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Psychological Testing

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Presentation on theme: "Psychological Testing"— Presentation transcript:

1 Psychological Testing

2 Section 1: Characteristics of Psychological Testing
Answer these questions as we go through the notes What does it mean if a test is reliable or valid? Identify the three measures of a test’s reliability What does it mean when a test is standardized? Why do we standardize tests?

3 Reliability Reliability—a test should be consistent, the same results should be produced under a variety of similar circumstances Test reliability by the same person retaking a test after a period of time, are the scores similar? Same scores should be produced regardless of scorer Split-half reliability—divide the test in half and score each half, the results should be similar for the test to be reliable

4 Validity The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure Questions should be related to the topic that is being measured Purpose of the test should be very clear and straight forward

5 Standardization Tests must be administered and scored the same way every time Test administrators must follow the same procedures and ask questions in the same way i.e. SAT or PSAT Standardized tests produce a norm, or average score for a large group of people

6 Establishing Norms Percentile System—test scores don’t mean anything unless you have a comparison to others The Percentile System the scores actually achieved on the test are ranked highest to lowest Each score is compared with the list and assigned a percentile according to the percentage of scores above or below that point The higher the percentile, the better i.e. 50th Percentile, 30th Percentile, 75th Percentile

7 Section 2: Intelligence Testing
What are the two-factor or triarchic theories of intelligence? How are the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Tests scored? What are Gardner’s eight types of intelligence? What has the greatest impact on intelligence nature or nurture? Why?

8 Views of Intelligence What is intelligence? Different ideas…
Acquire new ideas, new behavior and to adapt to new situations Intelligence is what allows you to do well on intelligence tests and in school

9 Two-Factor Theory of Intelligence
Charles Spearman, 1904 Two factors contribute to intelligence General intelligence (g)—ability to perform complex mental work Specific Mental Abilities (s)—verbal or math skills Critics argue that g does not include motor, musical, or creative abilities Believe that intelligence cannot be reduce to g and expressed by a single IQ Score

10 Thurstone’s Theory of Intelligence
Opposed to Spearman’s Theory on Intelligence Tested over 50 groups of people Decided there was no evidence of general intelligence He says intelligence is seven primary abilities Intelligence needs to be measured on all seven mental abilities, not just one factor

11 Thurstone’s Seven Primary Mental Abilities
Theory Main Idea Verbal Comprehension Ability to understand the meaning of words, concepts, and ideas Numerical Ability Ability to use numbers to quickly computer answers to problems Spatial Relations Ability to visualize and manipulate patters and forms in space Perceptual Speed Ability to grasp perceptual details quickly and accurately and to determine similarities and differences between stimuli Word Fluency Ability to use words quickly and fluency in performing such tasks as rhyming, solving anagrams, and doing crossword puzzles Memory Ability to recall information such as lists or words, mathematical formulas, and definitions Inductive Reasoning Ability to derive general rules and principles from presented information

12 Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner has developed eight different types of intelligence Critics argue some of these areas are “skills” not intelligence Talent and intelligence are to different things

13 Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Description Linguistic/Verbal Ability to utilize language Logical-mathematical Reasoning skills; ability to process and compute logical problems and equations Spatial Ability to find your way around an environment and to form mental images of it; comprehend shapes an images in 3D Musical Ability to create and perceive pitch and rhythm patterns , also perform and compose music Body-Kinesthetic Ability to perceive and control movement, balance, agility, grace, or fine motor movements Interpersonal Involving understanding the feelings of others; also interact with and understand the behavior of others Intrapersonal Ability to understand and sense oneself Naturalist Ability to identify and classify patterns and relationships in natural surroundings

14 Sternberg’s Theory on Intelligence
Triarchic theory—three part theory of intelligence or information processing Analytical thinking skills or the ability to solve problems Traditionally measured on intelligence tests Creative thinking to solve problems and dealing with new situations Practical thinking skills to help adjust to and cope with one’s environment Sternberg says traditional intelligence does not measure and assess intelligence found in everyday life Like Gardner’s Theory though, it makes intelligence difficult to measure, at least with traditional measurements

15 Emotional Intelligence
The ability to perceive and express emotions accurately and appropriately The ability to use emotions while thinking The ability to understand emotions and use the knowledge effectively The ability to regulate one’s emotions to promote personal growth

16 The Development of Intelligence Tests
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Children tested one at a time Advanced for age Mental Age/Chronological Age x 100 = IQ On ‘grade level’ IQ = 100 Test is no longer widely used Otis-Lennon Ability Test Measures cognitive abilities that are related to student’s ability to learn and succeed in school Measures a student’s verbal and nonverbal reasoning abilities

17 The Wechsler Test Frequently used intelligence tests grouped by age
Generates scores in several areas to generate IQ for verbal and performance abilities Vocabulary Information Arithmetic Picture arrangement Etc. Provides a more detailed picture of the individuals’ strengths and weaknesses

18 The Uses and Meaning of IQ Scores
95% of People fit in range Mentally Handicapped

19 Uses and Meanings of IQ Scores
Low IQ & Mental Retardation 5% of people have an IQ under 70 and this is generally considered as the benchmark for "mental retardation", a condition of limited mental ability in that it produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life. Severity of mental retardation can be broken into 4 levels: Mild mental retardation (85%) Moderate mental retardation (10%) Severe mental retardation (4%) IQ < 20 - Profound mental retardation (1%)

20 Uses and Meaning of IQ Scores
High IQ & Genius IQ Genius IQ is generally considered to begin around 140 to 145, representing ~.25% of the population (1 in 400).  Here's a rough guide: Above average (e.g., university students) Gifted (e.g., post-graduate students) Highly gifted (e.g., intellectuals) Genius (e.g., professors) Genius (e.g., Nobel Prize winners) High genius Highest genius >200 - "Unmeasurable genius" More notes on High IQ and Genius IQ: Einstein was considered to "only" have an IQ of about 160. Mensa is a society for people with high IQ, in the top 2% (1 in 50).

21 Controversy over IQ Testing
Cultural Bias? Do genetic differences or environmental inequalities cause two different people to receive different scores on intelligence tests?

22 Nature v. Nurture Heritability—high degree to which a characteristic is related to inherited genetic factors Research is divided, anywhere from 70-25% of intelligence could be inherited Discovery of a specific gene for intelligence Best studies—twins separated at birth

23 Nature v. Nurture However, studies show that brothers and sisters raised in the same environment are more likely to have the same IQ than siblings raised apart Therefore, environment does impact IQ

24 Nature v. Nurture Head Start
Preschool programs for economically disadvantaged youths to enriching experiences Research shows helps raise IQ initially, but the increase begins to fade after some years However, participating children are less likely to… Be in special education classes Be held back a grade in school More likely to graduate from HS than children with such preschool experiences

25 Nature v. Nurture Each year of school missed, may drop a person’s IQ as much as 5 points Many factors affect IQ Richness of home environment Quality of Food Numbers of brothers and sisters in the family Clearly, heredity and experiences both have an impact on IQ

26 Cultural Bias Wording used in questions may be more familiar to people of one social group than to another group Psychologists admit that tests are based on accumulated knowledge, which is dependent on a child’s environment and opportunities in that environment Efforts have been made to make tests less bias, no test will ever be completely free of bias because all tests are based on the assumptions of a particular culture

27 Section 3: Measuring Achievement, Abilities, and Interests
Other tests assess special abilities and experiences Aptitude Tests Achievement Tests Interest Inventories What are each of these tests designed to measure? What is the difference between objective and projective personality tests?

28 Aptitude Tests Discover talents and predict how well he or she will be able to learn a new skill SAT & ACT Designed to predict how well a student will do in college The best predictor is how well a student did in high school Due to the variety in grading standards among high schools—the SAT is used as a measure against other students potential success.

29 Achievement Tests Measures how much a person has already learned in a particular area—ACT cross between Achievement & Aptitude Help teachers and students assess their learning Content validity—measure a student’s mastery of a set of knowledge Adaptive Testing—computer tests and adjusts to your performance, easier or harder questions as you work through a series of questions—i.e. GRE More accurate than standard tests where everyone gets the same questions Very informative for very high or low learners Can also increase number of questions in a section where the test taker struggles to give detailed information on the types of problems that were marked incorrect

30 Interest Inventories Designed to determine a person’s preferences, attitudes, and interests Compares person’s interests with those interests in a defined group of people or a particular occupation Especially those people that feel satisfied and successful in their chosen occupation

31 Section 4: Personality Testing
Personality Tests—assess an individual’s characteristics and to identify problems and psychological disorders as well as to predict how a person might behave in the future Objective vs. projective tests

32 Objective Personality Tests
Closed-ended questions, must choose from a small number of possible responses No right or wrong answers Some versions of test can reveal: habits, fears, delusions, sexual attitudes, and symptoms of psychological disorders, responsibility, leadership, predict job success, adjustment to stress, self-control and tolerance Not designed to identify personality types Does not replace one-on-one diagnosis of problem

33 Projective Personality Tests
Test takers respond freely, open-ended responses Test taker will project his or her own unconscious feelings onto test items Rorschach Inkblot Test—no right or wrong answers, but the test may reveal aspects of one’s personality by their responses Critics argue the test is neither reliable or valid and influenced by the psychologists expectations But, very commonly used as an introduction to therapy


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