Psychological Assessment: Reliability and Validity

• Psychological assessment involves using techniques to evaluate an individual's mental health, behavior, and abilities

• The goal of psychological assessment is to understand and measure psychological attributes for diagnosis, treatment, and decision-making

• Psychometrics involves the theory and technique of psychological measurement

• The key principles of psychological testing are reliability, validity, and standardization

• Standardization ensures uniform procedures for test administration and scoring

• Reliability refers to the consistency of a test in measuring what it intends to measure

Types of Reliability

• Test-retest reliability assesses the stability of test scores over time

• Internal consistency reliability assesses how well test items correlate with each other

• Inter-rater reliability assesses the degree of agreement between different evaluators

• Validity determines whether a test measures what it claims to measure

Types of Validity

• Content validity, construct validity, criterion-related validity, face validity and predictive validity are types of validity
• Construct validity assesses how well a test measures a theoretical construct
• Content validity ensures a test covers all relevant aspects of the construct
• Criterion validity measures how well a test predicts outcomes
• Predictive validity determines how well a test predicts future behavior or outcomes
• Face validity indicates how much a test appears to measure what it claims based on subjective judgment
• Norms are statistical data used to compare an individual's test score to a relevant population
• Norms are important for interpreting test scores in a meaningful way
• Raw scores are actual test results, whereas standard scores convert raw scores into a common scale for comparison
• Percentile ranks indicate the percentage of people in a norm group that scored below a given test score
• Measurement error is the difference between a true score and an observed score
• The standard error of measurement (SEM) estimates the extent of score variability due to measurement error

Factors that influence test performance

• Cultural differences, language barriers and different life experiences can influence test performance
• Test fairness ensures that tests do not disadvantage any group
• Test bias happens when a test systematically disadvantages certain groups

Test Development and Standardization

• The main steps in psychological test developments are: defining the construct, item writing, pilot testing, item analysis, standardization and validation.

• Defining the construct ensures the psychological trait is accurately measured

• Pilot testing helps identify potential issues before the test is widely used

• Item analysis evaluates how well individual test items perform

• Item analysis uses statistical methods such as item difficulty and item discrimination

• Factor analysis identifies the underlying structure of test items

• Factor analysis helps refine test dimensions and constructs

• Norming establishes reference points for test scores -Standardization samples offer benchmarks for score interpretation

• Validation ensures that a test accurately measures what it should

• Item discrimination determines how well a test item differentiates between high and low scorers

• Criterion-referenced tests measure performance against a fixed standard

• Norm-referenced tests compare performance to a population

• Good tests should contain items that are clear, relevant, and appropriately difficult

• Reliability is crucial because unreliable tests produce inconsistent results

• Descriptive statistics summarize test data, while inferential statistics help draw conclusions about populations

• Considering all aspects of anxiety (physical, cognitive, emotional) improves content validity when writing test items for an anxiety questionnaire.

• Piloting a test identifies problematic items and to refine the test

• Factor analysis assesses measurements and improve validity

• Situational judgment tests or cognitive ability tests measures employees’ problem-solving skills

• Using a standardization sample composed of only university students may not generalize sample population

Importance and Benefits of Psychological Assessment

• Psychological assessment is important for diagnosis, intervention, and research
• Psychological testing helps in identifying mental health disorders
• In education, psychological assessment aids in identifying learning disabilities and giftedness
• Businesses use psychological assessment for hiring and employee evaluation
• Forensic psychological assessment evaluates individuals in legal contexts
• Career counseling assessments help match individuals with suitable careers
• Businesses use tests for employee selection and leadership development
• Ethical concerns include confidentiality and test fairness
• Test anxiety can negatively affect performance
• Social desirability bias occurs when respondents answer in a way that makes them look good
• Alternative testing formats accommodate learning differences when administering an IQ test to a student with dyslexia.
• High employee turnover rate may be caused by ineffective testing to predict job performance
• Psychological testing for students can identify learning disabilities, academic strengths, and mental health concerns
• Some psychological tests may not capture cultural or personal differences in mental health
• Ensuring informed consent and confidentiality of results is an ethical concern when using a cognitive test in a community health program.

Psychological Assessment Methods and Tools in Different Contexts

School Setting:

• Achievement tests measure knowledge and skills, examples include the Stanford Achievement Test
• Behavioral assessments track conduct and social skills
• Career interest inventories help choose suitable careers

Hospital/Clinical Setting:

• Clinical interviews gather in-depth information about mental health
• Structured interviews follow a set format, while unstructured interviews allow flexibility.
• The MMPI-2 is a widely used objective personality test
• The Rorschach Inkblot Test assesses personality through inkblot interpretation
• Neuropsychological tests evaluate brain function, example include the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery

Industrial-Organizational Setting:

• The Wonderlic Personnel Test is an example of a test used in this setting
• Emotional intelligence tests assess interpersonal skills
• Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) measure decision-making ability

Community and Social Work

• The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is an example of a test used in this setting

• Suicide risk assessments identify individuals at risk of self-harm

• Achievement and cognitive ability tests are most appropriate if a teacher notices that a student struggles with reading comprehension

• Use MMPI-2 or a structured clinical interview when assessing a patient for schizophrenia

• Personality and situational judgment tests assess teamwork skills in job candidates

• Use the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) assesses depression levels in a neighborhood

• Forensic psychological assessment used to evaluate defendant's competency to stand trial

Administration and Scoring of Psychological Tests

• Intelligence tests measure cognitive abilities

• IQ scores are standardized scores with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15

• The WAIS is a widely used adult intelligence test

• Likert scales measure attitudes and opinions

• Alternative tests include non-verbal and adaptive testing

• Computer-based assessments automate test administration

• Behavioral assessments measure observable behaviors

• Observational methods involve watching and recording behavior

• Strucutred observations use a predefined system, and unstructured ones are more open-ended

• Standardized procedures and accurate scoring is required when a psychologist administers the WAIS intelligence test

• Faking responses poses a risk with online personality tests

• Biased or misinterpreted results if test administered with considering someones cultural background

• Rorschach Inkblot Test requires subjective scoring based on interpretation

Ethical Considerations in Psychological Assessment

• Observer bias and subjectivity represent a key challenge when observation occurs in therapy

• Confidentiality ensures privacy in test results

• Informed consent involves explaining the test's purpose to the participant

• Misuse of test results can lead to discrimination

• Competency requires that assessors are to be trained professionals

• Test administrators should be trained to prevent bias

• Ethical concerns include misinterpretation of results

• Culture affects test fairness by influencing responses

• Test security prevents unauthorized access to materials

• Employment testing must be relevant to the job role Bias minimization involves careful test selection

• Maintaining client confidentiality occurs after a psychologist is asked to share test results with an employer

• Considering alternative testing conditions to reduce anxiety is a good practice

• Competence and test validity is violated where an outdated version of a test is used

• Ensuring validity, reliability includes test fairness

• Respect the patient's right to decline assessment

• Applying cognitive ability tests to assess students' problem-solving skills

• Assessing personality and competency-based assessments for leadership potential in a company

• Applying neuropsychological assessments to evaluate dementia in a hospital

• Use trauma-specific measures as a psychologist is asked to assess PTSD in veterans

• A forensic psychologist assesses cognitive and emotional maturity determine if a child can testify in court

• Applying engaging work and personality tests, to test employee motivation

• Applying intellectual and creativity tests, for teachers who want to identify gifted students

• Applying PHQ-9 for a quick assessment for depression

• Companies applying stress and coping assessments, to understand staff

• Understanding employees by use emotional intelligence tests

• Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test used to assess individuals for critical thinking skill

• Ethical guidelines ensure hospitals follow them

Clinical Psychology Scenarios

• Applying the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) or the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) when treating individuals with bipolar disorders
• Applying both Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) or Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), if there is a need to look at Alzheimer’s
• Assess client's level of anxiety before starting therapy, by use of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) or Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7)
• Assess clinical depression with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) or the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D)

Educational Psychology Scenarios

• Assess child for learning difficulty, by appying Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) or Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement test
• Conners Rating Scale or Attention Deficit Disorder Evaluation Scale, for children with focus and attention difficulties
• Use of Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) or EQ-i 2.0. used to test for EQ levels.
• A school counselor assesses for career interest using the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) or Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) tests
• For creative thinkers assessing Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking tests students

Occupational Psychology Scenarios

• Leaders assessed with the Leadership Assessment tests,
• Emotional stability of high-stress candidates assessed with the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire or Big Five Personality Test

Forensic Psychology Scenarios

• MacCAT-CA test used for the court room, by assessed the ability to understand the hearing

• HCR-20 (Historical Clinical Risk Management) or Level of Service tests reoffending risks.

• Applying the gudjonsson test on witnesses to determine there memory

• Assessment of faking symptoms with the Miller tool

• Apply the Hare psychopathy checklist with a psychologist

• Police apply the use stress assesment tools with their team members

• Situational Judgment Test (SJT) or Emotional Intelligence Tests used to test handle work interractions

Explore psychological assessment techniques for evaluating mental health and behavior. Understand psychometrics, focusing on reliability, validity, and standardization principles in testing. This covers test-retest, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability.