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

2. Functions and Characteristics of Psychological Testing

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

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

5. Characteristics
Standardization
How would you define this term?

6. 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?

7. Characteristics
Norms
How would you explain this?

8. 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

9. Characteristics
What is reliability?
How would you explain this?

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

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

12. Characteristics
Validity
What makes a test valid?

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

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

15. 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

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

17. History of IQ Tests
Alfred Binet
Lewis Terman

18. History of IQ Tests
David Wechsler
Wechsler Intelligence Scale

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

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

21. 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

22. 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?

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

24. Objective (Self Reports)
Strengths
Weaknesses

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

26. 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?

27. Inkblots
(Hermann)Rorschach

28. 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

29. Inkblots Major elements for interpretation Location Determinants
Content
Popularity

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

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

32. 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”

33. TAT

34. TAT

35. TAT

36. TAT

37. 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

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

39. On to College Board’s Curriculum Model Testing and Individual Differences