): hypothetical abstractions related to behavior and defined by small groups of objects of events Ideas that help summarize a group of related ideas, objects or phenomena (happiness, honesty, intelligence) Standardization: 2 step process Establishes test norms from the test results of the large representative sample Ensures that the test is both administered and scored uniformly for all test takers Norms: Standards used to compare scores of test takers

Standardized Tests Usually Follow a Normal or Bell Curved Distribution Where Most Scores Occur in the Middle. Ninety-five percent of all people fall within 30 points of 100 Number of scores 55 70 85 100 115 130 145 Wechsler intelligence score Sixty-eight percent of people score within 15 points above or below 100

Reliability vs. Validity (DON’T MIX THEM UP) Reliability deals with consistency (repeatability) Asks the question: “Do I always get SIMILAR results each time the test is administered? Interrater reliability: The extent to which two or more scorers evaluate the responses in the same way Validity deals with accuracy or predictability. Asks the question does the test measure what it is supposed to measure?

Methods to Measure Reliability Test-Retest Same test to same group but on different occasions then scores are compared The closer the correlation coefficient is to 1.0 the more reliable Split half The score of half the test is correlated with the score of the other half to see if there is consitency Alternate form/Equivalent form Two different versions of a test on the same material is given to the same test takers and scores are correlated

Methods for Measuring Validity Face Validity: A measure of extent to which the content of the test measures all of the knowledge/skills that are supposed to be included within the domain being tested according to the test takers Content Validity: A measure of extent to which the content of the test measures all of the knowledge/skills that are supposed to be included within the domain being tested according to expert judges Criterion Related Validity: A measure of the extent to which a test’s results correlate with other accepted measures of what is being tested Predictive Validity: A measure of the extent to which the test accurately forecasts a specific future result Construct Validity: The extent to which the test actually measures the hypothetical construct or behavior it is designed to assess. Some psychologists consider this the true measure of validity Some people question whether IQ tests have construct validity

The Flynn Effect Since the advent of intelligence tests, people’s IQ scores have been improving with time (Flynn Effect). If standardized with today’s tests, scores 80 years ago would have an average IQ of 76. Possible Causes?

The Flynn Effect

Low Extreme of Intelligence Mental Retardation: condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of below 70 and difficulty adapting to the demands of life.

Extremes of Intelligence Down Syndrome: condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup. Many mentally retarded people with Down Syndrome can adapt to disorder and some have earned college degrees with accommodations…many learn how to read. Savants: Individuals otherwise considered mentally retarded, that have a specific exceptional skill, usually math (calculating), music, or art.

Degrees of Mental Retardation Level Typical Intelligence Scores Percentage of the Retarded Adaptation to Demands of Life Mild 50-70 85% Most learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level. Adults may, with assistance, achieve self-supporting social and vocational skills. Moderate 35-49 10 May progress to second-grade level. academically. Adults may contribute to their own support by labor in sheltered workshops. Severe 20-34 3-4 May learn to talk and perform simple work tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training.

Key Dynamic of Intelligence Creativity: the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas components of creativity: expertise imaginative thinking skills venturesome personality intrinsic motivation creative environment

Is Intelligence Genetic or Environmental? Influenced by both, but the most genetically similar have the most similar scores. Similarity of intelligence scores (correlation) Identical twins reared together apart Fraternal Siblings Unrelated individuals

Genetic Influences With age, genetic influences become more apparent. Adopted children’s intelligence scores become more like their biological parents, and identical twins similarities continue to increase as they age. Still hard to tell what percentage of intelligence comes from genes to account for differences between people (heritability).

Genetic Influences 0.35 0.30 Child-parent 0.25 correlation in 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 3 years 16 years Child-parent correlation in verbal ability scores Children and their birth parents Adopted children and their birth parents and their adoptive

Variation within group Difference within group Group Differences in Intelligence Scores Are Probably Mostly Attributed to the Environment Variation within group Difference within group Poor soil Fertile soil Seeds

“Intelligence” is Hard to Define Intelligence is often defined as the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Intelligence is not a “thing” it is an abstract concept…an IQ is simply a score on an intelligence test.

Theories of Intelligence

J.P. GUILFORD & L. THURSTONE key name J.P. GUILFORD & L. THURSTONE 1887-1955 1897-1988 Used factor analysis to determine that intelligence is comprised of several discrete abilities (for Guilford there are 180!) Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin

Is Intelligence a Singular Ability? To measure general ability within specific mental abilities a statistical method is used called: Factor Analysis: used to identify clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one’s total. Ex: People who do well on vocabulary items also usually do well on paragraph comprehension…which are both related to the verbal intelligence factor.

“g-factor”/ general intelligence key name Charles SPEARMAN 1863-1945 “g-factor”/ general intelligence Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin

Charles Spearman and The G-Factor General intelligence (g): Spearman’s belief that there is a single factor that underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test. Specific intelligences tended to be positively correlated.

Howard GARDNER “Multiple Intelligences” key name Howard GARDNER 1943 - ___ “Multiple Intelligences” From a biological point of view, Gardner has noted that brain damage often may diminish some abilities but not others. Gardner argues humans do not have one intelligence (g factor) but instead multiple intelligences which are relatively independent of the others. Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin

Which 2 intelligences are valued the most in schools? key name Howard GARDNER 1943 - ___ “Multiple Intelligences” - continued Linguistic intelligence Logical - mathematical intelligence Musical intelligence Bodily - kinesthetic intelligence Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin Visual - spatial intelligence Intrapersonal intelligence Which 2 intelligences are valued the most in schools? Interpersonal intelligence Naturalist intelligence

Howard GARDNER “Multiple Intelligences” - continued The existence of savants, prodigies and other exceptional individuals supports Gardner’s theory: The Real Rain Man Derek - 60 Minutes Lily the geography wiz! Rain Man on Netflix: 37:50 -39:50 and 42:00

Triarchic theory of intelligence key name Robert STERNBERG 1949 - ______ Triarchic theory of intelligence Analytical (academic problem solving) Creative (reacting to new situations and ideas) Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin Practical (everyday tasks – common sense)

Robert Sternberg Sternberg looked to overcome the fact that although IQ tests predicted school tests relatively well, they did less well predicting vocational success. “The true measure of success is not how well one does in school… …but how well one does.”

More “Intelligences?” Social Intelligence the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully Emotional Intelligence -ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions -critical part of social intelligence

How We Measure Intelligence

key name Alfred BINET 1857-1911 Created an intelligence test that could measure the mental age of school children Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin Mental age X 100 = IQ Chronological age

Alfred Binet and Intelligence Tests Binet’s looked to identify a child’s: Mental Age: chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. A child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8. Binet did not believe his test measured inborn intelligence.

Mental age X 100 = IQ Chronological age 12 X 100 = 120 10 10 What is the IQ of: a10-year-old with the mental age of a 12 year old? 12 X 100 = 120 10 an 8-year-old with the mental age of a 10 year old? 10 X 100 = 125 8 A 10-year-old with the mental age of a 9 year old? 9 X 100 = 90 10

Lewis TERMAN Invented the Stanford-Binet IQ Test key name Lewis TERMAN 1877-1956 Invented the Stanford-Binet IQ Test He revised Binet's test to work for large numbers of people in an attempt to measure what he thought was inherited intelligence. Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin

Creator of the most widely used intelligence tests today key name David WECHSLER 1896-1981 Creator of the most widely used intelligence tests today WISC: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children WAIS: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Verbal & performance scores Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin

Assessing Intelligence- Sample Items from the WAIS From Thorndike and Hagen, 1977 VERBAL General Information Similarities Arithmetic Reasoning Vocabulary Comprehension Digit Span PERFORMANCE Picture Completion Picture Arrangement Block Design Object Assembly Digit-Symbol Substitution

key name Raymond CATTELL 1905-1998 Articulated the difference between fluid intelligence (ability to learn new things, quickly process and apply information) & crystalized intelligence (facts, "stuff") Worked with Maslow at U Wisconsin Fluid intelligence decreases as we age, crystalized intelligence doesn’t.

Assessing Intelligence: Aptitude vs. Achievement Test Aptitude Tests: are tests designed to predict a person’s future performance. SATs and GREs Achievement Test: a test designed to assess what a person has learned. Midterm Psych exam, chapter 3 history test, etc.