Testing College Board’s Curriculum Model Testing and Individual Differences Good Activities!

Functions and Characteristics of Psychological Testing

Functions Assessing knowledge, skills and performance Identify levels of ability (job selection, school placement, career guidance and such) Measure personality traits and characteristics

Individual Differences Sir Francis Galton (1822- 1911) Father of Differential Psychology Developed the statistical construct of correlation and used normal distribution to explain the hereditary bases of characteristics such as intelligence

Characteristics Standardization How would you define this term?

Characteristics Standardization How would you define this term? Uniform procedures established to assure that the test is administered and scored in a consistent manner. Examples?

Characteristics Norms How would you explain this?

Characteristics Norms How would you explain this? Score as it relates to a larger number who are similar to those for whom the test is designed

Characteristics What is reliability? How would you explain this?

Characteristics What is reliability? How would you explain this? Refers to the consistency with which a test yields a similar score on repetition

Examples Test-retest Split-half reliability Inter-rater Reliability

Characteristics Validity What makes a test valid?

Characteristics Validity refers to the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to Validity What makes a test valid?

Types of validity Face validity Content validity Construct validity Predictive validity Concurrent validity

Assessment of Intelligence (a quick review) It is difficult to devise a valid measure of a construct about which there is no agreed upon definition

Assessment of Intelligence Theories of Intelligence Charles Spearman L. L. Thurstone Howard Gardner J. P. Guilford Robert Sternberg

History of IQ Tests Alfred Binet Lewis Terman

History of IQ Tests David Wechsler Wechsler Intelligence Scale

Individual Tests Stanford - Binet Wechsler Intelligence Scales WAIS WISC-R WPPSI Normed with mean of 100 and SD of 15

Group Tests SAT PSAT CLEP AP Exams Aptitude vs.. Achievement Tests

Assessment of Personality The chosen assessment depends on the personality theory chosen There are three major approaches to personality assessment objective (self-reports) projective behavioral assessments

Objective tests Objective Tests: Most frequently used assessment Standard written format Select from provided choices Also called self-report (assume you know yourself better than anyone else) Examples? Problems with objective tests?

Examples Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale Many others

Objective (Self Reports) Strengths Weaknesses

Objective (Self Reports) Strengths Easily administered Can be interpreted fairly quickly Weaknesses People may lie Overuse-used for inappropriate purposes like hiring

Projective Tests Projective Tests: Free response format Relatively unstructured stimuli which can be perceived in many ways Theoretically, the individual “projects” personality onto task Examples? Problems with projective tests?

Inkblots (Hermann)Rorschach

Inkblots The examiner observes a variety of things such as How the cards are held, How long it takes to respond, When the test is administered

Inkblots Major elements for interpretation Location Determinants Content Popularity

Other contributors (Wayne) Holtzman Inkblot Test (John) Exner Scoring System

Thematic Apperception Tests Test developed by Henry Murray and Christina Morgan is the most widely used projective test Called TAT

TAT Test taker is required to make up stories about a series of ambiguous pictures on cards Cards (pictures) are different for males, females and children Stories are analyzed for topics, recurring themes and Murray’s “needs”

TAT

TAT

TAT

TAT

Strengths/Weaknesses Have generated a wide variety of research on clinical syndromes “Faking” is less of a problem than with self reports Test lack rigor Tests do not yield objective scores

Behavioral Assessments Involves techniques such as naturalistic observation and situational testing Is favored by some psychologists because they have good face validity

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