1. Psychological Testing

2. Characteristics of Psychological Tests

3. Fairness and Usefulness
Reliability- a test’s consistency, the ability of a test to give the same results under similar conditions
Validity- the ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure

4. Standardization Administered and scored the same way every time
Establishing a norm
Percentile system- ranking of test scores that indicates the ratio of scores lower and higher than a given score
Percentiles are created by giving test to large sample of people

6. Intelligence Testing

7. Question What does intelligence mean to you?
What relationships exists between the following
Intelligence and success
Intelligence and creativity
Intelligence and empathy toward others

8. Views of Intelligence
Intelligence- the ability to acquire new ideas and new behavior, and to adapt to new situations
Psychologists majorly disagree on definition
Two-factor theory- general ability level and specific mental abilities
Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities- verbal comprehension, numerical ability, spatial relations, perceptual speed, word fluency, memory, inductive reasoning

9. Views of Intelligence Continued
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence- linguistic/verbal, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist
Just skills?
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory- three thinking skills- analytical, creative, practical
Emotional Intelligence- interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities needed to understand and use knowledge of emotions effectively

10. Views of Intelligence Continued
Savant syndrome- condition in which a person with otherwise limited mental ability has an amazing specific skill; Example- computation, drawing
Stephen, age 13, could not speak coherently
or cross the road by himself

11. Development of Intelligence Tests
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale- tests children with questions that are grouped by age level
IQ (Intelligence Quotient)= Mental Age
___________________ x100
Chronological Age
100 is average
Wechsler Tests- gives overall score, and specific skills with percentile scores
WAIS, WISC, WPPSI

12. Intelligence Conditions
Mental retardation- a condition of limited mental ability
Indicated by intelligence scores below 70
Produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life
Varies from mild to profound

13. Controversy over IQ Testing
IQ scores do well to predict success in school achievement
But does that measure intelligence?
Nature vs. nurture
52-70% affected by genes
Cultural Bias
Walter Lippman said IQ tests can be turned into “an engine of cruelty” Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

14. Measuring Achievement, Abilities, and Interests

15. Other Types of Tests
*Aptitude tests- estimates the probability that a person will be successful in learning a specific new skill
SAT, ACT
Used for predicting promise in careers
*Achievement tests- measures how much a person has learned in a given subject or area
Often overlaps with aptitude
*Interest inventories- measures a person’s preferences and attitudes in a wide variety of activities to identify areas of likely success
These are all indicators, but should not be the only thing used to make a major decision

16. Personality Testing

17. Personality Testing
*Personality test- assesses an individual’s characteristics and identifies problems
Greeks thought we had four humors

18. Objective Personality Tests
*Objective tests- a limited- or forced-choice test in which a person must select one of several answers
*MMPI- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory- reveals habits, fears, delusions, sexual attitudes, and symptoms of psychological disorders
Looks at patterns of scale scores

19. Objective Personality Tests Continued
*CPI (California Psychological Inventory)- like MMPI but for more general use
Measures traits like responsibility, self-control, tolerance
*Myers-Briggs Test- focuses on how a person takes in information, makes decisions, approaches day-to-day tasks
Extraversion vs.introversion, intuition vs. sensing, feeling vs. thinking, judging vs. perceiving

20. Projective Personality Tests
*Projective tests- an unstructured test in which a person is asked to respond freely, giving his or her own interpretation of various ambiguous stimuli
*Rorschach Inkblot Test- given an inkblot, the person describes that they see, this will reveal an aspect of that person’s personality
TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)- pictures of vague but suggestive situations, telling a story allows clients to speak freely about their problems

24. EXTRA
Suppose you were asked to select the best person to be your teacher from among a group of applicants. How would you go about making your selection?
Finding the right person for a job is a challenge for managers. In addition to needing the right set of skills, today’s workplaces need people with the right personality for the job. Increasingly, companies are using personality tests to help make hiring decisions. Companies may use standard tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test or may spend $2,500- $3,000 per test to have customized tests designed.
Have you ever worked with someone who was not right for the job? What made him or her wrong for the job? Would a personality test have helped identify people who were better suited for the job? Have you ever considered what type of job would suit your personality? Explain.

25. EXTRA- Intelligence Testing
In your group, research the federally funded child care program, Head Start, initiated by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Research
Original purpose
Benefits of environmental intervention for preschool children
Comparison of test scores between children who have been in Head Start and those of similar socioeconomic background who have not
Future direction of the program
Prepare a funding request to be presented orally to the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives. Your funding request should reflect its view on whether the program should be expanded or reduced

26. EXTRA- Intelligence Testing
Psychologists must often be expert mathematicians in order to draw statistical conclusions from the raw data that they collect. Review the formula for calculating IQ. Create at least five problems using various mental and chronological ages. Trade problems with another student. Solve the problems to calculate the IQ. write a short summary describing the relationship between the mental and chronological age and resulting IQ in each problem.

27. EXTRA- Personality Testing
TAT is a projective test in which the test taker projects his or her thoughts onto the people in the picture. Pictures are
A person opening a door and entering a room with a suitcase in his hand
A man and a woman in formal attire engaged in a conversation
A man looking in a window from outside a house
Write a paragraph about what is going on in each picture and what the characters are thinking. We will collect and share anonymously.
Can you identify the gender of the writer? What, if anything, do the stories reveal about the writers?

28. EXTRA- Personality Testing
Choose two personality traits. Develop several test questions that you think would assess these traits. Discuss and evaluate your questions with your classmates.

29. EXTRA
Which theory of intelligence discussed in the chapter do you agree with the most? Give reasons for your choice.
If you were asked to rate people on an intelligence scale of your own making, what criteria would you use and how would you make your decisions? What roles would memory, creativity, and emotional maturity play in your scale?

30. EXTRA
Only a few tests have been used to predict how happy people will be with their lives or how successful they will be in their careers. Explain why you think this may be the case.
Do you think personality tests should be used by employers to make decision about hiring employees? explain

31. EXTRA
Suppose you were asked to select the best person to be your teacher from among a group of applicants. How would you go about making the selection?
Devise a test to use in your assessment. Consider and list in your notebook the behaviors you most want to evaluate in the applicants.